Marin County, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Marin County's Development Code treats window signs as their own category under Table 3-6 (Standards for Specific Sign Types) in Chapter 22.28 (Signs). The table caps window and clear door signage at 15 percent of the window area, a limit that, per End Note 2 to Table 3-6, 'includes both permanent and temporary window signs' displayed at the same location. A business that combines a painted logo with paper sale flyers must keep the combined coverage under that 15 percent ceiling; there is no separate allowance letting temporary signs stack on top of the permanent limit.

Section 22.28.050(A)(9) adds two further rules. First, window signs are only allowed on first-story windows, so upper-floor office and residential windows above ground-floor retail cannot carry signage under this category. Second, any temporary sign taped, painted, or hung in a window counts against the maximum allowable window sign area, folding it into the same 15 percent cap rather than the separate temporary-sign allowances in Section 22.28.060. Unlike freestanding, wall, projecting, or awning signs, window signs listed in Table 3-6 require no Sign Permit and are not counted toward a property's overall permanent sign area or number limits under Section 22.28.040.

Because window signs are exempt from permitting, code enforcement is complaint-driven: the Community Development Agency responds when a storefront's total glazed signage looks to exceed 15 percent and can require the owner to remove or reduce the display. Absent a chapter-specific penalty, an uncorrected violation is enforceable as a misdemeanor under Marin County Code § 1.04.270.