Billboard Permits in Kentucky: Rules, Spacing and Fees

KYTC issues billboard permits in Kentucky. The state calls a billboard an advertising device. A static sign costs $150 to apply for, and a digital sign costs $250. Renewal is $100 a year. A 2021 law rewrote the rules, so older guides are out of date.

Who issues billboard permits in Kentucky?

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) runs the program through its Division of Maintenance, Permits Branch. The office is at 200 Mero Street in Frankfort. KYTC's page lists (502) 564-4556 and KYTC.Permits@ky.gov. Put "Advertising Device" in the subject line.

You file Form TC 99-221 for a static sign or TC 99-222 for a digital one. Both can go in online or on paper. Renewals are online too.

The law is KRS 177.830 to 177.890. The rule is 603 KAR 10:040. The rule took effect January 25, 2022.

What changed in 2021?

FHWA says Kentucky was one of seven states that changed sign laws after First Amendment cases. The new law took effect March 18, 2021. Three changes matter most:

• A sign is regulated only if its owner is paid by someone else to show a message.
• Static faces can be up to 1,250 square feet.
• Digital signs are allowed, under the rule's limits.

The rule's fees started January 1, 2023. A new vegetation rule followed on March 13, 2024.

Which roads need a state permit?

KYTC controls Interstates, parkways, the National Highway System and federal-aid primary roads. That follows 23 U.S.C. 131. In urban areas the zone is 660 feet from the right-of-way. Outside them, it reaches as far as a driver can read the sign. Kentucky counts a place of 5,000 people or more as urban.

KYTC posts a protected areas map. Use it for your latitude and longitude.

After a road is named a scenic highway, no new devices visible from it may go up. A byway sponsor can ask for the same rule. Older signs there get only routine upkeep.

Where can a billboard go?

• Interstates and parkways: only in zoned commercial or industrial areas that qualified by September 21, 1959. The sign must sit at least 50 feet from the road. No unzoned sites.
• Other controlled roads: zoned commercial or industrial land, or an unzoned area. On unzoned land, a business must sit on the same side of the road. It must be within 700 feet.
• Not a business: signs, farms, homes, railroad tracks and shops open under three months a year.

A sign for your own business needs no state permit. It must follow local zoning. It can sit at most 400 feet outside the business line.

Kentucky billboard rules at a glance

A standard 14 x 48 foot bulletin is 672 square feet. It fits both caps.

What are the digital billboard rules?

Kentucky calls them electronic advertising devices. They go only in urban areas, within 660 feet of the road.

• Each message holds at least 8 seconds.
• The change takes under 2 seconds.
• No blinking, scrolling, animation or video.
• A light sensor must dim the sign in low light.
• The sign must freeze if it fails.
• Digital signs sit 2,500 feet apart on limited-access roads.

Turning a static sign into a digital one needs a new permit. The rule also ties digital permits to exchange credits. You earn credits by removing old signs that KYTC approves first. Only some old signs qualify. A new digital sign in a protected area costs 6 credits. Converting an urban static sign costs 5. Credits move with Form TC 99-224.

Kentucky's 8 seconds matches the figure FHWA recommended in 2007.

What does a permit cost?

Fees as of October 12, 2026:

State law caps the fees at $250 to apply and $100 to renew. Pay by cashier's check or online. Fees are not refunded.

Renew from November 1 to December 31, with Form TC 99-223 and photos. A permit more than 60 days late is revoked. An unbuilt permit is revoked at renewal. KYTC issues permits in the order that complete applications arrive.

Do you need a license or bond?

Not to hold a sign permit. The Kentucky statute, the rule and Form TC 99-221 ask for no operator license or bond. A bond comes up only for vegetation permits.

Can you cut trees in front of a sign?

Yes, with a permit under 603 KAR 5:155. A permit can cover trees that block a sign's view. KYTC will not issue one to improve the view of a sign that breaks the rules.

• You must show a bond and $1 million in liability insurance.
• Removing a tree 5 inches wide or more carries a payment. It is the lesser of $150 per tree or $2,000 per acre, per KYTC's guide.
• The rule states no application fee.

The marked-up copy of the rule on the state site shows a different payment. It ties the payment to a bat agreement. Ask the Permits Branch which one applies.

What about nonconforming signs?

