Decatur, GA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Storefront or street-facing businesses in the City of Decatur choose among several sign types under UDO Sec. K, and each type carries its own coverage cap. A business's one permitted primary sign, Sec. 1, may be a wall sign, freestanding sign, window sign, or awning or canopy sign; if the business chooses a window sign for its primary identification, that sign cannot exceed one-tenth of the total surface of the window it occupies. A business may also add one permitted secondary sign, Sec. 2, which again may be a window sign subject to the same one-tenth-of-window-surface ceiling.

Temporary signage is capped more generously but still limited: under Sec. a, temporary window signs may cover up to one-sixth of the window's surface area, and no more than three temporary signs may be displayed per 160 square feet of window surface. b, with their own 150-square-foot area cap and a 30-day-per-calendar-year display limit, though a banner is a separate sign type from a window sign. Sec. K exempts only temporary window signs and banners from the City's sign permit requirement, meaning conforming temporary window displays do not need a separate sign permit while permanent window signs used as a primary or secondary identification sign do.

The UDO Administrator enforces these coverage ratios during inspections under Sec. 7, and a sign installed before permitting is charged a double fee under Sec. B. Signs that exceed these coverage ratios, or that use prohibited devices such as flashing or animated displays in a window, also run afoul of the separate prohibited-sign list in Sec. 9.