Florida Statute 479.16 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title XXXII
REGULATION OF PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS

Chapter 479
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

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F.S. 479.16

479.16 Signs for which permits are not required.—The following signs are exempt from the requirement that a permit for a sign be obtained under this chapter but are required to comply with s. 479.11(4)-(8), and subsections (15)-(20) may not be implemented or continued if the Federal Government notifies the department that implementation or continuation will adversely affect the allocation of federal funds to the department:

(1) Signs erected on the premises of an establishment which consist primarily of the name of the establishment or identify the principal or accessory merchandise, services, activities, or entertainment sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished on the premises of the establishment and which comply with the lighting restrictions imposed under s. 479.11(5), or signs owned by a municipality or a county located on the premises of such municipality or county which display information regarding governmental services, activities, events, or entertainment. For purposes of this section, the following types of messages are not considered information regarding governmental services, activities, events, or entertainment:

(a) Messages that specifically reference any commercial enterprise.

(b) Messages that reference a commercial sponsor of any event.

(d) Political campaign messages.

If a sign located on the premises of an establishment consists principally of brand name or trade name advertising and the merchandise or service is only incidental to the principal activity, or if the owner of the establishment receives rental income from the sign, the sign is not exempt under this subsection.

(2) Signs erected, used, or maintained on a farm by the owner or lessee of such farm and relating solely to farm produce, merchandise, service, or entertainment sold, produced, manufactured, or furnished on such farm.

(3) Signs posted or displayed on real property by the owner or by the authority of the owner, stating that the real property is for sale or rent. However, if the sign contains any message not pertaining to the sale or rental of the real property, it is not exempt under this section.

(4) Official notices or advertisements posted or displayed on private property by or under the direction of any public or court officer in the performance of her or his official or directed duties or by trustees under deeds of trust or deeds of assignment or other similar instruments.

(5) Danger or precautionary signs relating to the premises on which they are located; forest fire warning signs erected under the authority of the Florida Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and signs, notices, or symbols erected by the United States Government under the direction of the United States Forest Service.

(6) Notices of any railroad, bridge, ferry, or other transportation or transmission company necessary for the direction or safety of the public.

(7) Signs, notices, or symbols for the information of aviators as to location, directions, and landings and conditions affecting safety in aviation erected or authorized by the department.

(8) Signs or notices measuring up to 8 square feet in area which are erected or maintained upon property and which state only the name of the owner, lessee, or occupant of the premises.

(9) Historical markers erected by authorized public authorities.

(10) Official traffic control signs and markers erected, caused to be erected, or approved by the department.

(11) Signs erected upon property warning the public against hunting and fishing or trespassing.

(12) Signs of up to 8 square feet which are owned by and relate to the facilities and activities of churches, civic organizations, fraternal organizations, charitable organizations, or units or agencies of government.

(13) Signs placed on benches, transit shelters, modular news racks, street light poles, public pay telephones, and waste receptacles, within the right-of-way, as provided for in s. 337.408 are exempt from this chapter.

(14) Signs relating exclusively to political campaigns.

(15) Signs measuring up to 16 square feet placed at a road junction with the State Highway System denoting only the distance or direction of a residence or farm operation, or, outside an incorporated area where a hardship is created because a small business is not visible from the road junction with the State Highway System, one sign measuring up to 16 square feet denoting only the name of the business and the distance and direction to the business.

(16) Signs placed by a local tourist-oriented business located within a rural area of opportunity as defined in s. 288.0656(2) which are:

(a) Not more than 8 square feet in size or more than 4 feet in height;

(b) Located only in rural areas on a facility that does not meet the definition of a limited access facility, as defined in s. 334.03;

(d) Located only in two directions leading to the business; and

(e) Not located within the road right-of-way.

A business placing such signs must be at least 4 miles from any other business using this exemption and may not participate in any other directional signage program by the department.

(17) Signs measuring up to 32 square feet denoting only the distance or direction of a farm operation which are erected at a road junction with the State Highway System, but only during the harvest season of the farm operation for up to 4 months.

(18) Acknowledgment signs erected upon publicly funded school premises which relate to a specific public school club, team, or event and which are placed at least 1,000 feet from any other acknowledgment sign on the same side of the roadway. The sponsor information on an acknowledgment sign may constitute no more than 100 square feet of the sign. As used in this subsection, the term “acknowledgment sign” means a sign that is intended to inform the traveling public that a public school club, team, or event has been sponsored by a person, firm, or other entity.

(19) Displays erected upon a sports facility, the content of which is directly related to the facility’s activities or to the facility’s products or services. Displays must be mounted flush to the surface of the sports facility and must rely upon the building facade for structural support. As used in this subsection, the term “sports facility” means an athletic complex, athletic arena, or athletic stadium, including physically connected parking facilities, which is open to the public and has a seating capacity of 15,000 or more permanently installed seats.

(20) Signs that are located within the controlled area of a federal-aid primary highway but that are on a parcel adjacent to an off-ramp to the termination point of a turnpike system, if there is no directional decision to be made by a driver, the signs are primarily facing the off-ramp, and the signs have been in existence since at least 1995.

If the exemptions in subsections (15)-(20) are not implemented or continued due to notification from the Federal Government that the allocation of federal funds to the department will be adversely impacted, the department shall provide notice to the sign owner that the sign must be removed within 30 days after receipt of the notice. If the sign is not removed within 30 days after receipt of the notice by the sign owner, the department may remove the sign, and the costs incurred in connection with the sign removal shall be assessed against and collected from the sign owner.

