Fort Collins, CO Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Size threshold
- Under six square feet per sign
- Window coverage cap
- 25 percent of the window's area
- Sign allowance cap
- 25 percent of the property's total allowance
- Illumination
- Not allowed under the exemption
- Governing section
- Transitional Land Use Code § 3.8.7.1(D)(5)(f)
Summary
A Fort Collins window sign under six square feet needs no sign permit as long as it covers no more than 25 percent of the window it's in and 25 percent of the property's overall sign allowance, and is not illuminated, under Section 3.8.7.1(D)(5)(f). Bigger or lit window signs need a standard sign permit.
(f)Window signs that are less than six (6) square feet in area, provided that:1.The total area covered by window signs:a.Does not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the area of the architecturally distinct window in which they are located; andb.Does not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the sign allowance described in Section 3.8.7.2(A); and2.The window signs are not illuminated.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 155 | Transitional Land Use Code (for project before May 17, 2024): Supplement 61 | Traffic Code: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
1(D)(5)(f) of the Sign Code exempts small, unlit window signs from Fort Collins' sign permit requirement. To qualify, each window sign must be less than six square feet in area, and the combined area of all window signs in a given window cannot exceed 25 percent of that window's own architecturally distinct area. 2(A), so a business cannot use window signs to add coverage beyond what its overall sign allowance would permit. 1(I), which cap internally lit signs at 600 nits after dark. 1(G)(3)(b). This window-sign exception applied to signs reviewed under the Transitional Land Use Code, the version Fort Collins used before its current Land Use Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 055, 2024, took effect May 17, 2024.
Violations & Fines
Exceeding the 25 percent window-coverage threshold, the 25 percent sign-allowance threshold, or the six-square-foot per-sign cap turns a window display into a permitted sign that requires a sign permit under Section 3.8.7.1(D)(2); operating without that permit is a Sign Code violation subject to removal or a compliance order. Illuminating a window sign that was installed under the small-sign exemption also forfeits the exemption and can trigger the same permit requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Fort Collins business need a permit for a window sign?
Can a lit window sign skip the Fort Collins sign permit?
How many window signs can a Fort Collins storefront have?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Collins
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How other cities in Larimer County handle window signs.