Clarksville, TN Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Window coverage limit
- 15% of window area maximum
- Letter height cap
- 10 inches maximum
- Permit required
- Certificate of Appropriateness plus Building Review
- Applies where
- Madison Street Corridor Urban Design Overlay only
- Reviewing bodies
- Design Review Board and Regional Planning Commission staff
- Citywide backstop
- Sign, Billboard and Advertising Structures Ordinance
Summary
Within the Madison Street Corridor Urban Design Overlay, window signs cannot cover more than 15% of the window area, and lettering is capped at 10 inches tall. The Design Review Board and Clarksville-Montgomery Regional Planning Commission review every sign under a Certificate of Appropriateness before a building permit issues.
E. Sign Design Standards and Guidelines
Standards and Guidelines
1.1 General
1.1.1 Signs may not be erected or altered without obtaining a COA and Building Review. ... 1.9 Permitted Signs: Window Signs
1.9.1 Window signs shall not cover more than 15% of the window area with letters not to exceed 10 inches in height.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 110 Update 2 | Zoning Ordinance: Supplement 6).
Full Breakdown
Clarksville's Code of Ordinances Appendix I, the Madison Street Corridor Urban Design Overlay (UDO), regulates signage along US 41A from State Route 76 to 10th Street separately from the citywide sign code. 1 that window signs shall not cover more than 15% of the window area with letters not to exceed 10 inches in height. 2 requires applicants to submit an overall signage program showing a coordinated, uniform design theme rather than approving one sign in isolation. 2 bars animated, flashing, chasing or sequential signs, portable signs (including parked vehicles used expressly for advertising), and pole banners or streamers outright.
Neighboring provisions in the same section cap free-standing signs at 20 feet in height and 50 square feet (100 square feet for buildings with four or more tenants), monument signs at 30 square feet, and wall signs at 80% of front-facade width where the building sits back 100 feet or more, so the window-sign limit is one piece of a corridor-wide design package. 4 sends applicants to the separate City of Clarksville Sign, Billboard and Other Advertising Structures Ordinance for anything the overlay does not specifically override. Every sign-permit project is reviewed jointly by the Madison Street Corridor Design Review Board and Clarksville-Montgomery Regional Planning Commission staff.
Violations & Fines
Signs installed without a Certificate of Appropriateness are enforced as a Code of Ordinances violation, and Building and Codes Department staff can require a nonconforming window sign be resized or removed before final building sign-off. Because Design Review Board approval never overrides the building code or zoning ordinance, a business that exceeds the 15% coverage or 10-inch letter limit risks a stop-work order on its sign permit until the display is brought into compliance with Section E of the overlay standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 15% window sign limit apply everywhere in Clarksville?
Do I need a permit before installing a window sign in the overlay?
Who reviews window and other sign applications in the corridor?
What other signs are banned alongside oversized window signs?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clarksville
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