Glendale, CA Sign Regulations: Holiday Displays (2026)
Key Facts
- Exempt display window
- Nov. 1 through Jan. 15
- Governing sections
- Sec. 30.33.020(F); Sec. 30.33.040(C)
- Applies to
- Holiday decorations, string lights
- Permit needed in window
- None
- Late-display fine
- $100 first offense (Sec. 1.20.010(B))
Summary
Glendale's sign code exempts holiday decorations from sign regulation, but only between November 1st and January 15th. Outside that window, string lights and similar decorative lighting used for a commercial premises count as regulated signage and are prohibited unless permitted.
C. String lights, other than holiday decorations displayed between November 1st and January 15th, used in connection with a commercial premises for commercial purposes... "Sign" means any material, device or lettered or pictorial matter or copy when used or located in such a manner as to be visible by the public from outdoors... However, a sign shall not include the following: ... F. Holiday decorations displayed between November 1st and January 15th.
Full Breakdown
33's definition of "sign" in Sec. " That gives homeowners and businesses a roughly ten-and-a-half week window each winter to hang lights, inflatables and similar seasonal displays without a sign permit or area limit. The companion prohibition in Sec. " Read together, the two sections set one bright-line seasonal window that applies citywide regardless of zone, and any string lighting kept up past January 15th on a business property reverts to being a regulated (and in most cases prohibited) sign. Sec. 040 is listed in the general penalty chapter, Sec.
010(D), as an infraction offense, so a commercial property that keeps decorative string lighting up outside the exempt window is enforceable the same way as any other prohibited sign. 33 at all during those months.
Violations & Fines
Commercial string lighting or similar decorative displays kept up outside the November 1 - January 15 window are treated as a prohibited sign under Sec. 30.33.040(C). Because Sec. 30.33.040 is listed at Sec. 1.20.010(D), the infraction fine schedule in Sec. 1.20.010(B) applies: up to $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for each additional violation in that year.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can holiday lights stay up in Glendale?
Do I need a sign permit to put up holiday lights?
What happens if a business leaves string lights up after January 15th?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
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