Sign Regulations in Alabama (2026)
40 rules on the books across Alabama, 11 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Political Signs
Rules for posting political campaign signs on your property, including size limits, how early you can put them up, and when they must come down.
Alabama: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsAlabama state law restricts placement of political campaign signs in public rights-of-way, on state highways, and on…
Read full rule →Montgomery
Significant RestrictionsMontgomery caps political signs to an eight-week window before an election and requires removal within ten days after…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Significant RestrictionsTuscaloosa bars political advertising by posted sign or loudspeaker inside city parks unless the speaker or sign holder…
Read full rule →Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn bans political signs earlier than 30 days before an election and requires removal within 7 days after the…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsYard signs for candidates or ballot measures fall under the zoning code's residential temporary-sign rule: 40 square…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Some RestrictionsJefferson County's Zoning Resolution caps political signs at two per parcel and four square feet apiece, and requires…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsMadison regulates political signs content-neutrally as temporary yard signs. In residential zones each sign may be up…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsMobile allows political signs on private property in every district, capped by size and a 7-day post-election removal…
Read full rule →Vestavia Hills
Some RestrictionsVestavia Hills gives every occupied lot 15 square feet of non-commercial sign area under Zoning Ordinance §11.4.4(6)…
Read full rule →Hoover
Light RestrictionsPolitical yard signs in Hoover must sit on an improved residential lot, stay under 4 feet tall and 3 square feet, skip…
Read full rule →Birmingham
Few RestrictionsBirmingham's zoning sign ordinance lists political signs among the displays exempt from the city's sign permit…
Read full rule →Garage Sale Signs
Where you can place signs advertising a garage or yard sale, including restrictions on utility poles, medians, and public right-of-way.
Bessemer
Some RestrictionsBessemer limits garage, rummage and yard sale signs to six square feet, bans illuminated or animated signs, and only…
Read full rule →Birmingham
Some RestrictionsBirmingham's Zoning Ordinance bars garage and rummage sale advertising on public property outright and limits any yard…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville has no garage-sale-specific sign law; garage sale signs fall under the zoning code's general temporary sign…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Some RestrictionsA garage-sale sign counts as a temporary sign under Jefferson County's Zoning Regulations: it needs a sign permit and…
Read full rule →Madison
Some RestrictionsA garage-sale sign in Madison is a temporary yard sign: up to 6 square feet and 6 feet tall in residential zones, not…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsYard and garage sale signs in Mobile's public rights-of-way are allowed only from 4 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa has no sign category labeled 'garage sale,' so a yard-sale sign posted in a residential yard falls under the…
Read full rule →Auburn
Light RestrictionsAuburn allows directional and advertising signs for an exempt yard or garage sale, but Section 511.04.D.2(f) of the…
Read full rule →Holiday Displays
Rules for seasonal decorations, lights, inflatables, and lawn displays, including the sign-permit exemptions most codes give them and any limits on timing, size, or placement.
Auburn
Few RestrictionsAuburn exempts temporary holiday decorations celebrating a single holiday or season from sign permits entirely under…
Read full rule →Hoover
Few RestrictionsHoover's sign code exempts holiday decorations from the sign permit process entirely, alongside flags, plaques and…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Few RestrictionsWithin the U.S. Highway 280 Corridor Overlay District, Jefferson County's sign regulations exempt holiday lights and…
Read full rule →Digital Billboards
Rules governing digital and electronic billboards, including size limits, brightness and dwell-time standards, and the ongoing legal fight in cities like LA.
Auburn
Heavy RestrictionsAuburn bans off-premise signs outright, which rules out standalone digital billboards, and separately prohibits any…
Read full rule →Bessemer
Significant RestrictionsBessemer's zoning code bans flashing or moving-light signs citywide, but Sec. 11.8 carves out an exception for…
Read full rule →Birmingham
Significant RestrictionsBirmingham's zoning sign ordinance bars off-premises billboards from using intermittent lighting, defined as any…
Read full rule →Hoover
Significant RestrictionsHoover allows one electronic message sign per freestanding sign per facing street, only in the C-2 and C-3 business…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Significant RestrictionsJefferson County's billboard article sets a tighter minimum spacing for digital billboards than for standard ones…
Read full rule →Huntsville
Some RestrictionsHuntsville caps digital sign changes to once per 15 minutes on side streets, bans blinking and scrolling, and forces…
Read full rule →Mobile
Some RestrictionsMobile allows off-premise digital billboards in commercial and industrial zones but caps how fast images can change…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa lets billboard owners convert existing structures to electronic, digital, or tri-vision displays, but the…
Read full rule →Vestavia Hills
Some RestrictionsVestavia Hills lets electronic message boards change their display no more than once every 8 seconds under Zoning…
Read full rule →Window Signs
Limits on the percentage of window area that may be covered by signs in storefronts, including transparency rules for safety visibility into businesses.
Mobile
Some RestrictionsIn Mobile's commercial and industrial zoning districts, window signage on a single-establishment site is capped at 20…
Read full rule →Tuscaloosa
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa caps window signs at twenty percent of the glass area on a building's front façade, and separately at twenty…
Read full rule →Birmingham
Light RestrictionsWindow signs advertising goods, services, or activities available inside a Birmingham building need no sign permit as…
Read full rule →Jefferson County
Light RestrictionsJefferson County's sign code exempts window signs from its general permitting and design standards, but only up to a…
Read full rule →Vestavia Hills
Light RestrictionsVestavia Hills caps window signs at 33 percent of each window's area under Zoning Ordinance §11.4.4(5), and lets…
Read full rule →Auburn
Few RestrictionsAuburn treats window signs as an exempt sign category needing no permit, but Section 603.18 requires the message to…
Read full rule →Freeway-Facing Signs
Restrictions on commercial signs visible from freeways, including height, illumination, and outdoor advertising act compliance.
Jefferson County
Significant RestrictionsJefferson County restricts billboards to a short list of designated highway corridors rather than allowing them…
Read full rule →Montgomery
Significant RestrictionsMontgomery, Alabama bans new outdoor advertising structures next to interstate and primary highways under City Code…
Read full rule →Auburn
Some RestrictionsAuburn allows one extra freestanding interstate sign beyond normal business signage for a nonresidential site near…
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