Laredo, TX Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Coverage limit
- 25% of window area
- Historic district limit
- 8% of window area
- Permit trigger
- Illuminated signs, historic districts only
- Door clearance
- 3 feet from a public door
- Motion rule
- No blinking, flashing, or scrolling
Summary
Window signs in Laredo don't need a permit in most cases, but coverage is capped at 25 percent of the window, or just 8 percent in a historic district, under Sec. 28-23. Illuminated window signs do need a permit, must stay at least three feet from a public door, and can't blink, flash, or scroll.
Window sign (permit not required, exceptions). Any sign, poster, window slick, or other similar displayed item, excluding banners (see "banners"), located on the internal or external surface of a window that is visible from a public street or sidewalk.a.Time. A sign permit is not required, except illuminated window signs other than open/closed signs; Illuminated window signs require the issuance of a sign permit and shall not be closer than three (3) feet from a public door. A window sign may be displayed twenty-four (24) hours each and every day. Window signs located within a historic district require a sign permit and approval by the historic district landmark board....c.Manner. Window signs may only advertise an on-premises business' name, telephone number(s), website information, services, commodities, and/or products. The maximum area of a window sign shall not exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the window where the sign is displayed and shall not exceed eight (8) percent when installed in a historic district. Illuminated and non-illuminated window signs or its appendages shall not blink, strobe, fade, flash, scroll, or move in any manner.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23 Update 3 | Land Development Code: Supplement 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 28-23 defines a window sign as any sign, poster, window slick, or similar displayed item on the interior or exterior surface of a window that is visible from a public street or sidewalk, excluding banners, which are regulated separately. As a general rule no sign permit is required to post a window sign, and one may be displayed 24 hours a day. Two exceptions require a permit: illuminated window signs other than simple open/closed signs, which must also be installed no closer than three feet from a public door, and any window sign, illuminated or not, located within a designated historic district, which additionally needs approval from the historic district landmark board.
Content is restricted to advertising the on-premises business, meaning its name, phone number, website, services, commodities, or products; window signs cannot be used to advertise unrelated businesses or off-site services. The coverage limit is the operative numeric standard: a window sign cannot exceed 25 percent of the area of the window on which it is displayed, dropping to just 8 percent of window area for any property inside a historic district. Illuminated and non-illuminated window signs alike are barred from blinking, strobing, fading, flashing, scrolling, or otherwise moving, and an illuminated window sign specifically must remain static and stationary rather than cycling through messages. '
Violations & Fines
A window sign that exceeds the 25 percent coverage cap, or 8 percent in a historic district, is an illegal sign subject to removal under the sign ordinance's enforcement provisions, as is an illuminated window sign installed without the required permit or placed closer than three feet to a public door. An illuminated sign that blinks, flashes, or scrolls violates the static-display requirement regardless of its size, and a historic-district window sign installed without landmark board approval is likewise a violation even if it meets the 8 percent area limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of my window can a sign cover in Laredo?
Do I need a permit for a window sign?
Can my window sign have flashing lights?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Laredo
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