Newport Beach, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

42 (Sign Standards). Window signs, whether permanent or temporary, cannot occupy more than 20 percent of the total window area on a designated primary or secondary building frontage; the code defines a "window" broadly as any glazed area, including glass curtain walls, so storefront glass systems and glass entry doors all count toward the cap. Signs are allowed only on ground-floor and second-story windows facing a primary or secondary frontage, and permanent window signs must be painted or mounted on the inside of the window or door rather than applied to the exterior glass.

A sign placed within five feet of a storefront window, even if not physically on the glass, is still counted as a window sign for both the area calculation and the sign count, closing off the common workaround of hanging a sign just behind the glass line. 090(A) and Table 3-18: combined permanent and temporary window signage still cannot exceed 20 percent of any individual window, and a promotional banner in a window is limited to 20 percent of that window's area, allowed up to four times a year for no more than 60 days total. 68 (Enforcement).