Dallas sign permit at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a permit? | Only for a sign with an effective area greater than 20 square feet, a height in excess of eight feet, or any illumination (§51A-7.602(a)) (when a permit is needed). Other cities compared. |
| How big can attached signs be? | 25 percent of the primary facade, and 15 percent of each secondary facade (§51A-7.305(c)) (attached-sign limits). Other cities compared. |
| What comes first? | An approved Certificate of Occupancy, and a registered contractor (how to apply). |
| What does it cost? | Signs — Premise $281; sign plan review fee $281 (fee table). |
| How long does it take? | The city's sign page says sign permits typically take around two business days to be approved if all required items are submitted. Other cities compared. |
| Who can install it? | A contractor must be registered before any sign permit can be issued, and electrical signs need a registered electrical or sign electrical contractor. Other cities compared. |
| Only swapping the sign face? | A re-face needs a permit if the sign is larger than 20 sq ft, higher than eight feet, illuminated or electrical, over a public roadway, or in a Special Provision Sign District; changing the words on a sign designed with interchangeable words needs none. A re-face is priced on the same permit line as a premise attached sign (fees). Other cities compared. |
| Grand opening banner? | Temporary signs are generally not allowed in standard business and non-business zoning districts. (details) Other cities compared. |
| Already installed without a permit? | The city fee schedule charges a work-without-a-permit investigation fee of $100 per hour per trade (permit fee schedule). Other cities compared. |
| Digital or LED sign? | The city’s Signs 101 training summarizes §51A-7.216: a digital display’s effective area may not exceed 50 sq ft or 50% of the sign’s total area allowance, whichever is greater; each message must display for at least 20 seconds in business zoning and 20 minutes in non-business zoning, and every application needs a letter from the display manufacturer (Signs 101, April 2023). Other cities compared. |
| When does the permit run out? | A sign permit becomes null and void if work has not started within 120 days of issue, or if work stops for 120 days; restarting then needs a new permit at one half the fee, if nothing changed and the stop did not exceed one year (Chapter 52 §301.4.6.1.4). Other cities compared. |
| Window signs? | In business districts, all signs on a window or glass door together may cover no more than 15 percent of it, and signs in the upper two-thirds are prohibited (§51A-7.305(d)). Other cities compared. |
Sizing How to apply FAQ Cost & timeline Permit needed Attached limits Fees Sign companies
How Dallas sizes your sign
The Development Code, Chapter 51A Article VII, regulates attached premise signs (§51A-7.305 Attached signs). That section sets the limit this screen applies — 25 percent of the primary facade, with a separate 15 percent for each secondary facade, set out in “Attached-sign limits beyond the 25% primary facade” below. Special sign districts and planned developments override it, so confirm your own district with Dallas Development Services before you build.
This tool figures your facade area from your wall dimensions and tells you where your plan stands before you commit.
How to apply for a Dallas sign permit — 4 steps
Dallas has a gate before the sign permit.
Steps assembled from the confirmed items on this page. The permit fees are in “How much does a Dallas sign permit cost?” and what drives them is in “Cost, timeline & temporary banners”, both below — not repeated here.
What other cities ask you to submit: sign permit application checklists by city.
Questions owners ask — 5 questions
Cost, timeline & temporary banners
Fees and timelines change — confirm current figures with the City of Dallas before filing.
Detail
Source: City of Dallas Building Inspection (Signs); Dallas Development Code Chapter 51A, Article VII.
When Dallas requires a sign permit
§51A-7.602(a) is written as a closed list. It provides that “while all signs not explicitly exempted are subject to the provisions of this article, and while a permit to erect any sign not so exempted may be applied for if desired, a permit is required only for the following signs” — so a sign that trips none of the six is not a permit sign, and a permit for it may still be applied for if you want one.
- An effective area greater than 20 square feet (except as otherwise provided in Subsection (b)). §51A-7.602(a)(1)
- A height in excess of eight feet. §51A-7.602(a)(2)
- All illuminated signs. §51A-7.602(a)(3)
- All signs with moving elements. §51A-7.602(a)(4)
- Signs erected or to be erected in or over any public way. §51A-7.602(a)(5)
- Signs projecting more than 18 inches from any wall, roof, parapet, or eaves (except as otherwise provided in Subsection (b)). §51A-7.602(a)(6)
Being outside the six is not being outside the article. The city’s Signs page and its SIGNS 101 training also list a sign located in a Special Provision Sign District (SPSD) as needing a permit.
