Getting Backlit House Numbers Approved by Your HOA

Most HOAs review house numbers and exterior lighting through an architectural committee. Applications that answer the committee's questions up front tend to go through quickly. Here is what committees usually ask for, the details that help with backlit numbers, and a cover letter you can copy.

Step by step

1. Read your community's rules

   Look in the architectural guidelines or CC&Rs for house numbers, exterior lighting and colour temperature. Some communities set a standard size, colour or finish for numbers; others cap how warm or bright outdoor lights can be.

2. Choose a finish and size that fit

   If the rules cap colour temperature at 3000K, choose the matte black Neutra digits (3000K warm white) or the 6 inch on its warm setting. Digits should be at least 4 inches tall for fire code.

3. Put the packet together

   The manufacturer's specifications (print or attach the specifications page), a photo of the wall marked with where the numbers will go, a mock-up (a screenshot of your number in the address builder), and photos of finished installs from our customer photos.

4. Submit it with a cover letter

   Use the letter below, filled in with your details, along with any form your HOA requires. Some ask for neighbours' signatures.

5. Allow a few weeks

   Committees commonly decide within two to six weeks. Some guidelines treat an application as approved if the committee does not answer in time; check yours.

What committees look for, and the answers

The safety case: why lit numbers are worth approving

An HOA's job is to keep a neighborhood looking consistent. A fire department's job is to find your house in the dark. Lit house numbers serve both, and that is the argument most likely to move a committee.

• Fire codes require numbers responders can read. The International Fire Code, adopted across most of the US, requires address numbers at least 4 inches tall, contrasting with their background and visible from the street. A standard that leaves numbers unreadable at night works against that requirement.
• Some places require them to be lit. San Bernardino County and the cities of Victorville and Corona in California require house numbers to be illuminated.
• Fire departments ask for it. Fire departments in New York, New Hampshire, California, Texas and South Dakota urge residents to use lit, backlit or reflective numbers, because crews lose time finding addresses at night. "Locating residences has always been a problem, especially at night in the dark," one South Dakota department said in 2026, adding that in a medical call the ambulance crew has only the address to go on. A paramedic in British Columbia put the cost of hard-to-read numbers at two to ten minutes a call.
• Minutes matter. In cardiac arrest, survival falls by roughly 7 to 10 percent for every minute without help.

If your committee is hesitant, two things help: ask them to point to the rule that applies, and ask your local fire department for a short note supporting lit address numbers. You can also ask the committee to approve lit numbers for the whole community, so neighbors do not each have to apply.

Sources: International Fire Code section 505.1; San Bernardino County residential addressing conditions; Johnson Siding Volunteer Fire Department via KOTA TV (July 2026); Merritt Herald; Fishers Island Fire Department; City of Keene, NH; Fire Safe Marin; Larsen et al. (1993) on cardiac arrest survival.

Let an AI assistant read your HOA rules

A cover letter you can copy

Fill in the parts in brackets and delete what does not apply.

To the Architectural Review Committee,

I am requesting approval to replace the house numbers at [your address] with backlit LED house numbers.

Product: JELSCO backlit LED house numbers, [black Neutra / brushed stainless], [4 / 6 / 8 / 12] inch digits.
Location: [on the wall beside the front door / on the garage / other], as shown in the attached photo and mock-up.

Lighting:
- The LEDs sit behind each digit and light the wall around it. No bulb or light source is visible.
- Colour temperature: [3000K warm white].
- The JELSCO driver includes an inline dimmer, so brightness can be turned down to suit the street.
- Low voltage: the digits run on 12V DC from a driver connected to the house.

Size and visibility: the digits are [size] inches tall and contrast with the wall, meeting the fire code requirement that address numbers be at least 4 inches tall and visible from the street.

Safety: lit numbers let fire, police and ambulance crews find the house at night, which fire departments across the country ask residents to make possible. Our current numbers cannot be read from the street after dark.

Mounting: flush to the wall with the supplied anchors and screws. No standoffs, no visible wiring.

Attached: the manufacturer's specifications (jelsco.com/pages/specifications), a photo of the location, a mock-up of the numbers, and photos of installed examples.

Thank you for considering this request.

[Your name]
[Phone or email]