Monday, Jun 1, 2026
Does Fort Collins have a ban on electronic billboards?
Fort Collins prohibits billboards and signs with displays that are more than 50% electronic, though government-owned land is exempt from the ban.
Billboards are defined as signs with an area of at least 70 square feet. Fort Collins also restricts sign illumination intensity and hours in and around residential areas and prohibits inflatable and rotating signs.
Signs that are located on property owned by government entities are exempt from the city’s sign code. That includes Colorado State University, which operates at least five large electronic signs in the city.
Several state lawmakers representing the Fort Collins area introduced a bill that would have required CSU to follow local sign code earlier this year. The bill failed in committee.
Other local bodies including Boulder, Colorado Springs and Larimer County also limit electronic signs, and Boulder prohibits “moving” electronic signs that change their message more than once per minute.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Fort Collins Land Use Code Article 5: General Development and Site Design
- Fort Collins Land Use Code Article 7: Rules of Measurement and Definitions
- Colorado General Assembly Senate Bill 26-038
- The Coloradoan See where CSU’s new electronic billboards in Fort Collins are located
- Boulder City Charter Boulder Sign Code Section 9-9-21
- City of Colorado Springs Sign Application and Information
- Larimer County Land Use Code Standards for permanent signs
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