The same Signs page lists what does not need a permit: changing the words on a sign designed with interchangeable words; normal maintenance to replace worn parts or repaint without a word change (retro-fitting a sign to LED is not maintenance); memorial signs, building names and dates cut into masonry or made of bronze or other non-combustible material; and government signs such as flags, legal notices and required traffic or directional signs.
The political-message exception
§51A-7.602(b) provides that, pursuant to Section 216.903 of the Texas Local Government Code, a permit is not required for a sign that contains primarily a political message and is on private real property with the property owner’s consent — unless the sign (1) “has an effective area greater than 36 feet,” (2) is more than eight feet high, (3) is illuminated, or (4) has any moving elements. The unit in the first condition is quoted as the code prints it: the text reads “36 feet,” and this page does not convert it to an area unit.
After the permit, and what the application follows
§51A-7.602(c) provides that any sign for which a permit is issued “shall be inspected after its erection for conformity to the provisions of this article by the division of building inspection” — the inspection is part of the process, not an extra step you opt into. §51A-7.603 then provides that all applicants for permits “must comply with the requirements of Subchapter 36 of Chapter 53, the Dallas Building Code.” This page does not list what Subchapter 36 asks for, because that subchapter was not read for it.
Source: Dallas Development Code, Chapter 51A, Article VII — §51A-7.602 (Ord. Nos. 19455; 25921) and §51A-7.603 (Ord. Nos. 19455; 20927; 28553), read 30 September 2026. Permit-fee amounts are set in the annual fee schedule rather than in the code and are not in this source; they are in the “How much does a Dallas sign permit cost?” section below.
Detail
The same sentence provides that all signs not explicitly exempted “are subject to the provisions of this article,” so the area and placement limits in the section below apply to a sign that needs no permit exactly as they do to one that does.
Attached-sign limits beyond the 25% primary facade — 7 items
§51A-7.305 opens by providing that attached signs are permitted in business areas “in accordance with the following provisions,” and the provisions run past the one percentage this screen checks.
- Primary facade: 25 percent. On the primary facade, the combined effective area of all attached signs may not exceed 25 percent of the total area of the primary facade. §51A-7.305(c)
- Each secondary facade: 15 percent. On each secondary facade, the combined effective area of all attached signs may not exceed 15 percent of the total area of that secondary facade. §51A-7.305(c)
- Multi-occupant buildings are split by certificate of occupancy. As applied to a building with multiple occupants, the facade area of each use with a separate certificate of occupancy is treated as a separate facade — the same CO that has to be approved before a sign permit is issued (step 1 above) also fixes which facade area is yours. §51A-7.305(c)
- Eight words, if the characters are four inches or taller. On any building facade there may be a maximum of eight words which contain any character of a height equal to or exceeding four inches and pertain to any premise or any non-residential occupancy. Words made of characters less than four inches high may be used without limit. §51A-7.305(c)
- Windows and glass doors: 15 percent, and not the upper two-thirds. The combined effective area of all signs attached to any window or any glass door may not exceed 15 percent of the area of that window or glass door, and signs in the upper two-thirds of a window or glass door are prohibited. §51A-7.305(d)
- Parallel mounting, 18 inches of projection. All signs and their words shall be mounted parallel to the building surface they are attached to and shall project no more than 18 inches from that surface, except as Subsection (e) provides. §51A-7.305(b)
- One sign may project up to four feet. Under the exception, any premise or non-residential occupancy may erect not more than one attached sign projecting up to a maximum of four feet from a vertical building plane. The city’s SIGNS 101 training (April 14, 2023) gives the rest of §51A-7.305(e)(1): one blade sign per premise, up to four feet of projection, no more than 20 sq ft, not lower than 10 ft, not above the roof, and not on a premise that has a detached sign. Under §51A-7.305(e)(3) a blade sign that is a registered trademark or logo with no words may reach 60 sq ft, with the same four-foot projection and 10 ft clearance. The city’s Signs page adds that a projecting sign may not extend over the public right-of-way. §51A-7.305(e)
- Near a non-business district, the smaller rules apply. The city’s Signs page states that all attached signs within 100 feet of private property in a non-business zoning district, or of a public park of more than one acre, must follow the non-business provisions. Those allow one attached sign per facade per occupant, no sign over 40 square feet, the same eight-word and 18-inch limits, and no roof signs. §51A-7.404
- Office districts get a larger allowance. In LO(A), MO(A), GO(A) and O-2 districts, up to two signs per building may exceed 40 sq ft if they are above the second floor and not on the same facade, with an additional 40 sq ft of effective area for each story over the first two. §51A-7.404(5)
- Clearance over walkways. A sign that projects more than two inches over an accessible area needs at least 10 ft of clearance, per the city’s summary chart.
