Kent, WA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

040 sets the general restrictions and limitations that apply to signs in every zoning district in Kent, and subsection (I) addresses window signs directly. A window sign is treated the same as any other sign, so its square footage is added into the aggregate sign area allowed for the lot and it counts toward the maximum number of signs permitted. If a business paints over its window entirely, the code reclassifies that surface as a wall rather than a window, closing the loophole of using an opaque painted window to display graphics without a permit.

Two narrow categories of window display are excluded from the aggregate area and number count and require no sign permit: decals indicating which credit cards are honored, and banners or posters placed on the inside of the glass, which the code expressly allows to be used with national advertising programs, weekly marketing specials, or decorations customary for a specific holiday. 040(J), makes clear that anything painted directly on an exterior wall, window, or structure is likewise computed into the aggregate sign area and count, reinforcing that window graphics are not a free pass around the district's sign budget.

Businesses planning storefront window displays should size them against the same square-footage ceiling that governs their freestanding and wall signs rather than treating window space as unregulated.