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.
Look for the seal 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
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.
DarkSky Approved Lodging
Overnight visitor accommodations with exceptional or distinguished quality starry nights and nighttime environment.
DarkSky Approved Lodging can include camps, seasonal campgrounds, hotels and resorts, retreat centers, properties promoting ecotourism, and astrotourism lodges that are located in dark sky locations.
DarkSky Approved categories
What we certify
DarkSky Approved luminaires
Light fixtures that have been proven to significantly reduce light pollution through strict control of distribution and color, as well as the use of shielding.
DarkSky Approved outdoor sports lighting
Outdoor sports lighting installations or retrofits that minimize or eliminate glare and light trespass, and protect wildlife.
DarkSky Approved controls
Products that regulate the intensity of a luminaire’s light output, such as by dimming, switching, and/or programmed times of operation.
DarkSky Approved signage
Products that use retroreflection or other technologies that can replace internally illuminated signs.
DarkSky Approved luminescent products
Products that emit light by luminescence alone after having been exposed to light during the day. These are typically used only for wayfinding, as the light output is low but sufficient in areas with minimal ambient light.
DarkSky Approved Lodging
Overnight visitor accommodation with exceptional or distinguished quality starry nights and a nighttime environment preserved through on-site DarkSky Approved lighting.