LED billboard brightness at night: the rule Rio already has and Maringá is now debating

LED billboard brightness at night: the rule Rio already has and Maringá is now debating | Hivestr

Last Thursday, October 8, the city council of Maringá, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, approved on first reading a bill that caps LED billboard brightness at 20% of capacity between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., with automatic adjustment by sensor. It is not law yet. But the idea is not new: Rio de Janeiro has required 10% in the same hours since 2023, and other Brazilian cities have gone much further.

For DOOH media owners, night brightness is no longer just a neighbor's complaint. It has become a technical spec, a contract clause and a line in the cost sheet. Here we show which Brazilian cities already limit brightness (or LED itself), what that demands from your screen and how to bring the rule into your proposals and pricing.

First things first

This article is a reading guide for media owners and their sales teams, not legal advice. Municipal rules change, depend on implementing regulations and can be challenged in court. Before investing in upgrades or signing a contract in a city with a new rule, confirm the text in force with city hall and your lawyer.

What Maringá's council approved

Bill nº 17.830/2025, sponsored by councilman Mário Verri (PT), received 15 votes in favor on October 8, 2026. According to Maringá Post, the bill had been under discussion for about a year and requires digital billboards to run at no more than 20% of their light capacity between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Screens will need sensors that detect and automatically adjust light levels, with a gradual transition.

Three details matter for operators, according to reporting by Maringá PR Notícias:

It is a 20% ceiling, not a 20% cut

At night the screen may run at up to one fifth of its full capacity. If you run at maximum today, you will have to dim a lot.

Technical parameters come later

The bill does not specify the technology or how inspectors will measure brightness. That depends on city regulations. There is also no adaptation period: the law would take effect on publication.

Penalties already exist

The bill points to the penalties of Municipal Law 7.632/2007, which already bans dazzling lights in advertising (art. 22, X) and provides for notices, a R$ 1,000 fine in certain cases, license cancellation and removal.

The bill still needs at least one more vote and the mayor's signature, and it may be amended along the way. Until then, nobody can be fined under it. But anyone with a screen in Maringá already has a reason to check their equipment.

Rio has done it since 2023

Rio de Janeiro's Complementary Law nº 269/2023, published on December 13, 2023, is the closest precedent: same hours, a lower cap and restrictions that go beyond brightness.

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10% from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Art. 20: electronic panels must keep brightness at no more than ten percent of total capacity at night. Street furniture under concession may get a higher limit at City Hall's discretion.

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No LED in Urca or Santa Teresa

Art. 85: bans LED (or similar) electronic panels in these two neighborhoods. Not a brightness cap, an outright ban.

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40 meters in favelas

Art. 83, § 4: in favela areas, the face of an electronic panel must be at least 40 m from buildings.

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A fine just for brightness

Art. 107: adds to the city tax code a fine for not dimming, from 50% to 100% of the annual advertising fee (minimum R$ 300), rising with repeat offenses. These tax-code changes take effect only after regulation.

The law gave licensed displays 90 days to adapt (art. 103). In Rio, night dimming is not a selling point. It is a condition for keeping the license.

Where the rules went much further

Maceió: LED visible from the street banned

On December 22, 2025, the city of Maceió, capital of Alagoas, issued Joint Ordinance GS/SEMSC/IPLAM nº 2. Article 2 bans LED or similar panels on private property when visible from public streets, "regardless of the technology used, format or size", and revokes permits already issued. Owners have 30 days after notice to remove them, removal by the city carries no compensation and the city may ask the power utility to cut the equipment's supply. The ordinance's stated reason is that city law had no provision for licensing LED panels. The city presented the measure as part of a reorganization of urban advertising.

Itaquaquecetuba: digital only, with a brightness ceiling

Going the other way, Itaquaquecetuba, in Greater São Paulo, banned static billboards and made DOOH the only outdoor media allowed. Complementary Law nº 440 of July 7, 2026, signed by the mayor after the council approved enrolled bill nº 49 on July 1 (bill PLC nº 452/2026), bans static vinyl, paper, frontlit and backlit displays and requires every screen, under art. 6, to meet:

Requirement	What LC 440/2026 says
Luminance	Maximum 6,000 cd/m² by day and 300 cd/m² at night.
Dimming	Automatic and mandatory, with a built-in ambient light sensor.
Dwell time	Each ad stays on screen for at least 10 seconds. No strobe, flash or fast animation.
Monitoring	Remote system with auditable access for city inspectors.
Fines	Exceeding maximum luminance is a very serious offense (R$ 82,702.44). Failing the dimming standard is serious (R$ 55,134.96).

The law also requires a license per screen (valid for 5 years) and a neighborhood impact study, and caps each operator or group at 25% of the city's licensed sites. What counts as "night" and which areas are off-limits are left to an implementing decree.

The cities side by side

City	Rule	Status	What it means for LED
Rio de Janeiro	LC 269/2023	In force	Max. 10% of capacity from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. LED banned in Urca and Santa Teresa.
Maringá (PR)	Bill 17.830/2025	Passed first reading on 10/08/2026. Not law.	Max. 20% of capacity from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., with sensor and gradual transition.
Itaquaquecetuba (SP)	LC 440/2026	Signed into law on 07/07/2026	Only DOOH allowed. Max. 300 cd/m² at night and 6,000 cd/m² by day, sensor-based dimming.
Maceió (AL)	Joint Ordinance nº 2/2025	Published 12/23/2025	LED on private property visible from the street banned. Permits revoked.

