Auburn, AL Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

18 of the Zoning Ordinance defines a window sign as any sign located on the inside or outside of a window that is visible from the street or adjoining properties, and it comes with a content limit rather than a size limit: the sign must contain a message related to a business, profession or activity conducted, or to a commodity or service sold or offered, on the premises where it is located, so a window sign cannot advertise an unrelated off-site business. Because window signs sit in Section 603's list of exempt signs, they need no sign permit and are not counted toward a property's overall allowable sign area or number.

05, in the ordinance's general design-standards subsection on the relationship of signs to building features, reinforces the exemption in a single clause, 'Window signs are exempt,' while the very next clause draws a sharp line against interior signs that are merely displayed so as to be visible through a window: those are treated as prohibited interior signage rather than an exempt window sign, cross-referenced back to the window-sign definition. The ordinance's separate Window Sign definition in Article II underscores the same distinction, noting that internal signs suspended so as to be visible through a window are not considered window signs at all.

In practice this means a retailer can paper a storefront window with sale notices or business-hours signage without a permit, but cannot use the window as a loophole to display a freestanding interior sign, banner or reader board aimed at the street.