Honolulu County, HI Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Article 7 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, the Land Use Ordinance's sign chapter, carves window displays out of its sign-permitting system entirely. § 21-7.20's definition of 'Sign' itself excludes them: a sign is 'any structure, billboard, marquee, awning, canopy, street clock, announcement, declaration, demonstration, display, flag, pennant, banner, balloon, illustration, or insignia used to advertise, attract, or promote the interests of any person when it is placed on any property, building, or structure in view of the general public; provided that window displays or merchandise displays shall not be considered signs.' Because a window display isn't a 'sign' under that definition, it doesn't need the permit § 21-7.60(a) otherwise requires for 'any sign or signs,' and it isn't counted against a business's sign-area allowance.

That exemption comes with its own narrow standard, though. § 21-7.20 separately defines 'Window Display' as 'the showing of any announcement, illustration, insignia, or lettering relating to merchandise for sale on the premises of a ground floor establishment, within a window or other similar building wall opening,' and its standard requires that any lettering, illustration, insignia, or announcement in that display 'be limited to the inside of the glass surface of the window.' A business can't paint or post it on the exterior glass or hang it loose in front of the window; it has to sit behind the glass. The same standard caps a window display to 'the first floor of a building,' so a second-floor tenant, even one visible from the street, can't rely on the window-display exemption at all: its window signage would instead have to qualify under one of the chapter's other regulated sign categories, such as identification or business signs, and get a permit like any other sign.