Status checked on October 13, 2026 against the sources cited throughout. Municipal rules may be followed by regulations, amendments or court rulings.

Percentage of capacity and cd/m² are not the same yardstick. Before saying your screen "already complies", find out which one your city uses.

Percentage or cd/m²: do the math for your screen

Rio and Maringá use a percentage of total capacity. Itaquaquecetuba uses absolute luminance, measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m², the same as "nits" on spec sheets). In practice, the first rule depends on your hardware and the second does not.

A hypothetical example, just to show the math: a screen whose spec sheet lists 6,000 cd/m² peak brightness could run at night at up to 600 cd/m² in Rio (10%) and up to 1,200 cd/m² in Maringá (20%), if the bill becomes law as written. In Itaquaquecetuba the ceiling would be 300 cd/m², whatever the panel. Take your manufacturer's spec sheet and redo the math with the real number.

How will inspectors measure it?

None of these rules spells out a measurement method in its own text. Maringá and Itaquaquecetuba leave it to regulations. Until then, your best defense is a record: controller settings, brightness history by hour and, if possible, a luminance meter reading taken by a technician, with date and photo.

What it demands from your equipment

The good news is that dimming rarely means replacing the screen. The conversation is about the controller, the content management software and sometimes a sensor. Check with your supplier what your setup already does:

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Ambient light sensor

Required in Itaquaquecetuba and in Maringá's bill. Adjusts brightness to daylight, dusk and night.

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Brightness schedule

A fixed night ceiling from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the controller. Keeps you within the limit even if the sensor fails or gets covered.

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Gradual transition

Maringá wants no abrupt change. Set a dimming ramp instead of a hard cut at 8 p.m. sharp.

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Monitoring and logs

Remote access and brightness history. In Itaquaquecetuba, auditable access for inspectors is mandatory.

It is also worth reviewing night creative. Ask agencies for high-contrast artwork for the dimmed period, and remember that Itaquaquecetuba bans flashes and fast animation and requires at least 10 seconds per ad, which changes your spot schedule.

Bringing the rule into proposals and pricing

Brightness rules affect what you promise, what a site costs and the risk in your contracts. Five practical adjustments:

Say in the proposal what happens at night

In each screen's technical summary, state operating hours and that brightness is reduced from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. by city rule, where that applies. An agency that finds out during a night proof-of-play check becomes a complaint.

Don't sell "maximum impact 24/7"

Where brightness is capped, your night pitch is presence and frequency, not the brightest screen on the avenue. Avoid promises the law won't let you keep.

Put compliance into the site's cost

Sensor, setup, technician visits and any reports are asset costs. They belong in your rate card math alongside site rent and power, as in our guide to raising your rate card for 2027 (in Portuguese). On the other hand, dimmed LED tends to use less power at night. Watch your electricity bill after the change.

Regulatory change clause

In long contracts, spell out what happens if a new rule cuts hours, caps brightness or bans the screen, as happened in Maceió: make-good spots, a replacement site or termination without penalty. Ask your lawyer for the wording.

Price risk by city

Before installing a new screen, check the city's advertising law and what is pending in the council. A long-payback screen in a city with a restrictive bill on the agenda is a different investment, as we discussed in "No, not every billboard will become an LED screen" (in Portuguese).

Where to record it

Licenses, deadlines and city requirements are site data, not something that lives in a technician's head. In each screen's record, note operating hours, whether it has a sensor, the city rule and the license expiry date (in Itaquaquecetuba, 5 years, with renewal filed 90 days before). It deserves the same care we recommend for site lease contracts (in Portuguese).

Watch out

Don't wait for Maringá's law to be signed before setting up your screens. The approved text has no adaptation period, and the 2007 law already bans dazzling light. Adjusting now is cheap. Getting a notice later, with neighbors complaining, costs you goodwill with city hall.

Checklist for media owners with DOOH

List screens by city

With address, spec sheet (peak brightness in cd/m²), controller and software.

Map each city's rule

Advertising law in force and bills under discussion. Start with cities where screens face homes.

Set schedule, sensor and ramp

Night ceiling in the controller, ambient sensor where required or advisable, and a gradual transition.

Keep evidence

Screenshots of settings, brightness history and dated readings. File them with the site license.

Update proposal, media kit and contract

Night hours and brightness in the technical summary, a regulatory clause and compliance cost in the rate card.

An LED screen that bothers the neighborhood is the shortest path to a tougher law. Rio capped brightness, Maringá is one vote away from doing the same and Maceió simply banned LED. The media owner who dims voluntarily, documents it and tells clients walks into the next council debate as part of the solution, not the target.

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Sources: Maringá Post, Câmara aprova lei que limita luminosidade de painéis de led no período noturno em Maringá (10/08/2026); Maringá PR Notícias, Maringá poderá limitar brilho de painéis de LED a 20% durante a noite (10/08/2026); Rio de Janeiro, Complementary Law nº 269/2023, arts. 20, 83, 85, 103 and 107 (Normas Brasil); Maceió, Joint Ordinance GS/SEMSC/IPLAM nº 2/2025 (LegisWeb); TribunaHoje, SEMSC regulamenta publicidade urbana em Maceió (12/29/2025); Itaquaquecetuba, Complementary Law nº 440/2026, Enrolled bill nº 49/2026 and PLC nº 452/2026 record (Itaquaquecetuba City Council). Rules and status checked on October 13, 2026. All sources in Portuguese. This content is for information only and is not legal advice; consult city hall and a lawyer before making decisions.

LED billboard brightness at night: the rule Rio already has and Maringá is now debating

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