Outdoor Lighting in Alabama (2026)
22 rules on the books across Alabama, 13 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Dark Sky Rules
Ordinances designed to reduce light pollution, including requirements for shielded fixtures, limits on brightness, and curfews for decorative lighting.
Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn's zoning ordinance requires all outdoor lighting for parking areas and building exteriors to be directed or…
Read full rule →Hoover
Some RestrictionsMultifamily, nonresidential and mixed-use developments in Hoover must submit a Lighting Plan and aim every fixture to…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville's zoning ordinance regulates glare and light spillover from parking and vehicular use areas rather than…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsMadison has no formal International Dark-Sky designation, but its Zoning Ordinance requires full cut-off, shielded…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsMobile's development code requires site, parking lot, and outdoor recreation lighting near residential areas to be…
Read full rule →Dothan
Light RestrictionsInside the City of Dothan's U.S. Highway 84 East Overlay District, outdoor lighting must reduce glare with appropriate…
Read full rule →Vestavia Hills
Light RestrictionsVestavia Hills has no citywide dark-sky ordinance. The only shielding standard in city law sits inside the…
Read full rule →Light Trespass & Shielding
Rules preventing outdoor lights from shining onto neighboring homes, shielding and full-cutoff fixture requirements, aiming standards, and footcandle caps at the property line.
Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn caps outdoor light spilling onto neighboring land at one foot-candle measured at any property line next to a…
Read full rule →Decatur
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Decatur, Alabama, exterior lighting at covered parking areas must be fitted with cutoffs so the light…
Read full rule →Dothan
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Dothan, off-street parking lot lighting must be arranged so it does not unreasonably disturb occupants…
Read full rule →Hoover
Some RestrictionsHoover's site lighting code stops light from crossing onto the neighbors: interior light sources can't be visible from…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville caps exterior lighting on commercial and multi-family parking lots at one footcandle where it hits an…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Some RestrictionsJefferson County caps outdoor lighting inside the U.S. Highway 280 Corridor Overlay at one footcandle spilling onto…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsMadison's Zoning Ordinance caps light spilling onto neighboring property: no more than 0.2 foot-candles onto…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsWithin Mobile's Spring Hill Overlay, exterior building and security lighting must be shielded or directed onto the…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa caps how much light can spill onto a neighboring lot line. Under Sec. 25-158 and table VI-15, illumination…
Read full rule →Bessemer
Light RestrictionsBessemer's zoning ordinance bars any outdoor light or reflected glare that reaches beyond a property line and…
Read full rule →Billboard Lighting
Lighting standards for outdoor advertising, luminance limits, dwell time, sky-glow mitigation, and curfew hours after which billboards must dim or shut off.
Birmingham
Some RestrictionsBirmingham's zoning ordinance bars illuminated or highly reflective signs, billboards included, unless they're shielded…
Read full rule →Dothan
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Dothan, digital billboards and electronic message center (EMC) signs must run automatic dimming…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville has no billboard-specific lighting statute, but every illuminated sign in the city, including off-premise…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Some RestrictionsDigital billboards and electronic message centers in Jefferson County cannot shine brighter than 0.30 foot candles…
Read full rule →Montgomery
Some RestrictionsMontgomery, Alabama bans flashing, intermittent or moving lights on outdoor advertising structures next to interstate…
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