Indianapolis, IN Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Indianapolis defines a window sign in Sec. 744-902 as any sign placed inside of and within two feet of a window, or applied directly to the window glass, that is visible from outside. In Commercial, Industrial and Mixed-Use zoning districts, Table 744-906-4 under Sec. 744-906.A.5 (Secondary Building Signs) sets the standard: window signs are a permitted sign type in all three districts, with an unlimited number allowed per building. The maximum area permitted is 30 percent of the glass area of each individual window, and that coverage is subject to the transparency requirements of Section 740-303 and is calculated separately from, and not counted toward, the total area of a property's other secondary building signs, including pedestrian-oriented projecting or suspended signs and incidental signs. The table bars any projection of a window sign beyond the glass, listing it as "Not permitted," and prohibits illumination of window signs entirely, unlike projecting, suspended and incidental secondary signs, which the same table allows to be internally, halo or externally lit.

Because window signs are listed among the signs that may be erected and maintained without a permit or fee under Sec. 744-903.E.6, a business does not need an Improvement Location Permit to install one, provided it complies with the 30 percent cap and the no-illumination rule. Sec. 744-906.A opens with a blanket rule for the whole article: any sign not identified as a permitted sign type in Section 744-906 is prohibited, so exceeding the coverage limit or illuminating a window sign converts it from an exempt, permitted sign into a code violation. Sec. 744-904 governs enforcement of noncompliant signs generally, requiring them to be brought into compliance or removed immediately upon written notice from the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services.