City by city Rules most cities share Cities not listed
Sidewalk signs at a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Can I put an A-frame on the sidewalk? | It depends on the city. Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Portland allow one on set terms, Baltimore for non-residential uses in the districts that list them, Albuquerque only for restaurants, bars, indoor entertainment and retail, and Fort Worth allows one on private property by the door (on the sidewalk only when there is no room); Boston, Columbus and Houston forbid them; Jacksonville allows them only downtown; San Antonio allows them in historic and river improvement overlay districts. |
| Do I need a permit? | Chicago and Denver issue a permit and charge for it every year, and Albuquerque requires a sign permit for every portable sign. San Francisco, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Fort Worth and, from July 25, 2026, Portland need none if you follow their rules. |
| How big can it be? | The limits we found run from 4 sq ft of message per side in downtown Jacksonville to eight square feet in Indianapolis, Fort Worth and on a Portland sidewalk; on private property Portland allows 12 sq ft. |
| What do they all ask? | One sign per business, in front of your own door, out only while you are open, with a clear walking path left. |
What each city says
Each line paraphrases the city’s own text, which the last column links.
| City | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | A portable sign needs a sign permit and is allowed only for uses in the Food, Beverage, and Indoor Entertainment or Retail Sales categories: one per establishment, in front of the premises, up to 2 sides of 6 sq ft each, 2.5 ft wide and 3 ft tall, not within 2 ft of the curb, a clear path of at least 3 ft kept (6 ft on a sidewalk 8 ft or wider), no electricity, removed outside business hours; prohibited in Coors Boulevard CPO-2 and the Alameda Boulevard Sub-area of CPO-10 (IDO §14-16-5-12(F)(4)(b), Table 5-12-4). | IDO Table 5-12-4 |
| Atlanta | An A-frame or T-frame is a portable sign: allowed only in C-1 through C-5, I-1, I-2, SPI-1 and SPI-9, with a sign permit, for one continuous 30-day period, and for no more than 30 consecutive days within a 365 day period (§16-28A.007(a)). | Chapter 16-28A |
| Austin | In the Downtown Sign District, §25-10-153 lets a sidewalk sign go up without a permit if it meets that section, starting with a sidewalk at least 10 feet wide. | §25-10-153 |
| Baltimore | An A-frame is its own sign type, for non-residential uses in the districts that list it: up to 8 sq ft a side and 4 ft tall, on the property within 30 ft of the main entrance or on the right-of-way in front of it, not blocking pedestrians or breaking ADA standards, stored indoors outside business hours and in high wind or heavy rain; the code does not say whether it needs a permit (Zoning Code §17-401, Table 17-201). | §17-401 |
| Boston | Article 11 forbids portable signs, including A-frame and T-frame signs; the only route is a variance under Article 7. | Article 11 |
| Charlotte | Allowed in the listed commercial and mixed-use districts: one per establishment, within 15 feet of the primary entrance, up to six square feet per side and four feet tall, a six-foot clear sidewalk kept, out only during business hours, no lighting. | UDO Article 22 |
| Chicago | A separate BACP permit at $100 per year, for storefronts outside the Central Business District; one per street address, no larger than six square feet per face and no taller than four feet (sidewalk signs). | BACP Sidewalk Signs |
| Columbus | A-frame signs are on the prohibited list in §3375.13(F); the only exception is display as part of an approved special event. | Chapter 3375 |
| Denver | It needs permission from Transportation and Infrastructure, at a permit fee of $50 a year per sign: no more than three feet tall and 30 inches wide, at least two feet behind the curb line, one per street-level business per street front, and removed whenever the business is closed. | DRMC §49-437 |
| Fort Worth | One temporary sign per business may stand out during business hours with no permit: on private property within 10 ft of the front door, no more than 8 sq ft and 42 inches tall, not lit and not blocking pedestrians on the sidewalk. It may go in the public right-of-way only when there is no room on private property and the front door is less than 10 ft from the sidewalk edge or curb (§6.403). | Zoning Ordinance §6.403 |
