Outdoor Lighting in Delaware (2026)
9 rules on the books across Delaware, 4 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.
New Castle County
Significant RestrictionsNew Castle County bans non-cutoff light fixtures and requires full-cutoff, downward-shielded luminaires on new or…
Read full rule →Wilmington
Some RestrictionsCity zoning law requires all parking lot lighting to be arranged so direct rays stay confined to the lot surface…
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.
Kent County
Some RestrictionsKent County requires every streetlight and other outdoor lighting fixture installed in a new subdivision to be shielded…
Read full rule →New Castle County
Some RestrictionsNew Castle County bans non-cutoff light fixtures, caps illumination near homes at 0.1 footcandle, and requires…
Read full rule →Wilmington
Some RestrictionsSelf-storage and mini-warehouse facilities approved in Wilmington's C-2 commercial districts must aim all outdoor…
Read full rule →Sussex County
Light RestrictionsSussex County's only codified exterior-lighting standard sits in the filling-station rules for the B-1 Neighborhood…
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.
New Castle County
Some RestrictionsNew Castle County caps electronic billboard brightness at 7,500 nits by day and 1,000 nits at night, requiring…
Read full rule →Sussex County
Some RestrictionsSussex County caps every illuminated sign, including off-premises billboards, at 750 candelas per square meter after…
Read full rule →Wilmington
Some RestrictionsWilmington's sign code requires gooseneck reflectors and lights on ground signs, a category that by definition includes…
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