Saint Paul, MN Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Saint Paul's zoning code regulates window signs by district under Chapter 64. In the T1-T4 traditional neighborhood, F1-F6 Ford, and OS-BC business districts, Sec. 503(b)(5) states that temporary window signs shall cover no more than 30 percent of the store window area, including windows in doors, between 4 and 7 feet above grade, and shall not block the view from a public right-of-way into the clerk or cashier station. The identical 30-percent cap and clerk-visibility rule applies in the B2-B3 business and IT industrial districts under Sec.

504(b)(5). The purpose of the visibility carve-out is spelled out in Sec. S. Department of Justice Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design guidance that improving visibility between a business and the street reduces crime, and requires nonconforming temporary window signs to be brought into compliance within six months of the section's effective date. Separately, permanent interior window signs are defined in Sec. 121 as any sign placed on or behind a window, or within four feet of one, that is oriented toward and visible from the street; their area is measured as the smallest area enclosing all lettering, numerals, or designs (reduced by 50 percent when there is no defined background), and window sign area is not counted against the gross surface display area otherwise allowed on the lot.

Interior window signs of 6 square feet or less that show only open/closed text are exempt from the dynamic-display monochrome and color restrictions that apply to other signs in these districts.