| Houston | Placing a sign on a public sidewalk is unlawful unless City Council has expressly consented, new portable signs are prohibited, and an unlawful sign found in the right-of-way is seized. | Chapter 46 Sign Code |
| Indianapolis | An A-frame or T-frame is a pedestrian sign, which needs no permit where allowed: within 20 feet of a pedestrian entrance, up to eight square feet and five feet tall, one per use, business hours only, and a clear walkway of five feet kept. The portable-sign ban does not cover pedestrian signs. | Chapter 744 Article IX |
| Jacksonville | Chapter 326 makes a temporary sign that is not permanently anchored, such as an A-frame, unlawful. Inside the Downtown Sign Overlay Zone, §656.1333 allows one per business: up to 24 inches wide and 30 inches tall per side, a message face up to 4 sq ft per side, on the same block and side of the street as the main entrance, during business hours only, showing the business name and hours (downtown). | §656.1333 |
| New York | The city’s 311 guidance says a sandwich or A-frame sign must not extend more than 3 feet into the sidewalk from the building or be higher than 5 feet. | NYC311 |
| Portland | From July 25, 2026 a portable sign needs no permit or registration (§32.62.010.A.6). Allowed in RX, C, CI, E and I zones, one per public entrance; on private property up to 12 sq ft and 42 inches tall; in the sidewalk area no larger than 8 sq ft and 2½ ft wide, within 6 inches of the curb, a 6-foot clear pedestrian zone kept, no lights or electrical parts (§32.32.030.C and G). | City Code §32.32.030 |
| Sacramento | An A-frame is an exempt sign under §15.148.600, outside the rest of the sign chapter, if it carries no general advertising and is displayed as §15.148.620 requires; whoever puts one on a city sidewalk is solely responsible for injuries and damage it causes and must indemnify the city. | City Code 15.148 |
| San Antonio | In historic districts, river improvement overlay districts and on historic landmarks, sandwich boards are allowed as on-premises signs if the Chapter 28 permit requirements of §28-17 are met (UDC §35-612). In a river improvement overlay district one may be no larger than two (2) feet wide and three (3) feet tall, counts toward overall signage and is prohibited on the Riverwalk pathway (§35-678). | UDC Article VI |
| San Francisco | No permit is needed, but Public Works Order No. 181386 applies: one A-frame per business, directly in front and against the building, a 6-foot clear path kept, not within 5 feet of a fire hydrant or a building corner, and taken in at the end of every business day; fines up to $300 per incident. | Public Works A-frame guidelines |
Rules most cities share
- One sign. Chicago allows one per street address, Charlotte one per establishment, Denver one per street-level business per street front, San Francisco and Jacksonville one per business, Portland one per public entrance, Albuquerque one per establishment.
- Business hours only. Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Albuquerque all require the sign to come in when the business closes.
- A clear path. Chicago, Charlotte, Portland and San Francisco require six feet of clear sidewalk; Indianapolis five feet on a walkway; Albuquerque six feet on a sidewalk 8 ft or wider and three feet on a narrower one.
- Close to your door. Charlotte within 15 feet of the primary entrance, Indianapolis within 20 feet of a pedestrian entrance, Chicago and San Francisco in front of the business.
- No lighting. Chicago, Charlotte and Portland bar lighting on the sign, and Albuquerque any sign that needs electricity.
Cities not listed
For Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and the other cities we cover, we could not open an official text that states a sidewalk sign rule, so this page says nothing about them. Ask the city’s public works or right-of-way office before you put a sign on the sidewalk there.
Every rule here was read from the city’s own code or guidance between 30 September and 10 October 2026, and Portland’s, Albuquerque’s and Baltimore’s on 23 October 2026. Sidewalk rules often sit outside the zoning code, in public works or right-of-way rules, and change separately from it.
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