Baltimore sign permit at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a permit? | Yes for a new sign. The Building Code requires a permit before anyone constructs, alters, adds to or repairs a structure, and its list of work exempt from a permit has no sign on it (Building Code §105.1, §105.2). The Zoning Code adds that no sign may be erected, relocated or structurally altered except as the Code allows (§17-201(a)). Other cities compared. |
| How big can my wall sign be? | On the ground floor, up to 24 sq ft in C-1 and C-1-VC, 30 sq ft in C-2, and 40 sq ft in C-3, C-4 and IMU, for each tenant with its own street-level door (Table 17-201). Other cities compared. |
| What does it cost? | The Building Code prices on-premises signs at $1 per sq ft of sign face with a $13 minimum per consolidated area of signage, and also prints a table from $25 (0 to 10 sq ft) to $250 (over 500 sq ft). An application fee of $50, or $150 if plans are reviewed, comes first (§109.5.7, §109.6.1) (fee table). Other cities compared. |
| How long does it take? | We found no review time for a sign permit on the Zoning Code or the Housing Department's permit pages (timing). Other cities compared. |
| Total sign area on my lot? | All signs on a lot together may not exceed 100 sq ft in C-1, 75 sq ft in C-1-VC, 225 sq ft in C-2, and 450 sq ft in C-3 and C-4, outside an Area of Special Signage Control (Table 17-306). |
| Sidewalk A-frame sign? | Allowed for non-residential uses in the districts that list it: up to 8 sq ft a side and 4 ft tall, within 30 ft of your main entrance or on the sidewalk in front of your property, not blocking pedestrians, indoors outside business hours and in high wind or heavy rain (§17-401) (A-frame rules). Other cities compared. |
| Blade or projecting sign? | On the ground floor, up to 6 sq ft in C-1, C-1-VC, C-2 and C-3 and 24 sq ft in C-4, one per tenant with direct street-level access. It may project no more than 4 ft and its bottom must be at least 8 ft above the sidewalk (§17-414, Table 17-201). Other cities compared. |
| Grand opening banner? | Banner signs are only allowed in the districts and sizes the table lists, such as one projecting banner of up to 12 sq ft in C-1; the code has no separate short-term banner rule (§17-405, Table 17-201) (banners). Other cities compared. |
| Digital or LED sign? | Category I (up to 15 sq ft, text only, each message held at least 10 seconds) is listed for C-1, C-1-VC and C-2; Category II (up to 50 sq ft) for C-2 (marked CB in the table), C-3 and C-4. Categories III to V are only inside an approved Area of Special Signage Control (§17-407). Other cities compared. |
| Already installed without a permit? | The Building Code adds a surcharge of the greater of $1,000 or 50% of the permit fee to a permit issued for work begun or finished without one (§109.5.9.1) (fees). Other cities compared. |
District limits Checker Fees How to apply Timing A-frames Banners and other types What we could not confirm FAQ
Baltimore's table of sign regulations is a list, district by district. If a sign type is not listed for your zoning district, it is prohibited there (Table 17-201, note *). For each sign type that is listed, the table gives a maximum area per sign, a height or location limit and a quantity. A separate table caps the total sign area on the lot. Check your district first, then the sign type, then the lot total.
Baltimore sign limits by zoning district (Table 17-201)
These are the commercial districts where most storefront signs go, from Table 17-201 and Table 17-306. Find your district on the City's zoning map first. C-5, IMU, industrial, office-residential, transit-oriented and residential districts have their own rows in the table and are not repeated here.
| Sign type | C-1 | C-1-VC | C-2 | C-3 | C-4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall sign, ground floor | 24 sq ft | 24 sq ft | 30 sq ft | 40 sq ft | 40 sq ft |
| Wall sign, ground floor, number | 1 per tenant with direct ground-floor access; a corner tenant gets 1 per street frontage (C-4: 1 per tenant) | ||||
| Wall sign, above the ground floor | 1.5 sq ft per linear ft of building frontage | 1.5 sq ft per linear ft | 2 sq ft per linear ft | 2 sq ft per linear ft | 2 sq ft per linear ft |
| Freestanding monument sign | 32 sq ft | 32 sq ft | 32 sq ft | 50 sq ft | 50 sq ft |
| Monument sign, height and number | 6 ft tall at most, 1 per lot, and the lot needs at least 50 ft of frontage on a public right-of-way (§17-408(b)) | ||||
| Freestanding pole sign | Not listed | Not listed | 16 sq ft | 32 sq ft | 32 sq ft |
| Pole sign, height | — | — | Pole at least 10 ft; sign 6 ft tall at most | Pole at least 10 ft; sign up to 20 ft tall; lot needs at least 100 ft of frontage (§17-408(b)) | |
| Projecting sign, ground floor | 6 sq ft | 6 sq ft | 6 sq ft | 6 sq ft | 24 sq ft |
| Projecting sign, above the ground floor | 12 sq ft | Not listed | 12 sq ft | 18 sq ft | 18 sq ft |
| Window sign | No more than 25% of each window area. Ground floor only in C-1 and C-1-VC, ground and second floor in C-2, C-3 and C-4 | ||||
| Awning or canopy sign | 2 sq ft per linear foot of awning, canopy or frame width; 1 per lot in C-1, C-1-VC and C-2, 2 per lot in C-3 and C-4 | ||||
| A-frame sign | 8 sq ft per side, 4 ft tall at most; 1 per lot in C-1 and C-1-VC, 1 per tenant with direct ground-floor access in C-2, C-3 and C-4 | ||||
| All signs on the lot together (Table 17-306) | 100 sq ft | 75 sq ft | 225 sq ft | 450 sq ft | 450 sq ft |
Source: Baltimore City Code, Article 32, Table 17-201 Sign Regulations and Table 17-306 Maximum Cumulative Area of Signs, with §17-408; read 23 October 2026. The table also lists C-1-E, C-5 and other districts; ask the City which row applies to your lot.
