Outdoor Lighting in Indiana (2026)
29 rules on the books across Indiana, 14 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.
Allen County
Some RestrictionsThe Allen County Zoning Ordinance requires exterior lighting (other than single- and two-family dwellings) to use…
Read full rule →Anderson
Some RestrictionsAnderson requires site lighting to be uniform "down lighting" that is fully shielded on all sides and top, and…
Read full rule →Carmel
Some RestrictionsCarmel limits light spill at property lines and requires shielded, integrated fixtures. In residential districts no…
Read full rule →Evansville
Some RestrictionsWithin Evansville's Airport Overlay Zone, new site lighting must use full-cutoff fixtures aimed downward, no upward or…
Read full rule →Fort Wayne
Some RestrictionsFort Wayne caps residential light trespass at 600 lumens for frosted or translucent covers, and requires full shielding…
Read full rule →Indianapolis
Some RestrictionsIndianapolis-Marion County's zoning code requires any exterior light source over 900 lumens, brighter than a 60-watt…
Read full rule →Lake County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Lake County's UDO has no general residential dark-sky ordinance. The only codified downward-shielding…
Read full rule →Porter County
Some RestrictionsEvery outdoor light fixture regulated under Porter County's Unified Development Ordinance must be full cutoff and fully…
Read full rule →South Bend
Some RestrictionsSouth Bend's Zoning Ordinance requires outdoor light fixtures to be full cutoff or fully shielded, caps color…
Read full rule →St. Joseph County
Some RestrictionsSt. Joseph County's zoning code requires every outdoor light fixture serving a multi-family, commercial, industrial…
Read full rule →Tippecanoe County
Light RestrictionsTippecanoe County's Unified Zoning Ordinance controls glare from auto parking lot lighting rather than imposing a…
Read full rule →Elkhart County
Few RestrictionsElkhart County has no comprehensive dark-sky or full-cutoff lighting ordinance. Its Zoning Ordinance instead requires…
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.
Allen County
Some RestrictionsThe Allen County Zoning Ordinance limits light spillover onto neighbors: where nonresidential development adjoins a…
Read full rule →Anderson
Some RestrictionsAnderson's Zoning Code defines illumination as a shielded light directed solely at an object so the brightness does not…
Read full rule →Carmel
Some RestrictionsCarmel's UDO caps light trespass at the property line: no lighting may cause illumination at or beyond any lot line in…
Read full rule →Elkhart County
Some RestrictionsElkhart County limits light spillover mainly through parking and buffering standards: off-street parking lighting must…
Read full rule →Evansville
Some RestrictionsEvansville requires all sign lighting to be shielded so it never spills glare onto neighboring property or the roadway.
Read full rule →Fort Wayne
Some RestrictionsFort Wayne caps residential outdoor lights at 600 lumens before frosted-glass shielding kicks in, and requires full…
Read full rule →Indianapolis
Some RestrictionsIndianapolis-Marion County zoning limits how much light can spill onto a neighbor's land: Table 744-604-1 caps…
Read full rule →Lake County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Lake County's UDO sets no numeric residential light-trespass (foot-candle) limit. Its enforceable…
Read full rule →Porter County
Some RestrictionsPorter County's UDO caps light spilling onto a neighboring property line at five lux, with higher limits only where…
Read full rule →South Bend
Some RestrictionsSouth Bend caps light at any lot line abutting a residential (S or U) district at 0.2 foot-candles, and 1.0 foot-candle…
Read full rule →St. Joseph County
Some RestrictionsSt. Joseph County limits floodlights and other outdoor fixtures so their beam cannot spill onto a neighbor's land or a…
Read full rule →Tippecanoe County
Some RestrictionsIn Tippecanoe County's I1, I2 and I3 industrial zones, Unified Zoning Ordinance Section 4-10-4 caps light trespass at…
Read full rule →Vanderburgh County
Some RestrictionsVanderburgh County requires that lighting for off-street parking areas outside residential districts be shaded 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.
Indianapolis
Heavy RestrictionsOff-premises billboards in Indianapolis-Marion County may not use flashing, intermittent or moving lights, and may not…
Read full rule →Clark County
Some RestrictionsClark County bans specific lighting on off-premises billboards countywide: no emergency-look lights, no flashing or…
Read full rule →Vanderburgh County
Some RestrictionsVanderburgh County requires every illuminated sign, including off-premises billboards, to be shielded so its light…
Read full rule →Porter County
Light RestrictionsPorter County treats a billboard as an 'outdoor advertising sign' under UDO Chapter 12, so any lighting on it must meet…
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