Bloomington, IL Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Bloomington's Sign Code treats permanent window signage as an exempt sign category under Article VIII rather than folding it into the district-wide square-footage formulas that govern freestanding and wall signs elsewhere in Chapter 3. Section 3-802(P) allows a ground-floor occupancy outside a residential zone to paint or otherwise display permanent signs on the inside surface of a window, showcase, or similar facility, and those signs stack on top of, rather than count against, whatever signage the premises is otherwise allowed under the rest of the Code.

The tradeoff is a coverage cap keyed to two measures, with the smaller one controlling: the total copy area of the window signs cannot exceed 25% of the total window area, or one square foot for every lineal front foot of the premises occupied, whichever produces the smaller number. A related exemption in Subsection (Q) covers signs placed in a display window as part of a merchandise or service display, provided they also comply with the 25%-or-one-square-foot-per-front-foot formula in Subsection (P). Because these are exempt signs rather than permitted signs, no separate sign permit is required for window signage that stays within the cap, but exceeding it removes the exemption and subjects the signage to the Code's general permit and enforcement rules.