Outdoor Lighting in Idaho (2026)
28 rules on the books across Idaho, 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.
Kootenai County
Significant RestrictionsKootenai County treats outdoor lighting tied to a permitted recreational use, ballfields, shooting ranges, campgrounds…
Read full rule →Ada County
Some RestrictionsAda County's outdoor-lighting standards regulate glare and up-lighting to protect nighttime skies. Fixtures over 260…
Read full rule →Bannock County
Some RestrictionsEvery private land use in unincorporated Bannock County must shield outdoor lighting so it points down toward the…
Read full rule →Boise
Some RestrictionsBoise requires fully shielded, full-cutoff outdoor light fixtures citywide to cut glare, sky-glow, and light spilling…
Read full rule →Caldwell
Some RestrictionsOutdoor lighting in Caldwell's D-CC and D-CB downtown districts must meet dark sky standards: fixtures over 15 feet…
Read full rule →Meridian
Some RestrictionsMeridian requires outdoor light fixtures of 1,800 lumens or more to use a full cutoff shield and opaque top, and caps…
Read full rule →Pocatello
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Pocatello, City Code § 17.05.420 requires every private lighting fixture in every zoning district to be…
Read full rule →Twin Falls County
Light RestrictionsTwin Falls County has no county-wide dark-sky ordinance, but in the Airport Overlay (AP) zone around county airports, §…
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.
Ada County
Some RestrictionsAda County limits light spilling onto neighbors. In commercial or industrial settings, the effective zone of light from…
Read full rule →Bannock County
Some RestrictionsBannock County requires every outdoor light on private land to be shielded so it does not spill onto neighboring…
Read full rule →Boise
Some RestrictionsBoise caps light trespass, mandates fully shielded fixtures, and requires most outdoor lights off after 11 p.m. under…
Read full rule →Bonner County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Bonner County, Idaho, Revised Code § 12-453 F requires exterior lighting on commercial, multi-family…
Read full rule →Bonneville County
Some RestrictionsBonneville County limits how much light a Limited Neighborhood Commercial (LNC) Zone business can throw onto its…
Read full rule →Caldwell
Some RestrictionsCaldwell caps light trespass from multi-family development sites at 0.1 foot-candle measured five feet above grade onto…
Read full rule →Canyon County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Canyon County, Idaho, the only county rule addressing light spilling onto neighboring land applies to…
Read full rule →Coeur Dalene
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, lighting greater than two foot-candles is prohibited in a Community Commercial…
Read full rule →Kootenai County
Some RestrictionsKootenai County caps outdoor illumination for every commercial, manufacturing, and industrial use in its Light…
Read full rule →Meridian
Some RestrictionsMeridian caps light spilling onto neighboring residential property lines at 0.1 foot-candle, measured 60 inches above…
Read full rule →Nampa
Some RestrictionsNampa requires all exterior residential lighting to be shielded, screened, or shuttered and aimed so it doesn't spill…
Read full rule →Pocatello
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Pocatello, City Code § 17.05.420.B requires every lighting fixture on private property, in every zoning…
Read full rule →Twin Falls County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Twin Falls County, small animal feeding operations must design outdoor lighting to eliminate direct…
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.
Ada County
Some RestrictionsAda County Code 8-3-12(K)(6) lets billboards be illuminated only if they meet the county's general outdoor lighting…
Read full rule →Bannock County
Some RestrictionsBannock County limits how billboards along its roads can be lit. Neon and back-lighting panels are banned outright, and…
Read full rule →Boise
Some RestrictionsBoise caps electronic billboard brightness at 5,000 nits and requires sign lighting not trespass onto neighboring…
Read full rule →Bonner County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner County Revised Code § 12-442 bars sign lighting from being beamed onto a…
Read full rule →Bonneville County
Some RestrictionsBonneville County caps how bright an LED or tri-vision billboard can glow at night under Code § 152.30(D)(5): the…
Read full rule →Caldwell
Some RestrictionsEvery illuminated sign in Caldwell, including freeway-oriented billboards, must meet the lighting standards in City…
Read full rule →Coeur Dalene
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, an illuminated Sign, including an Electronic Message Display, must dim…
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