Carrollton, TX Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Size cap for exemption
- 25% of total window area per wall segment
- Eligible buildings
- 1-2 story retail or ground-floor mixed-use retail
- Blinking window signs
- Prohibited outright
- Default rule
- Window signs banned unless § 151.11(N) applies
- Maximum fine
- $500.00 under § 10.99(A)(1)(o)
Summary
Carrollton lets a business skip the sign permit for window signs so long as each one stays under 25 percent of the total window area on any linear wall segment, per § 151.11(N) of the Sign Code, and limits the exemption to one- or two-story retail buildings or ground-floor retail in a mixed-use building. Blinking window signs are barred outright.
Window sign. Any sign, pictures, symbol, paint or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale, or service that is placed inside a window or upon the windowpanes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window. ... (N) Window signs/painted window signs: with a maximum size not exceeding 25 percent of the total window area for any linear wall segment; and limited to one- or two-story retail buildings or the ground floor of a mixed-use building with retail at the ground floor. Blinking signs are prohibited. ... (C) Window signs, including painted window signs, except as expressly allowed in this chapter.
Full Breakdown
05 defines a 'window sign' broadly as any sign, picture, symbol or paint placed inside a window or on the windowpane or glass that communicates information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale or service and is visible from outside, sweeping in painted window signs as well as posted ones. 11(N) is the exception that does the allowing: a window sign or painted window sign is exempt from the permit requirement only if it doesn't exceed 25 percent of the total window area for any linear wall segment, and only on a one- or two-story retail building, or the ground floor of a mixed-use building with retail on that floor.
Blinking window signs are prohibited even within that 25-percent allowance. 12(C)'s companion prohibition on flashing, blinking or animated signs sweeps in window signs specifically, so an internally illuminated window display that flashes or blinks isn't cured just by staying under the size cap.
Violations & Fines
A window sign that exceeds 25 percent of the window area, blinks, or sits in a building type the exemption doesn't cover needs a sign permit from the Building Official under § 151.10; putting one up without that permit, or outside the § 151.11(N) exemption, violates the Sign Code and is fineable up to $500.00 under § 10.99(A)(1)(o), with each day a separate offense under § 10.99(B).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a sign in my storefront window without a permit?
Are painted window signs treated differently from posted ones?
Can a window sign light up or blink?
What if my window sign covers more than 25% of the glass?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Carrollton
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Carrollton to another location·View the Texas sign regulations overview
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Window Signs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle window signs.