Atlanta sign permit — is your storefront sign over the limit?
Atlanta caps your building signs at 10% of your storefront wall, max 200 sq ft, with a 60 sq ft floor. Oversized or unpermitted signs get cited and removed. Enter your wall size for a clear read before you build.
This checks attached (wall) premise signs in Atlanta business zoning districts. Detached/pole signs, billboards, and special sign districts route to a pro.
Width of the building wall your sign goes on.
Height of that wall face.
How Atlanta sizes your sign
Atlanta limits your combined building signs to 10% of your ground-floor front wall, with no single sign over 200 sq ft. There's a floor too: every business is guaranteed at least 60 sq ft regardless of wall size. You also get a maximum of 3 building signs, only one of which can be a projecting or suspended sign. Billboards are banned citywide.
This tool figures your front-wall area from your dimensions, applies the 10% rule with the 200 sq ft cap and 60 sq ft floor, and tells you where your plan stands before you commit.
How to apply for an Atlanta sign permit
The size check above is the what. This is the order the approvals come in — and two Atlanta-specific conditions attach before you file.
1. Size the sign against the wall cap
Atlanta caps building signs at 10% of your storefront wall, up to 200 sq ft, with a 60 sq ft floor. Everything after this assumes the number holds.
2. Check for a special sign district
Some districts override the base rules with committee review, and a historic-district committee or the Urban Design Commission reviews signs in those areas. If your address is in one, the cap above is not the final word.
3. Handle illumination and projection
An illuminated sign requires an affidavit confirming the lighting complies with the Code, and electrical signs add separate forms. A projecting or suspended sign hanging over a public street or sidewalk must carry liability insurance naming the City as additional insured. The required limit is set by ordinance and we could not retrieve the code text to cite it, so we quote no figure — confirm the current limit with Atlanta Building Inspection before you order a projecting sign.
4. File with Atlanta Building Inspection
Final dimensions are confirmed by Atlanta Building Inspection; by ordinance the City acts on an application — permit or denial — within 30 days of submission.
Steps assembled from the confirmed items on this page. Fees and processing time are covered in "Cost, timeline & temporary banners" below — not repeated here.
Questions owners ask
How is my allowance figured?
10% of your ground-floor front wall area (width × height), capped at 200 sq ft per sign. Every business is guaranteed at least 60 sq ft even if 10% is less.
Pole or monument (detached) sign?
Detached signs follow separate rules (height, setback, spacing) and aren't covered here — we'll route you to a pro for those.
Digital / LED display?
Digital and changeable-message displays face separate restrictions (§16-28A.216) and many districts limit them. This screen covers static/illuminated attached signs.
Special sign district?
Some districts override these rules with committee review. If your address is in one, confirm with a pro.
Is this an official ruling?
No. It's a first-pass risk filter on the public code, not a permit or legal advice. Final dimensions are confirmed by Atlanta Building Inspection and a licensed sign contractor.
Cost, timeline & temporary banners
What does an Atlanta sign permit cost?
We publish no fee amount here — a stale fee is worse than none, and we could not obtain a fetchable City of Atlanta fee schedule carrying one (Atlanta's code library returns navigation only, and atlantaga.gov refused our request). Fees vary by sign type and complexity. Confirm the current amount with the City's Office of Revenue, which maintains the fee schedule, before you file. Illuminated signs require an affidavit confirming the lighting complies with the Code, and electrical signs add separate forms. One Atlanta-specific catch: a projecting or suspended sign that hangs over a public street or sidewalk must carry liability insurance naming the City as additional insured, at a limit set by ordinance. We could not retrieve the code text to cite the figure, so we do not print one — confirm it with Atlanta Building Inspection.
How long does approval take?
Simple signs in non-historic areas typically take about 5–10 business days; signs in special or historic districts can run 3–4 weeks or longer because the Urban Design Commission or a historic-district committee reviews them. By ordinance, the City acts on an application — permit or denial — within 30 days of submission. Start 30–45 days before your target install date.
Can I hang a "Grand Opening" banner first?
Temporary banners require a permit and are tightly time-limited — commonly 14–30 days per calendar quarter, and in C-1 through C-5, I-1, I-2, SPI-1 and SPI-9 districts a maximum of 30 consecutive days per year. The code defines a temporary sign as one displayed no more than 180 consecutive days. Small window signs under 4 sq ft and covering less than 30% of the window are exempt from a permit, but still must follow the Code.
Source: City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances Chapter 28A (Sign Ordinance); City of Atlanta Office of Revenue. Fees and timelines change — confirm current figures with the City of Atlanta before filing.
Source URL not obtained. Atlanta publishes its sign rules in the Code of Ordinances Part III Chapter 16 Section 28A. No machine-readable copy was obtained on 21 August 2026 — the Municode library returns only site navigation to automated collection, with or without a headless browser. We attach no substitute link, because none carries the figures, and the numbers on this page therefore stay outside the weekly automated check.
Last inspected against the official code: June 2026 · confirm current rules with the city before you file