Johnston County, NC Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 14-509 governs signage in the office and institutional, general business, community business, industrial-1, industrial-2 and interstate highway interchange districts, plus shopping centers, and its window-sign standard is narrow but exacting. Within any given pane of glass, coverage caps at 25 percent, though a business may stack more than one sign on, in front of, or behind the same pane as long as the combined area stays under that cap. A window sign can project no more than one inch from the glass, ruling out box signs or anything that reads as a projecting fixture rather than a flat decal or poster.

Illumination is allowed, but only neon, internal backlighting that silhouettes letters and figures, or an externally shielded fixture angled away from the street and neighboring property; the code separately bars LED lighting, changeable copy, flashing, or any other form of motion in a window sign. Because Chapter 14 covers all of the county's sign law, a shopping center or multi-tenant property must also fold its window signs into the unified sign plan required by § 14-511 before the planning department will issue any sign permit for the property.

Violations of the window-sign standard are treated like any other Chapter 14 violation, with the planning director issuing written notice and the Board of Adjustment hearing appeals under § 14-592.