Tuscaloosa, AL Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Sec. 25-182(a), part of article VI, division 10, signs and billboards, applies the twenty percent glass-area cap to any sign placed on, in, or immediately behind a storefront window, whether it advertises hours, promotions, or the business name. The cap runs separately for the front façade and for each additional street-level façade, so a corner store with two street-facing walls of glass can carry the full twenty percent on each side. Sec. 25-177(b)(3) exempts window signs specifically from the city's sign permit requirement, one of only ten sign types the ordinance lists as permit-exempt, but that exemption never lifts the coverage limit itself: a business that covers more than a fifth of its glass is still in violation even without a permit application on file.

The ordinance layers additional bans on top of the general cap in two districts. In the downtown (D) district, Sec. 25-78(e)(8)(ii) states that 'painted window signs and backlit or illuminated awnings are prohibited,' and Sec. 25-81(e)(1)(viii)(d) repeats the identical prohibition for the riverfront (R) district along the Black Warrior River. Outside those two districts, a painted or vinyl-lettered window sign is allowed as long as it stays under the twenty percent threshold. The director of planning administers sign review generally under Sec. 25-179, and measures window sign area using the glass-area methodology in Sec. 25-178, sign measurements, rather than the frame or mullion area.