Fullerton, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 15.49.030(A) exempts several sign categories from the chapter's design standards outright, including name plates under two square feet and nonprofit event signs. Item (5) covers signs inside a building, but only up to a point: "Signs located inside a building, except where the sign is painted on an exterior window or door, or so placed as to be viewed primarily from outside a building." In practice, an interior sign hung where only employees can see it is exempt, while a sign painted directly on storefront glass, or an interior sign positioned to face the sidewalk, has to meet Table 15.49.020's design standards the same as a permanent wall sign.

Section 15.49.015 separately defines a TEMPORARY SIGN as "a sign painted on glass or placed on the inside of a building or structure so as to be viewed from the outside," and defines a BUILDING SIGN as also including "a sign painted on the exterior wall of a building." A window or door sign that counts as a building sign is measured against the BUILDING SIGN row of Table 15.49.020: up to three square feet of sign area for every lineal foot of building frontage on the side with the main entrance, and one square foot per lineal foot on other building faces, with a table note that "signs painted on building walls must comply with standards." A window-painted sign displayed for 30 days or less within a six-month period does not need a sign permit under § 15.49.060(A)(1)(a), and a sign painted directly on a window or door is separately exempt from the permit step under § 15.49.060(A)(1)(b), even though it must still fit within the area allowance.