Wall sign size is not a share of the wall. The ground-floor cap is a flat number of square feet per tenant, and signs above the ground floor are sized by the building's frontage (§17-416(c)). The frontage is measured along the lot line of the wall the sign goes on, and the allowance from one wall cannot be moved to another wall (§17-416(c)(3) and (4)).
Check your sign against your district
This applies Table 17-201, Table 17-306, §17-408, §17-414 and the Building Code §109 fee to a ground-floor wall, monument or projecting sign in C-1, C-1-VC, C-2, C-3 or C-4. It does not see overlays, historic districts or Areas of Special Signage Control.
Calculated from Table 17-201, Table 17-306, Title 17, Subtitle 4 and Building Code §109, read 23 October 2026. The 5% Building Code permit tax that the Housing Department's fee estimator adds is not included.
How much does a Baltimore sign permit cost?
Fees are in Section 109 of the Baltimore City Building Code (Part II of the Building, Fire, and Related Codes, 2024 edition). Two sign lines appear in the fee schedule, and an application fee is charged before the permit is processed.
| Fee | Amount | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee, no plan review | $50 (all others) | §109.5.7(1)(b) |
| Application fee, with plan review | $150 (all others) | §109.5.7(2)(b) |
| Erecting, placing, hanging or reconstructing signs, 0 to 10 sq ft | $25 | §109.6.1 item j |
| Over 10 to 150 sq ft | $35 | §109.6.1 item j |
| Over 150 to 200 sq ft | $60 | §109.6.1 item j |
| Over 200 to 500 sq ft | $150 | §109.6.1 item j |
| Over 500 sq ft | $250 | §109.6.1 item j |
| On-premises advertising signs, each consolidated area of signage | $1 per sq ft, $13 minimum | §109.6.1 item k |
| Repairing, painting or rehanging a sign in the same place | $25 per sign | §109.6.1 |
| Roof sign, annual fee | $50 (100 to 500 sq ft), $75 (over 500 to 1,000), $100 (over 1,000) | §109.6.6 item c |
| Work begun or finished without a permit | Surcharge of the greater of $1,000 or 50% of the permit fee | §109.5.9.1 |
- Sale and lease signs: no fee is charged for a sign under 100 sq ft used only to advertise the sale or lease of the property it stands on.
- Rates are by gross area: the rates in items j and k are based on the gross square feet of the sign face or faces.
- Example, a 24 sq ft wall sign: $50 application fee, then $35 under item j or $24 under item k. A 40 sq ft sign: $50, then $35 or $40. These are our arithmetic from the schedule.
- Tax: the Housing Department says its fee estimator adds the application fee, any plan review fee and a 5% Building Code permit tax, and leaves out fees of other agencies and reinspection fees.
Sources: Baltimore City Code, Building Code Part II, Section 109 Fees, and the Department of Housing and Community Development's Building Permits page; read 23 October 2026.
What the schedule does not settle
Item j (a table by sign area) and item k (on-premises advertising signs at $1 per sq ft) both describe erecting a sign, and the Code does not say which one applies to a storefront sign or whether both are charged. We show both. Under about 35 sq ft item k comes out lower than item j, and above that it is higher, so the answer matters. Ask the Housing Department's permit office before you budget. We did not find a separate zoning or sign review fee: Zoning Code §5-203 says only that every application needs "the required filing fee".
How to apply for a Baltimore sign permit — 5 steps
Steps from Building Code §105 and §109 and the Housing Department's Building Permits page, read 23 October 2026. We did not find a sign-specific application checklist.
How long it takes
We found no review time for a sign permit. The Zoning Code's sign title gives none, and the Housing Department's permit page does not list one for signs. Ask the permit office for its current turnaround before you book an installer.
