Las Vegas sign permit at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Which office do I file with? | Check first: a “Las Vegas, NV” address may be in the City of Las Vegas, unincorporated Clark County (the Strip is in Paradise), Henderson or North Las Vegas, each with its own sign code (which authority). |
| Do I need a permit? | In the City, a sign certificate is required for wall, freestanding, monument, projecting and roof signs; window signs and menu boards need none. In the County a sign permit applies to every sign not listed as exempt. Other cities compared. |
| How big can wall signs be? | In the City, wall signs may total 20 percent of the building elevation (10 percent in P-O, O, C-D and C-PB) (calculator). Other cities compared. |
| On the Strip? | Clark County's CR district gives freestanding signs 5 sq ft per linear foot of all street frontages combined, one per 100 ft of frontage (Strip and Downtown). |
| Projecting signs? | In the City: 32 sq ft, one per entrance, 8 ft clearance. Other cities compared. |
| What does it cost? | In the City, $0.50 per square foot for an on-premise sign with a certificate; a master sign plan application is $300 (fee table). |
| How long does it take? | Neither the City nor Clark County publishes a review time for sign permits; confirm it with your office before you file. Other cities compared. |
| Who installs? | Any sign needing a construction permit must be installed by a contractor licensed by the City and the State of Nevada. Other cities compared. |
| Already installed without a permit? | In unincorporated Clark County, the Title 30 fee schedule charges three times the permit fee for work without a permit. Other cities compared. |
| Grand opening banner? | In the City of Las Vegas, a grand opening banner is a special event sign: it needs a temporary sign certificate, is allowed in commercial and industrial districts, and may go up four times in any one calendar year for no more than sixty days in total (LVMC 19.08.120(G)). Other cities compared. |
| Window signs? | In the City’s commercial and industrial districts, window signs may cover no more than 25% of the total area of all windows on a building elevation, need no sign certificate, and count toward the wall-sign allowance for that elevation (LVMC 19.08.120(F), Table 14). Other cities compared. |
| Digital or LED sign? | Electronic message signs must show static images for at least six seconds each, with no more than two seconds between messages and no motion during the change; LED brightness must adjust to surrounding light (LVMC 19.08.120). Other cities compared. |
| When does the permit run out? | The city’s sign permit application says permits expire when no inspection has been approved for any 180-day period after issue (application form). Other cities compared. |
Work out your Las Vegas sign allowance
Pick your jurisdiction and zoning district, then enter the building elevation your business occupies and the street frontage. The figures come from the City of Las Vegas sign tables (LVMC 19.08.120) or Clark County Title 30, §30.05.02.
City figures: LVMC 19.08.120, Tables 12, 13, 15, 20 and 21, and 19.08.120(C), from the Unified Development Code. County figures: Title 30 §30.05.02 L, M, O and Q, compilation effective July 23, 2026. Both read 10 October 2026. The wall figure is the total for that elevation; in the City C-1/C-2/C-M/M districts it also covers window, roof, awning and marquee signs on the same elevation.
Allowance calculator Which authority Strip & Downtown Always applies How to apply Checklist Fees Sign companies
The famous Strip — most of Las Vegas Boulevard — isn't in the City of Las Vegas; it's in unincorporated Clark County. Same for huge stretches of the valley that say "Las Vegas" in the address. The City of Las Vegas regulates signs under Municipal Code Title 19; Clark County regulates them under Code Title 30, Chapter 30.05. Before you size a sign, design it, or file anything, you have to know which one you're under — they don't share rules, fees, or districts.
"How big can my sign be" is the wrong first question in Las Vegas. Confirm whether your parcel is City of Las Vegas or unincorporated Clark County (or another municipality like North Las Vegas, Henderson, or Boulder City). Get this wrong and everything downstream — code section, permit office, fees — is wrong too.
How to tell which authority governs you
Apply to the wrong one and your permit goes nowhere. This page helps you figure out which authority governs your sign first.
Your parcel's jurisdiction decides which code, which permit office, and which fee schedule applies:
Source: City of Las Vegas Municipal Code Title 19; Clark County Code Title 30, Chapter 30.05. Confirm your parcel's jurisdiction on the Clark County Jurisdictional Boundaries map before filing. Ordinance text read 10 October 2026: LVMC 19.08.120 from the City's Unified Development Code, and Clark County Title 30, Chapter 30.05, as amended effective July 23, 2026. Both are linked under Official Las Vegas resources.
