City by city Two-sided signs Window signs Add up your boxes
Measuring sign area at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What do I measure? | Draw the smallest simple shape, usually a rectangle, around the outer edges of the letters, logo and artwork. Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte and Fort Worth also count a background panel, color or surface the message sits on. |
| Do the poles or brackets count? | Not in the codes below, as long as they carry no copy. |
| Loose letters on a wall? | Codes differ. Boston adds up a rectangle around each word and graphic; Jacksonville draws one shape around the outermost letters. |
| Two-sided sign? | In the four cities that state it, one face counts if the faces are back to back or close to it, but the allowed angle differs (two-sided signs). |
| Is my city here? | Only cities whose code text we hold and that define the method are listed. For the others, the city page gives the size limit, and the city’s zoning office decides how it is measured. |
What each city’s code says
Each line paraphrases the city’s own measurement rule and links to the code text we read.
| City | How sign area is measured | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | The smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle or combination of them that encloses the writing, emblem or display, plus any background material or color that sets it apart; the supporting framework is not counted. | Chapter 16-28A |
| Boston | On a background panel, the smallest rectangle around the content and the panel. Individual letters or logos without a panel: the sum of the smallest rectangle around each word and graphic. Awning signs are measured the second way. | Zoning Code Article 11 |
| Charlotte | One continuous perimeter around the outermost letters, logos and artwork, plus any background color or material that is part of the display. Supports with no copy are not counted. On an entrance wall or fence, only the part carrying the sign counts. | UDO Article 22 |
| Fort Worth | Vertical and horizontal lines projected from the furthermost points of the logos, letters or symbols, including any border, trim or surface the message sits on. A detached sign gets one area however the message is laid out; a wall can hold several sign areas. | Zoning Ordinance Ch. 6, Art. 4 |
| Indianapolis | Freestanding sign: the smallest rectangle around the message area. On a fence or landscape wall, only the sign itself counts; on a canopy, only the canopy plane that carries the graphics. | Chapter 744 Article IX |
| Jacksonville | A framed sign counts everything inside the frame, frame included. Loose letters count the smallest triangle, rectangle, square or circle around the outermost letters that gives the least area, border trim included. | Ordinance Code Ch. 326 |
| Miami | A monument sign may have two display surfaces; its area is the largest display surface visible from any single direction. | Miami 21 Article 10 |
Two-sided signs: when only one face counts
A double-faced sign counts as one face only when its faces are close to back to back, and the cities draw that line in different places.
- Atlanta: one face is measured when the faces are parallel or the interior angle is 60 degrees or less; with unequal faces, the larger one counts. Otherwise all faces are added.
- Boston: one face when the interior angle is 45 degrees or less; above that, both faces are added.
- Charlotte: one face when the internal angle does not exceed 45 degrees, otherwise both; a corner lot is allowed a wider angle.
- Jacksonville: with parallel faces, the larger of the two faces counts.
A V-shaped sign that counts as one face in Atlanta can count as two in Boston. Measure the angle between the faces before you order a V-shaped sign.
Window signs: how the window is measured
Where a window sign limit is a share of the window, the way the window is measured matters as much as the sign. Charlotte treats the window as one continuous surface until an architectural or structural element divides it, and mullions do not divide it. Fort Worth multiplies window width by height, with a maximum calculated height of 15 feet, and counts all glazed openings in the wall including the mullions but not the cladding. Charlotte also counts perforated window film as a window sign in full.
Add up your boxes
Draw your box or boxes as your city’s rule says, then enter each one here in feet. The total is the number to compare with the limit on your city page.
Total: enter a box above
The code text behind each line was read on 10 October 2026. These rules sit in zoning codes that cities amend; check the linked text, or ask the city’s zoning office, before you order the sign.
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