Brightness limits for illuminated signs
§51A-7.303(a) sets two luminance ceilings by sign size. A sign with an effective area of 400 square feet or less may not exceed 300 footlamberts, and no portion of it within a circle two feet in diameter may exceed 300 footlamberts either. A sign with an effective area greater than 400 square feet may not exceed 200 footlamberts, with the same two-foot-circle rule at 200. The section adds where the reading is taken: the luminance restrictions “shall be determined from any other premise or from any public right-of-way other than an alley.”
Source: Dallas Development Code, Chapter 51A, Article VII — §51A-7.305 (attached signs) and §51A-7.303(a) (business districts), read 30 September 2026. Percentages, counts, inches, feet and footlamberts are reproduced as the code states them; nothing here is converted or estimated. Special Provision Sign Districts and planned developments can override these provisions.
Sources & how this page is maintained
Sources and official references: Dallas Development Code — Sign Regulations. Measured on 21 August 2026: the code library returns the sign article as text and carries the percentage limits quoted on this page. The permit-fee amounts are set in the annual fee schedule rather than the code, and no machine-readable copy of that schedule was obtained, so those figures go unchecked. The code library refused automated reading when this page was read 10 October 2026, so the attached, non-business and permit details added then come from the city’s own Signs page, its SIGNS 101 training and its sign pre-screen list. The city states that Chapter 51A, Article VII controls if its summaries conflict with the code.
How much does a Dallas sign permit cost?
Dallas charges flat amounts by sign type rather than by size, with one exception for copy changes. These are the lines from the city's current permit fee schedule.
Two of them are annual, not one-off. A non-premise sign is registered every year, and a detached non-premise digital display costs far more to keep than to put up.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Signs — Premise | $281 |
| Signs — Non-Premise | $456 |
| Sign plan review fee | $281 |
| Signs — Copy change | $0.120 per square foot |
| Signs — Removal or demolition | $78 |
| Signs — Special purpose | $40 |
| Signs — Non-premise annual registration or renewal | $116 |
| Signs — Annual registration for a detached non-premise digital display | $2,817 |
| Sign location permit | $6,879 |
| Certificate of appropriateness for a sign in a Special Provision Sign District, where City Plan Commission review is required | $397 |
| Appeal of the Director's decision to the City Plan Commission, Special Provision Sign District | $300 |
| Appeal of the City Plan Commission's decision to the City Council, Special Provision Sign District | $300 |
Dallas is one of the few cities that says how long it takes. Its sign page states that sign permits typically take around two business days to be approved if all required items are submitted. That page carries no date, so read it as a guide rather than a commitment.
One thing to check before you rely on a number. The city's sign page lists $296 for premise attached signs and refaces and $577 for new premise detached signs, which do not match the fee schedule lines above, and that page prints no effective date. Ask Development Services which applies to your job.
Source: City of Dallas, Permit Fee Schedule, Ordinance 33080, effective July 1, 2025. Processing time and the differing figures are from the city's Building Inspection sign page, which prints no date. Both read 7 October 2026.
Dallas sign companies that say they handle the permit
Compiled from each company's own public website. We are not affiliated with any of them and we are not paid to list them. Confirm licensing and pricing yourself before you hire.
| Company | Phone | Location | What their site says about permits | In-house |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signs Manufacturing | (214) 339-2227 | 4610 Mint Way, Dallas TX 75236 | Coordinates the Dallas sign permit process before manufacturing and installation | Manufacturing, 7 install crews, state licensed electrical sign contractor |
| Signs and Branding | (214) 484-9258 | 11293 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas TX 75229 | Handles the entire city permit navigation process | Design, fabrication, permits and installation in house |
| Priority Signs and Graphics | (817) 260-0700 | Dallas-Fort Worth | Manages the permit process on the customer's behalf | Fabrication and installation in house, no subcontractors |
| FASTSIGNS West Dallas | - | West Dallas | Lists survey and permitting as a service | Franchise location |
Each company's website is linked from its name. Source pages read 6 October 2026.
Ask us how the code reads for your sign
Send your dimensions and we will reply with what the Dallas code allows for that sign. No charge. We are not a sign contractor and not a permit agent.