Source: Building Code §105.5, read 23 October 2026.
Signs and rules that sit outside the permit question — 4 items
- Required safety signs of 2 sq ft or less that the Building, Fire and Related Codes require do not count toward the quantity, size or lot-total limits (§17-309(b)).
- Table umbrellas: wording and graphics on them are not governed by Title 17 (§17-201(c)).
- Noncommercial messages are allowed wherever commercial signs are (§17-203).
- Maintenance: signs must be kept in good repair and the premises kept clean (§17-205).
None of these is an exemption from the Building Code permit. Its list of work exempt from a permit has no sign on it (§105.2).
Source: Zoning Code Title 17 and Building Code §105.2, read 23 October 2026.
Sidewalk A-frames
Baltimore treats an A-frame as its own sign type, separate from portable signs. Portable signs may not be displayed outside a building at all (§17-413), and the Code says a portable sign does not include an A-frame (§17-102).
- Who: non-residential uses only, in the districts that list A-frames in Table 17-201 (§17-401(a)).
- How big and how many: up to 8 sq ft per side and 4 ft tall; 1 per lot in C-1 and C-1-VC, and 1 per tenant with direct ground-floor access in C-2, C-3 and C-4 (Table 17-201).
- Where: on your own property within 30 ft of the use's main entrance, or on the right-of-way in front of that property. It may not interfere with pedestrian traffic or break ADA or other accessibility standards (§17-401(b)(1)).
- When: outdoors only during hours of operation, and stored inside otherwise. Not outdoors in high wind or heavy rain (§17-401(b)(2)).
§17-401 does not say whether an A-frame needs a permit, and we did not find a City page that does. Confirm with the permit office; the City's right-of-way rules sit outside the Zoning Code.
Source: Zoning Code §17-401, §17-413 and Table 17-201, read 23 October 2026.
Banners, electronic signs and other types — 5 items
- Banner signs are allowed only where Table 17-201 lists them, and in a residential use only for multi-family buildings with 20 or more units and dormitories with 20 or more rooms (§17-405). In C-1, C-1-E and C-1-VC the listed banner is a projecting one of up to 12 sq ft, 1 per interior lot and 2 per corner lot; in C-2 it is up to 24 sq ft, 1 per lot; in C-3, 32 sq ft, 2 per lot.
- Attention-getting devices (inflatables and the like) are prohibited in the R-1-A through R-10, R-MU, OR-1, OR-2 and EC-1 districts, and the City may not issue permits for them there. Elsewhere they may not go in the public right-of-way, and an inflatable may not exceed 15 ft or the height of the principal building, or sit on a roof (§17-403).
- Electronic signs: text and graphics must be static or held at least 8 seconds, and video loops are limited to 1 minute (§17-407(c)). Category I is text only, held at least 10 seconds, 1 per lot, and only as a freestanding or wall sign (§17-407(e)(1)). Category II allows 2 per lot, with animation and video only inside an Area of Special Signage Control (§17-407(e)(2)).
- Moving or flashing signs have their own subsection (§17-410), and billboards are listed as "ASSC Only", meaning only inside an approved Area of Special Signage Control (§17-406, Table 17-201).
- Areas of Special Signage Control (ASSC) let a signage plan exceed the ordinary caps by a set percentage, such as 25% in C-1, 50% in C-2, C-3 and C-4. The plan is approved under Title 17, Subtitle 5.
Source: Zoning Code Title 17, Subtitle 4 and Table 17-201, read 23 October 2026.
What we could not confirm
- Review time. We found no published review time for a sign permit.
- Which sign fee applies. Building Code §109.6.1 prints a size table (item j) and a $1 per sq ft rate (item k); it does not say how they combine.
- The approval letters. The Approval Method column of Table 17-201 shows "A", "CB" and "ASSC Only"; the table page does not spell out the letters. We read "ASSC Only" as only inside an Area of Special Signage Control.
- Zoning review at the counter. We did not find a City page that describes how zoning approval of a sign is requested, and no zoning fee for signs.
- The 5% tax. It comes from the Housing Department's description of its fee estimator; we did not find it in the Building Code text we read.
Checked against the Zoning Code Title 17, the Building Code §109 and the Housing Department's Building Permits page on 23 October 2026.
Baltimore sign permit questions
Answers from Zoning Code Title 17 and Building Code §109, read 23 October 2026.
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Sources & how this page is maintained
Sources and official references: Zoning Code Article 32, Title 17 Signs · Table 17-201 Sign Regulations · Table 17-306 Maximum Cumulative Area of Signs · Building Code §105 Permits · Building Code §109 Fees · Housing Department — Building Permits. All read on 23 October 2026 directly from codes.baltimorecity.gov and baltimorecity.gov.
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Send your dimensions and we will reply with what the Baltimore Zoning Code allows for that sign. No charge. We are not a sign contractor and not a permit agent.