Bay County, FL Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

5-83 limits to adult novelty stores, tattoo establishments and body piercing establishments, operating inside the tourism corridor area bounded by the Hathaway Bridge, Phillips Inlet Bridge and Buchanan Bridge near Panama City Beach. All permitted signs must be flat wall signs; total sign area is capped at one square foot per linear foot of the premises' street frontage, up to a hard ceiling of 25 square feet. Window signs are prohibited outright, with two narrow exceptions: a single one-square-foot sign on the entry door stating hours of operation and 'adults only' admittance, and a single three-square-foot sign reading only 'OPEN' that may sit in a window.

No merchandise or pictures of the adult products or entertainment offered inside may be displayed in glass areas or anywhere visible from a public street, and freestanding on-premises signs are banned entirely. Existing businesses in the corridor had to bring their signage into compliance by August 1, 1998, and the window-display rule specifically by July 1, 1998. Defined terms used in the section otherwise carry the meanings in the county's land use code's sign chapter, chapter IX, to the extent that chapter does not conflict with these adult-business-specific limits.