Columbia, SC Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

Sec. 10(b)(2), the sign code's Exemptions list, carves holiday decorating out of the Sign Permit process entirely: item (c) exempts flags, insignia of any government, and holiday/seasonal decorations, except when displayed in connection with commercial promotion. Because the exemption sits inside the definition of what counts as a regulated sign, a residential or commercial property doesn't need a Sign Permit under Sec. 1. The exemption has one condition built in: once a holiday display carries a commercial message, such as a business's name, logo, or an advertisement worked into the decoration, it drops out of the exemption and is regulated as a sign like any other, subject to the size, placement, and illumination standards in Sec.

10(c). The exemption is separate from, but consistent with, a related carve-out in the exterior lighting chapter: Sec. 9(b)(2)k exempts holiday or festive lighting from the citywide exterior lighting standards, provided such lighting does not create unsafe glare on street rights-of-way. Together the two provisions mean seasonal lights and decorations are free of both the sign permit and the general lighting rules, as long as they stay noncommercial and don't glare into the street.