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DarkSky Approved

The DarkSky Approved program provides objective, third-party certification for products, designs, and completed projects that minimize glare, reduce light trespass, and don’t pollute the night sky.

DarkSky certification

Quality outdoor lighting protects and restores the natural night environment by controlling light pollution.

The DarkSky Approved program provides objective, third-party certification for lighting products, lighting designs, and installed lighting projects that minimize glare, reduce light trespass, and reduce light pollution. To be certified, they must:

  • Restrict the amount of upward-directed light
  • Avoid glare
  • Avoid over-lighting
  • Utilize dimming and other appropriate lighting controls
  • Minimize short-wavelength (bluish) light in the nighttime environment

DarkSky Approved lighting products and companies

Our database includes hundreds of products and companies.

Search by type of use (e.g., streetlights, path lighting, residential, commercial), company, and more.

Category

DarkSky Approved Outdoor Sports Lighting

The Outdoor Sports Lighting program encourages and promotes community-friendly sports lighting designs that minimize light pollution.

Our program offers clear guidance to municipalities, lighting designers, and citizens for best-in-class sports field lighting. We offer rigorous independent third-party certification of fields that meet our exacting standards.

Category

DarkSky Approved Lodging

Overnight visitor accommodations with exceptional or distinguished quality starry nights and nighttime environment.

DarkSky Approved Lodging may include, for example, hotels, resorts, retreat centers, cabins, and other permanent structures for overnight accommodations that promote ecotourism, or astrotourism and are situated in dark sky locations.

Category

DarkSky Approved Sea Turtle Sensitive lighting

Of all the animals on our planet, perhaps none are under more threat from light pollution than sea turtles. Sea turtles live their whole lives in the ocean, but hatchlings are born on sandy beaches at night, and must find the ocean by the light of the horizon.

Sea turtle sensitive light fixtures are designed to keep light where it is needed — pointed downward — and limit the light spectrum emitted.

Categories we certify

Luminaires

Controls

Signage

Luminescent products

Look for the seal(s) of approval

The DarkSky Approved seal tells you a luminaire or device has passed certification by DarkSky’s technical lighting team.

The seal of approval was adopted in 2022. You may also see the legacy logo applied to retail packaging by many manufacturers.

DarkSky Approved outdoor sports lighting

Outdoor sports lighting installations or retrofits that minimize or eliminate glare and light trespass, and protect wildlife.

DarkSky Approved Lodging

Overnight visitor accommodation with exceptional or distinguished quality starry nights and a nighttime environment preserved through on-site DarkSky Approved lighting.

DarkSky Approved Sea Turtle Sensitive lighting

Sea turtle sensitive light fixtures are designed to keep light where it is needed — pointed downward. Sea turtle friendly light sources limit the spectrum of light emitted to minimize the impact on hatchling turtles and egg-laying mothers.

In this section

Outdoor Sports Lighting program
DarkSky Approved Lodging