Almost every exterior sign in Los Angeles needs a permit, and the rules are not simple. The City of Los Angeles sign code limits sign area per building frontage, height, projection over the sidewalk, illumination and the number of signs, and different zones, specific plans and historic districts add their own rules. Illuminated signs need a separate electrical permit and inspection. Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and every other city have their own codes and forms.
Global Signs & Graphics prepares and files sign permit applications as part of every exterior sign project, and as a standalone service for businesses, landlords and contractors who need permits pulled for signs already designed. Because we also fabricate and install, the sign we permit is the sign that gets built, and the inspection is scheduled by the same crew that installs it.
Our sign permitting service covers everything needed to get a sign permit in Los Angeles — sign permit requirements, drawings, city sign approval, illuminated sign permits, restaurant sign permits and supergraphics permits.
Not sure whether your sign needs a permit, or already been told to remove one? Send us a photo of the building and the sign design and we will tell you what the code allows and what the permit involves. As a Los Angeles sign permit company we offer a complete sign permitting service, from the business sign permit application to approval, so you can get a sign permit in Los Angeles without the back and forth.
Code Review & Zoning Check
We confirm the zoning of your property, the allowed sign area, height and illumination, and any specific plan, overlay or historic rules before the sign is designed, so the application is approved rather than rejected.
Permit Drawings & Application
Scaled elevations, site plans, sign details, mounting and electrical drawings prepared to the city’s submittal standards, and the application filed with LADBS or your local building department.
Landlord & Property Manager Approval
Shopping centers and office buildings require sign criteria approval before the city permit. We prepare the approval package and adjust the design until the landlord signs off.
Electrical Sign Permits
Illuminated channel letters, cabinets and LED signs need an electrical permit and inspection. As a C-45 Electrical Sign Contractor we pull the electrical permit and connect the sign under it.
Supergraphics, Murals & Special Signs
Large wall graphics and supergraphics, temporary banners, monument and pylon signs and signs in specific plan areas have extra rules in Los Angeles. We review what is possible on your building before you commit.
In the City of Los Angeles, a permit is required for most permanent exterior signs: wall signs, channel letters, cabinet signs, monument and pylon signs, projecting and blade signs, roof signs and illuminated signs of any kind. Temporary banners are limited in size and duration. Window signs are limited to a share of the window area. Interior signs and most vehicle graphics do not need a permit. Supergraphics and mural signs are heavily restricted and, in most areas, not permitted at all.
The penalties for skipping the permit are real: the city can order an unpermitted sign removed, and landlords and insurers increasingly ask for proof of permit. It is far cheaper to permit the sign before fabrication than to remove and rebuild it afterwards.
Simple wall signs and channel letters within the code limits are often approved over the counter or within days. Signs that need plan check, signs in specific plan or historic areas, freestanding monument and pylon signs, and anything requiring a variance take longer, from a couple of weeks to several months. Surrounding cities range from very fast to very slow.
We tell you up front which path your sign is on, prepare the drawings so they are accepted on the first submittal, and track the application through to approval and inspection so your opening date is not held hostage by paperwork.
Need a sign permit in Los Angeles? Send us the sign design and a photo of the building and we will tell you what the code allows, what the city needs and how long it will take.
Supergraphic signs. A supergraphic is a very large graphic applied to or draped over a building wall, usually advertising. Under the Los Angeles sign code (LAMC 14.4.4) new supergraphic signs are prohibited citywide, with narrow exceptions for signs specifically permitted by an adopted specific plan, a sign district or a development agreement. If someone offers to sell your wall for a supergraphic, or you want one on your own building, check the address first; in most of the city the answer is no, and unpermitted supergraphics draw fines. We can tell you in a phone call whether your property falls inside one of the exception areas and, if so, what the permit path looks like. Read the full guide: supergraphic sign permits in Los Angeles. Opening a restaurant? See which restaurant signs need a permit.
How to get a sign permit in Los Angeles. A permanent on-site sign (wall sign, channel letters, monument, pylon, projecting sign) needs a building permit from LADBS; illuminated signs also need an electrical permit. The application includes scaled drawings, the sign area calculation against the frontage, mounting details and, for large or freestanding signs, engineering. Our sign permitting service in Los Angeles prepares all of it and walks it through the counter.
Sign permits for a restaurant in California. Restaurants have no special state sign permit; the city permit above applies, plus the landlord’s approval and any conditions on the restaurant’s use permit (some CUPs limit sign size or lighting). Menu boards inside need no permit; a drive-through or exterior menu board does.
Outside the City of Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills each run their own sign codes and counters. We work in all of them weekly. If you are looking for a Los Angeles sign permit company to handle the paperwork for a sign someone else is building, we do that too. Related: sign installation in Los Angeles, monument signs, channel letter signs.
From our shop in Pacoima we permit and install signs across the City of Los Angeles and surrounding cities, including Hollywood, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and West Hollywood. Our team works with permitting requirements, landlords, property managers and inspectors every week.
We look up the property, confirm what the sign code allows and flag anything that would be rejected before design starts.
We prepare the permit drawings and the landlord approval package, and collect the signatures the city requires.
We file the sign and electrical permit applications, respond to plan check comments and track the application to approval.
Our licensed crew installs the permitted sign and meets the inspector for the final sign-off.
Whether you are a business owner opening a location, a landlord updating a center or a contractor finishing a build, the permit goes faster when the people filing it also build and install the sign. Send us the design and a photo of the building and we will take it from there.
For most permanent exterior signs, yes. Wall signs, channel letters, cabinet signs, monument and pylon signs and any illuminated sign require a permit from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. Interior signs and most window graphics do not.
City fees depend on the sign type, size and valuation, and electrical permits are charged separately. Our permitting service is quoted per project and covers the code review, drawings, application and plan check responses. We give you both numbers up front.
Often, yes. If the existing sign meets the code we can prepare as-built drawings and file for the permit. If it does not, we tell you what would need to change and quote the modification.
The city can issue a notice and order the sign removed, and unpermitted signs are a common problem when a property is sold or refinanced. The fix usually costs more than permitting the sign in the first place would have.
In the City of Los Angeles temporary signs are limited in size and duration and may require a permit depending on the situation; many surrounding cities require a temporary sign permit. We check the rule for your address before we print.
Yes. We regularly file permits in Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and other Los Angeles County cities, each with its own code and forms.
A supergraphic is a very large graphic applied to or projected on a building, usually covering a large part of a wall. Los Angeles heavily restricts them and they are prohibited in most areas outside specific sign districts. We can review your building and tell you what is legally possible, and offer permitted alternatives such as wall signs and window graphics.
Yes. Our installation crew schedules and meets the inspector for the sign and electrical inspections, and corrects anything the inspector requests.