The Strip and Downtown play by different rules — 4 items
Even within a single jurisdiction, special districts override the standard commercial sign rules — and Las Vegas has several:
- The Strip (Clark County, CR Commercial Resort district). Title 30 §30.05.02 gives CR freestanding signs 5 sq ft per linear foot of all street frontages combined, one per 100 ft of frontage, up to the height of the building on site, and 250 sq ft projecting signs. Animated electronic signs are allowed only with a resort hotel, and roof signs only through a Sign Design Review. This area is Clark County, not the City.
- Downtown. The City's Form-Based Code (LVMC 19.09) replaces the standard rules for the 12 downtown districts, and special area districts sit in 19.10. This page does not cover them; read the district that applies before sizing.
- Standard commercial (e.g. C-1/C-2/C-M/M in the City). Wall signs may total 20 percent of the building elevation (10 percent in P-O, O, C-D and C-PB); in a multi-tenant building the percentage applies to the tenant's own share of the elevation (LVMC 19.08.120, Table 15).
- Residential-adjacency limits. In the City, a sign within 200 ft of property zoned or planned for single-family use and visible from it may only be internally lit or lit with direct white light; beyond 40 ft it also may not use bare bulbs, exposed neon, animation or an electronic message unit (LVMC 19.08.120(C)). In the County, signs within 200 ft of single-family use follow §30.04.06.
Source: LVMC 19.08.120 (Tables 12–21) and 19.09; Clark County Title 30 §30.05.01–30.05.02. Read 10 October 2026.
The City bars private signs on or over public streets and walkways except where the code allows them, such as projecting and marquee signs that keep 3 ft from the back of the curb (LVMC 19.08.120, Tables 18 and 20). The County bars signs within any highway or road right-of-way, including a future right-of-way (§30.05.01, subsection E). The State of Nevada sign permit within 660 ft of an interstate or primary highway applies to signs that are not on-premise signs (LVMC 19.16.200(C)), not to a business's own sign.
What applies no matter the jurisdiction — 4 items
A few structural and safety realities hold across the valley:
- Signs must be attached in compliance with the City Building Code, and any sign needing a construction permit must be installed by a contractor licensed by the City and the State of Nevada (LVMC 19.08.120(B)(2), (B)(6)). In the County, sign supports must be clad to conceal the pole (§30.05.02, subsection A).
- Electronic message signs: in the City, static images for at least 6 seconds, transitions of 2 seconds or less with no motion, automatic dimming and a 300-nit ceiling (LVMC 19.08.120(B)(11)). The City also prohibits them within 200 ft of residential property if visible from it, and does not allow them on wall signs in P-O, O, C-D and C-PB. In the County, static message units show each message at least 6 seconds with no special-effect transitions (§30.05.02, subsection G).
- Projecting signs in the City: 32 sq ft, one per entrance, 8 ft clearance, not on a property that has freestanding signs (LVMC 19.08.120, Table 20). In the County: 32 sq ft, or 250 sq ft in CR, one per tenant (§30.05.02, subsection O).
- A sign certificate is required for wall, freestanding, monument, projecting and roof signs in the City (LVMC 19.08.120(B)(3)); window signs and menu boards need none. In the County a sign permit applies to every sign not listed as exempt (§30.05.01, subsection B).
Source: LVMC 19.08.120 and 19.16.200(C); Clark County Title 30 §30.05.01–30.05.02. Read 10 October 2026.
Not sure how the code reads for your sign?
Send your dimensions and we will reply with how the Las Vegas code reads for that sign, at no charge. We are not a sign contractor and do not file permits; the sign companies listed on this page say they handle the permit.
Send your sign details →Get my free sign quote →How to apply for a Las Vegas sign permit — 6 steps
In the Las Vegas valley the first question is not how big — it is who you file with. Filing at the wrong office is the failure mode this sequence is built to prevent.
The jurisdictions are from the Clark County Jurisdictional Boundaries map; the unincorporated towns, with Paradise as the location of the Strip, from the county’s 2021 Recovery Plan report; the two addresses from the City’s Building & Offsite Permits page and the County Building & Fire Prevention page, all read 10 October 2026; the district and NDOT items are from the confirmed items on this page. The fees differ by authority: the City’s sign rates and the County’s Title 30 sign fees are both in “How much does a Las Vegas sign permit cost?” below. Neither publishes a review time, so this page gives none; confirm the figure with your office before you file.
Las Vegas sign checklist — 6 items
Before you design or order anything, confirm:
- Is my parcel City of Las Vegas, Clark County, or another city? (Check the county's Jurisdictional Boundaries map — don't trust the mailing address.)
- Which code applies — City LVMC 19.08.120 or County Title 30, Chapter 30.05?
- Am I on the Strip (County CR) or Downtown (City Form-Based Code)? → different rules from the standard tables.
