Sign face swap at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Do I need a permit for a new face in the old cabinet? | Not in Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego or San Francisco, within each city’s conditions. Columbus, Dallas and San Antonio require one, under the conditions listed below. |
| What turns it into a permit job? | Making the sign bigger, changing the structure, adding or changing lighting or wiring, or removing the cabinet (Los Angeles). In Indianapolis, switching a static face to a digital display. |
| Only changing the words on a changeable copy sign? | No permit in Dallas, Miami and Nashville for signs designed for changeable copy. |
| Is the old sign still legal for me? | Older signs that no longer meet the code can have separate rules; Atlanta and Fort Worth, for example, set rules for changing faces on nonconforming signs. If your sign predates the current code, ask the permit office before you order a new face. |
What each city says
Each line is taken from the city page, which links the code text or permit page it was read from.
| City | Permit for a face swap? | What the city says |
|---|---|---|
| Austin | No | No sign installation permit is needed for routine maintenance, nonstructural repair or re-facing of an existing sign (§25-10-211(A)(2)). |
| Boston | No, if size, lighting and location stay the same | Maintenance needs no sign permit if it does not change the size, illumination method or location of the sign or its structure; that includes changing items of information and replacing sign panels (Section 11-10). |
| Charlotte | No, if the structure is unchanged and the face is not larger | No sign permit is needed to change or replace the sign face within an existing sign structure, as long as no structural changes are made and the face is not made larger (UDO 22.3). |
| Columbus | Yes for lit signs and unlit signs over 10 sq ft | A certificate of zoning clearance and an installation permit are required to reface any nonilluminated permanent sign over 10 sq ft in graphic area, and any illuminated permanent sign regardless of size. |
| Dallas | Yes if over 20 sq ft, over 8 ft, or lit | 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. |
| Indianapolis | No new ILP, unless the face becomes digital | Changing a sign face on a sign that already holds an ILP does not need a new one, except when the face changes from static to a digital display. |
| Los Angeles | No, unless the cabinet is removed | A non-structural face change needs no permit; if the sign cabinet is removed, a permit and full compliance with current codes are required (P/BC 2023-078). |
| Miami | Stated for changeable copy signs only: no | Routine change of copy on a changeable copy sign needs no permit, as long as the total sign area does not grow. |
| Nashville | Stated for changeable copy signs only: no | Zoning and building permits are not required for painting, repainting or cleaning the sign structure, or for changing the copy on a sign designed for changeable copy (Codes sign permit page). |
| Philadelphia | No zoning permit, if nothing structural or electrical changes | No zoning permit is needed to change the sign content, as long as the change involves no structural or electrical additions or changes (§14-903(3)). This exempts the zoning permit only. |
| Phoenix | No, unless the sign gets bigger | Changing copy on a legal sign, or maintenance with no structural change, needs no permit; a change that increases the square footage does (§705). |
| San Antonio | Yes, on Application A | A reface is filed on Application “A” with drawings of the existing sign and of the new face; a freestanding sign also needs a detailed site plan (Information Bulletin 191). |
| San Diego | No, if nothing structural or electrical changes | No separate sign permit is needed to change the copy, or for maintenance that does not involve structural or electrical changes (Information Bulletin 111). |
| San Francisco | No, if size, height, lighting and projection stay the same | No permit or Planning approval is needed for a change of copy that does not need a building permit, does not switch between general and non-general advertising, and does not increase area, height, illumination or projection. |
Cities not listed
For Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Fort Worth, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, New York City, Sacramento and Seattle, the code text we read does not say whether a face swap on an existing permitted sign needs a permit, so this page says nothing about them. Atlanta and Fort Worth address face changes only for billboards or nonconforming signs.
Each answer is taken from the city page, which links the code text it was read from.
Want to know what your city will ask for? Send your sign details and we will tell you →
Ask us how the code reads for your sign
Send your sign's dimensions and the city you are in, and we will reply with what that city's code allows for that sign. No charge. We are not a sign contractor and not a permit agent.