A nonconforming sign was legal when built but fails today's rules. It needs a yearly nonconforming permit. Routine upkeep is fine. That means like-for-like parts, paint and new ads.

Enlarging it, moving it, or adding lights or changeable messages ends its status. A sign is abandoned after a year with no ad or an old ad. It is destroyed when repairs cost more than 60% of replacement cost.

Signs built from April 24, 2020 to March 18, 2021 may need a "noncompliant" permit. They cannot earn exchange credits.

Do you need a local permit too?

Yes. Form TC 99-221 asks for a local permit. A letter saying none is needed also works. State law also asks that signs follow local zoning. Check with your city and county.

How do you apply for a billboard permit in Kentucky?

1. Check the site on KYTC's protected areas map.
2. Confirm the zoning, or find a business within 700 feet.
3. Measure spacing to nearby signs.
4. Sign a lease with the landowner.
5. Get a local permit or a letter.
6. Draw the sign, the business and the city lines.
7. File Form TC 99-221 or TC 99-222, with the fee.
8. Wait for the signed permit before you build.
9. Renew each November and December.

Read how digital billboards are priced before you add a digital face.

Other state billboard permit guides

• Billboard permits: the national overview
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Florida
• Georgia
• California
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Illinois
• New York
• Alabama
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• Missouri

This is a summary, not legal advice. Check with the agency before you build or sign.

Questions people ask

Who issues billboard permits in Kentucky?

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet does, through the Division of Maintenance, Permits Branch, at 200 Mero Street in Frankfort. You can apply online or on paper.

How much does a Kentucky billboard permit cost?

$150 to apply for a static device and $250 for an electronic one. Renewal is $100 per device each year. A renewal not filed within 30 days after it expires carries a $500 fine.

How far apart must billboards be in Kentucky?

On Interstates and other limited-access roads, 500 feet between static signs and 2,500 feet between digital signs. On other federal-aid primary roads it is 300 feet, or 100 feet inside a city.

How big can a billboard be in Kentucky?

A static face can be up to 1,250 square feet. A digital face can be up to 672 square feet, with one face per facing.

What are Kentucky's digital billboard rules?

Each message holds at least 8 seconds and changes in under 2 seconds. The sign must dim to 300 nits or less in low light, and it must freeze if it fails. Digital signs go only in urban areas.

Can I cut trees in front of my billboard in Kentucky?

Only with a KYTC vegetation permit. It needs a bond and $1 million in liability insurance. Removing a tree 5 inches wide or more carries a payment of up to $150 per tree.

Sources

1. 01Outdoor Advertising Devices · Kentucky Transportation Cabinet · accessed Oct 12, 2026
2. 02603 KAR 10:040, Advertising devices (eff. Jan. 25, 2022) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · accessed Oct 12, 2026
3. 03KRS 177.830, Definitions (eff. Mar. 18, 2021) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · accessed Oct 12, 2026
4. 04KRS 177.841, Billboard advertising prohibited, exceptions (eff. Mar. 18, 2021) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · accessed Oct 12, 2026
5. 05KRS 177.860, Administrative regulations, standards for billboard advertising (eff. Mar. 18, 2021) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · accessed Oct 12, 2026
6. 06KRS 177.863, Highway advertising devices, spacing, size, illumination (eff. Mar. 18, 2021) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · accessed Oct 12, 2026
7. 07603 KAR 5:155, Vegetation management (eff. Mar. 13, 2024) · Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · accessed Oct 12, 2026
8. 08Vegetation Management Guide (April 2024 draft) · Kentucky Transportation Cabinet · accessed Oct 12, 2026
9. 09Form TC 99-221, Application for Static Advertising Device (rev. 07/2021) · Kentucky Transportation Cabinet · accessed Oct 12, 2026
10. 10KYTC Protected Areas for Outdoor Advertising (map) · Kentucky Transportation Cabinet · accessed Oct 12, 2026
11. 11Outdoor Advertising Control · FHWA · accessed Oct 12, 2026
12. 1223 U.S.C. 131, Control of outdoor advertising · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School · accessed Oct 12, 2026
13. 13Guidance on Off-Premise Changeable Message Signs (Sept. 25, 2007) · FHWA · accessed Oct 12, 2026

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Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026 · How we check facts