- Is my sign freestanding? → area comes from street frontage, and the number of signs from frontage length; projecting signs are then not allowed in the City.
- Is it illuminated or an electronic message sign? → 6-second holds and a 300-nit ceiling in the City; check the 200 ft residential limits.
- Does any part sit in or over the public right-of-way? → prohibited in the County; in the City only projecting and marquee signs, with Public Works review.
Official Las Vegas resources
Go straight to the right authority for permits and the binding code:
City of Las Vegas Unified Development Code, LVMC 19.08.120 Commercial and Industrial District Sign Standards · Clark County Code Title 30, Chapter 30.05 Signs (effective January 1, 2024; amended July 23, 2026)
Both texts read 10 October 2026. The City's current sign rules are in its Unified Development Code, published on the City's encodeplus site that the City's Zoning Code page links to. The City's Title 19.14 Sign Standards PDF is filed under its Archived Zoning Code and is no longer the binding text. The County PDF is the July 23, 2026 compilation of Title 30.
Other US city sign guides
Sources & how this page is maintained
Sources and official references: City of Las Vegas Unified Development Code, LVMC 19.08.120 (sign tables) and 19.16.200 (sign certificates), read 10 October 2026 from the City's encodeplus code site; Clark County Title 30, Chapter 30.05 Signs, compilation effective July 23, 2026, read the same day. Until 10 October 2026 this page cited the City's Title 19.14 Sign Standards PDF, which the City now files under its Archived Zoning Code.
How much does a Las Vegas sign permit cost?
Las Vegas charges most sign permits by sign area rather than a flat fee, and some sign types carry no fee at all.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Master sign plan application | $300 |
| On-premise sign (no certificate) | No fee |
| On-premise sign (with certificate) | $0.50 per square foot |
| Off-premise sign | $0.50 per square foot |
| Off-premise sign renewal | $0.50 per square foot |
| Construction sign | $0.50 per square foot |
| Special event sign | $100 per event |
| Civic event or political sign | No fee |
| Development entry sign | $100 per sign |
| Community interior sign | $100 per sign |
| Subdivision development sale sign | $100 per sign |
| Subdivision directional sign | $100 per sign |
| Weekend directional sign | $100 per sign |
Read the date on this one. It is the schedule the city still publishes, and it carries a 2008 adoption date. The city's own permit fee estimator page repeats the same rate, stating that the sign tag fee is $0.50 per square foot of sign area.
Source: City of Las Vegas, Department of Planning Fee Schedule (PDF), Title 19 (Sign Certificates, Tags and Permits) — Resolution R-21-2008 adopted April 16, 2008; fees effective July 1, 2008; updated 05/30/08. Rate corroborated on the city's Permit Fee Estimator page. Read 7 October 2026. We found no newer published schedule, and the city publishes no review or processing time; confirm the current amount before filing.
If your sign is in unincorporated Clark County
The Strip and the other unincorporated towns are under Clark County, not the City. The county’s Title 30 Fee Schedule, which applies to all unincorporated lands in the County, lists these sign items:
| Application | Fee |
|---|---|
| Administrative Sign Design Review | $300 |
| Sign Design Review | $500, plus $500 mailed notice |
| Property/Yard Sign Permit | $100 |
| Digital Sign Conversion per §30.05.06 (under Administrative Design Review) | $10,000 per sign face |
These are planning fees. The schedule says construction permit fees are payable to the Department of Building, and that required permit fees are doubled if work started without the permit or the sign built exceeds the scope of a valid permit. The schedule prints no building permit amount for a sign.
Source: Clark County Department of Comprehensive Planning, Title 30 Fee Schedule (PDF), Table 1, latest amendment effective 07/01/26, read 10 October 2026; a copy is kept.
Las Vegas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Custom Signs | 702-476-3058 | 3575 W Cheyenne Ave #103, North Las Vegas, NV 89032 | takes care of all the complicated applications and permits associated with your beautiful new sign | we'll get right to work manufacturing your sign, and will also install it, maintain it, and repair it should the need arise |
| FASTSIGNS of Las Vegas, NV - West | (702) 830-4176 | 6431 W Charleston Blvd, Ste 110, Las Vegas, NV 89146 | Our specialists will perform accurate surveys and procure the appropriate permits to ensure your signage is in full compliance. | - |
| A 1st Impression | (702) 220-7446 | 1610 Raiders Way Unit 105, Henderson, NV 89052 | Permits/installation handled in-house | On-site manufacturing for consistent quality |
Each company's website is linked from its name. Source pages read 7 October 2026.
Ask us how the code reads for your sign
Send your dimensions and we will reply with what the Las Vegas code allows for that sign. No charge. We are not a sign contractor and not a permit agent.