Montgomery County, VA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Montgomery County Code § 10-45 treats the 50-percent line as both a permit exemption and a hard cap. " The same section's list of prohibited signs then bars "window signs greater than fifty (50) percent of the total area of the window or door," so there is no path, permitted or otherwise, to a window sign covering more than half the glass or door area; going over the line is not a matter of getting a permit, it is an outright prohibition. A window sign is defined in § 10-45 as "a sign that is painted on, attached to, suspended directly behind or in front of a window or the glass portion of a door," which reaches paper, vinyl and painted signage as well as free-standing signs placed inside a storefront window.

Businesses that want additional signage beyond a compliant window sign have to look to the ordinance's other permit-exempt or permitted sign categories, such as wall signs or a comprehensive sign plan, rather than exceeding the window-coverage limit, since § 10-45's enforcement provisions let the Zoning Administrator require an oversized sign brought into compliance regardless of whether a permit was ever sought.