Sullivan County, TN Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)

6, letting a homeowner or business put up seasonal decorations for a national, local, or religious holiday without pulling a sign permit and without the display counting toward the property's regular sign allowance. The condition is that the display stay non-commercial: it cannot be used to advertise the name of a product, service, or business, so a lit reindeer display in a yard qualifies, but a lit sign spelling out a store's name and 'Merry Christmas' together would not. The resolution does not fix a specific number of days for removal; it requires only that the display be taken down 'promptly after the holiday,' leaving the Building Commissioner to judge what counts as prompt on a case-by-case basis when a complaint comes in.

A display left up for months after the relevant holiday, or one that doubles as advertising, loses the exemption and would need to comply with the general sign standards elsewhere in Article 9, including obtaining a permit if one is otherwise required for that sign type or location. The exemption applies in every zoning district in unincorporated Sullivan County, provided the display sits on private property and outside any government right-of-way, matching the same location condition that governs every other exempt sign category in Section 9-111.