Fresno, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 15-2610(F) of the Citywide Development Code treats window signs as their own regulated sign type, separate from wall, projecting, or awning signs. A business may display only one window sign per window, and it must sit in ground-floor window area, the allowance does not extend to upper-story glass. The code protects storefront visibility directly: a minimum of 75 percent of the window must stay transparent and free of signage features, and no interior signage may be placed within three feet of the glass, so displays can't functionally block the view from the sidewalk into the store.

These limits apply on top of, not instead of, the district's total sign-area caps set in Section 15-2608. Separately, Section 15-2604(I) carves out an exemption from the permit process for 'Operational Window Signs', small signs limited to hours of operation, address, occupancy, and emergency information, provided they are mounted no higher than the second story and do not exceed 3 square feet in area; those exempt signs also don't count toward a site's total sign area. Anything larger, more numerous, or advertising products or services rather than basic operational information falls back under the standard window-sign rule in Section 15-2610(F) and the general permit requirement in Section 15-2603, which requires a building permit before any sign is erected, altered, repaired, or relocated.