Winter Haven, FL Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Sec. 21-241(c) sets the City's baseline permit rule for signs: no sign can be constructed, altered or extended until a permit is issued by the building division, but the same subsection carves out temporary signs for special events, temporary window signs, real estate signs and political signs as categories that do not require a permit. Sec. 21-242 then lists specific signs that are permitted anywhere in the City without a permit, though placement, design or duration may still need building division approval, and subsection (e) names shop window signs as one of those categories, defined as signs in a window display of merchandise when incorporated with that display.

The code does not set a numeric coverage cap, such as a percentage of window area, for this category; the operative condition is that the sign be part of a merchandise display rather than a freestanding advertisement. Because window signs fall under the no-permit list rather than the exempted-signs list in Sec. 21-243, they remain subject to the general content and construction rules that apply City-wide, including the prohibition on false or misleading statements in Sec. 21-241(b) and the requirement that signs be legible, well maintained and structurally sound.