History.—s. 14, ch. 20446, 1941; s. 4, ch. 26959, 1951; s. 2, ch. 65-397; s. 5, ch. 67-461; ss. 14, 23, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 7, ch. 71-971; s. 4, ch. 75-202; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 17, 25, 26, ch. 84-227; s. 76, ch. 85-81; s. 1, ch. 88-245; s. 28, ch. 91-220; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 45, ch. 94-237; s. 33, ch. 95-257; s. 1, ch. 97-89; s. 410, ch. 97-103; s. 39, ch. 99-385; s. 29, ch. 2000-266; s. 21, ch. 2012-7; s. 11, ch. 2014-169; s. 18, ch. 2014-215; s. 39, ch. 2014-223; ss. 57, 58, ch. 2015-2; s. 52, ch. 2016-239.

F.S. 479.16 on Google Scholar

F.S. 479.16 on Casetext

Amendments to 479.16

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 479.16

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 479.16.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 479.16

Total Results: 16

Cafe Erotica/We Dare to Bare/Adult Toys/Great Food/Exit 94, Inc. v. Florida Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2002-12-30

Citation: 833 So. 2d 300, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 19341

Snippet: Final Order which concluded that, in accord with § 479.16(1), Florida Statutes, appellant’s billboard sign

Café Erotica v. Florida Dept. of Transp.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2002-10-23

Citation: 830 So. 2d 181, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 15490, 2002 WL 31373490

Snippet: exemptions under sections 479.105(1)(e)[1] and 479.16, Florida Statutes (2001), section 479.07(1), Florida

Sun City Shell, Inc. v. Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1993-11-19

Citation: 626 So. 2d 1097, 1993 Fla. App. LEXIS 11635

Snippet: within the on-premises sign exception of section 479.16(1), Florida Statutes (1991).

Hancock Advertising v. Dept. of Transp.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1989-09-26

Citation: 549 So. 2d 1086, 14 Fla. L. Weekly 2285, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 5309, 1989 WL 110924

Snippet: 07 Sign permits. (1) Except as provided in s. 479.16, a person may not erect, operate use, or maintain

McDonald's Corp. v. Dept. of Transp.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1988-12-09

Citation: 535 So. 2d 323, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2663, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 5405, 1988 WL 130475

Snippet: clearly in violation of these provisions. Section 479.16 exempts from the requirement that a permit be issued

Eddy Corp. v. Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1988-02-25

Citation: 522 So. 2d 421, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 525, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 605

Snippet: sign within the meaning of sections 479.01(13) and 479.16(1), Florida Statutes, and is exempt from the permit*423ting

Atlantic Outdoor Advertising v. Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1987-12-29

Citation: 518 So. 2d 384, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 100, 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 11848, 1987 WL 31971

Snippet: highway system, except as provided in ss. 479.111 and 479.16. The agency did not find appellant in violation

Fuqua & Davis, Inc. v. State, Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1986-06-18

Citation: 490 So. 2d 1010, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 1372, 1986 Fla. App. LEXIS 8425

Snippet: circumstance may have been determinative under section 479.16(1), Florida Statutes (1983), which limited the

LAMAR ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES OF EAST FLA., LTD. v. City of Daytona Beach

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1984-04-19

Citation: 450 So. 2d 1145, 1984 Fla. App. LEXIS 12767

Snippet: accordance with s. 479.24(1). However, section 479.16, Florida Statutes, provides that certain advertising

Empire Outdoor Advertising v. Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1983-07-22

Citation: 438 So. 2d 851, 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 19964

Snippet: signs are not “on premises” signs as defined by § 479.16(1), Fla.Stat. The signs were not “constructed by

Franklin County v. Leisure Properties, Ltd.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1983-04-29

Citation: 430 So. 2d 475

Snippet: The money did not come through until October *479 16, 1979. Meanwhile the county adopted two more moratoria

Henderson Sign Service v. Dept. of Transp.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1980-11-19

Citation: 390 So. 2d 159

Snippet: highways after December 8, 1971. NOTES [1] Section 479.16(12) excepts signs from the provisions of Ch. 479

Lee v. Florida Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1979-01-04

Citation: 366 So. 2d 116, 1979 Fla. App. LEXIS 13947

Snippet: Implemented 479.02, 479.05, 479.11, 479.10 and 479.16 F.S., Agreement between Governor and U. S. Department

Walker v. State, Dept. of Transp.

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1979-01-04

Citation: 366 So. 2d 96, 1979 Fla. App. LEXIS 14026

Snippet: the "farm produce exemption" of Florida Statute § 479.16(2) for Walker's signs. [3] 23 U.S.C. § 131. [4]

Walker v. State, Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1977-11-18

Citation: 352 So. 2d 126, 1977 Fla. App. LEXIS 17074

Snippet: proscription of Section 479.11(1) and (2) by Section 479.16(2), which permits signs . constructed, erected

Harrison v. State, Department of Transportation

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1977-08-23

Citation: 349 So. 2d 720, 1977 Fla. App. LEXIS 16549

Snippet: Statutes (1975). Petitioner relies upon Section 479.16(1), Florida Statutes (1975) which excepts those