Plano, TX Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Plano's Zoning Ordinance regulates window signs in two places that work together. In the BG, Downtown Business/Government District, Sec. xvi states window signs are permitted only on the ground floor of a building, that no window sign or signs shall cover more than 25% of any individual window, and that window signs exceeding 15% of an individual window must obtain a permit unless the sign is a noncommercial temporary sign. Window sign area in that district is also capped at 40 square feet per facade, and signs may be applied to, attached to, or located within 12 inches of a window on the interior of the establishment.

Signs on windows in a Heritage Resource Overlay District require a Certificate of Appropriateness rather than only a standard sign permit, reflecting the added historic-preservation layer downtown. Citywide, Article 22 (Signs), Sec. 1H governs window signs generally: they are permitted, but the total area of all window signs on any given elevation of a building may not exceed 25% of the window area of that elevation. Property owners in Plano's other nonresidential districts calculating whether a storefront display, seasonal promotion, or vinyl decal package triggers a permit should measure both the individual-window coverage against 25% and, where the BG district's 15% permit trigger applies, budget time for a Building Inspections sign permit before installation.

The Planning Department reviews sign permit applications against these design and construction specifications before issuance, and downtown properties in the Heritage Resource Overlay must route non-incidental window signage through the Certificate of Appropriateness process administered for that overlay.