Redding, CA Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Window sign definition
- Inside window or within 12 inches of glass
- Temporary sign carve-out
- 10% of lot's total allowable sign area
- Permit authority
- Development Services Director / sign permit
- Governing sections
- RMC 18.42.020(A), 18.42.030(A), 18.61.020(63)
- General penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine / 6 months jail
Summary
Redding's sign code defines a window sign as anything placed inside a window or within twelve inches of the glass that is visible from outside, and it treats window-painted advertising as a form of temporary signage. The city caps how much of a lot's total sign allowance can go toward that category: only ten percent is reserved for temporary promotional advertising, banners included.
18.42.020(A): No sign shall be erected, placed, displayed, enlarged or altered within the city unless provided for by this chapter by permit, exemption or specific regulation. ... 18.61.020(63): Window Sign. Any sign, picture, symbol, or combination thereof, designed to communicate information about an activity, business, commodity, event, sale, or service, that is placed inside a window or within twelve inches of the window surface or upon the window panes or glass and is visible from the exterior of the window. ... 18.42.030(A): Ten percent of the allowable sign area per lot shall be reserved for temporary promotional advertising including banners and window-painted signs.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 48).
Full Breakdown
020(63), and its coverage is folded into the broader sign-permit system, not treated as exempt. 020(A) requires a permit for any sign erected, placed, displayed, enlarged, or altered in the city unless a specific exemption or regulation applies, and window-painted signs are one of the categories the code calls out by name. 030-A. 030(A) expressly lists as including both banners and window-painted signs. A business that paints sale prices, hours, or event announcements across its glass draws down that same ten-percent allotment, so a storefront that already uses banners for a grand opening has less room left for window lettering before it crosses into an unpermitted display.
The Development Services Director administers sign permits and can require an Administrative Sign Permit for signage that exceeds the base allowance. A window sign that is never permitted, or that pushes the aggregate temporary-sign area above the ten-percent cap, becomes an illegal sign under the code's definitions and is subject to a correction notice and removal.
Violations & Fines
Redding enforces its sign code as a general municipal code violation. Under Section 1.12.010 and Section 1.12.020, violating any provision, including exceeding the ten-percent window and temporary-sign allotment, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a one-thousand-dollar fine and six months in county jail, unless the city attorney reduces the charge to an infraction, which carries escalating fines of one hundred, two hundred, and five hundred dollars for repeat convictions within a year, and each day of noncompliance is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Redding regulate signs painted or taped inside a store window?
How much window signage can a Redding business display?
What happens if a Redding business exceeds its window sign allowance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redding
California rules heatmap·Compare Redding to another location·View the California sign regulations overview
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