San Antonio · UDC §35-310.15
Why your San Antonio wall sign depends on your street class
San Antonio sizes your wall sign as a percentage of your building elevation — but the floor you're guaranteed depends on whether your entrance faces a collector, an arterial, or an expressway. That table-driven structure is why a single number off a frontage calculator won't cut it. Here's what actually controls your sign.
San Antonio uses a facade-percentage table, with a street-class minimum.
Under the Unified Development Code (§35-310.15), the maximum wall-sign area is a percentage of each building elevation set out in Table 310.15-2. But on top of that percentage, every occupancy gets a guaranteed minimum that scales with the class of street its public entrance faces. So your real allowance is "the greater of the table percentage or your street-class minimum" — which you can't read off a simple per-foot formula.
Your street class sets your guaranteed minimum
Whatever the facade percentage works out to, the code guarantees each occupancy at least this much sign area based on the street its separate public entrance faces:
Collector street
Minimum 50 sq ft of sign message area.
Arterial (Type A or B)
Minimum 75 sq ft of sign message area.
Expressway
Minimum 100 sq ft of sign message area.
Source: San Antonio Unified Development Code §35-310.15, Table 310.15-2 (wall signs / attached signs). Confirmed June 2026.
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The rules that apply citywide
Beyond the facade table, these are confirmed in the UDC and Sign Code (Chapter 28). Use them as a sanity check before you talk to a fabricator:
- A building sign over 32 sq ft requires a permit. Only non-electric, non-illuminated signs of 32 sq ft or less, securely affixed and within frame limits, are exempt (and never in the Riverwalk Area).
- Wall-sign area is a percentage of your building elevation (Table 310.15-2), measured along all street frontage.
- No fluorescent colors, reflective surfaces, blinking lights, or rotating/moving parts are permitted on a sign.
- Digital displays must have a dimmer control and a photocell that auto-adjusts to ambient light, and must stay under the code's brightness (nits) limits.
- The Riverwalk Area has its own sign rules that override the standard exemptions.
Source: San Antonio UDC §35-310.15; City Sign Code Chapter 28 (§28-30, §28-43). Confirmed June 2026.
⚠ Why you can't just read a number off a calculator
The exact facade percentage lives in Table 310.15-2, and your real allowance is the greater of that percentage or your street-class minimum (50 / 75 / 100 sq ft). Getting it wrong — or missing that your entrance faces an arterial vs a collector — means a rejected permit. Any sign over 32 sq ft needs a permit, and electrical/structural work pushes you toward a licensed contractor.
Get a free quote from a licensed San Antonio sign contractor
Skip the facade-percentage table and street-class lookups. A licensed local pro confirms your exact allowance, checks the Table 310.15-2 figure for your elevation, and handles the permit.
Get my free sign quote →
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San Antonio sign checklist
Before you design or order anything, confirm:
- What street class does my public entrance face? (Collector → 50, Arterial → 75, Expressway → 100 sq ft minimum.)
- What's the facade percentage for my building elevation in Table 310.15-2?
- Is my sign over 32 sq ft? → permit required.
- Does my sign have blinking lights, reflective surfaces, or moving parts? → prohibited.
- Is it a digital display? → dimmer + photocell + nits limits required.
- Am I in the Riverwalk Area? → separate, stricter rules.
Official San Antonio resources
Go straight to the city for permits and the binding code:
San Antonio Sign & Billboard Permits (Development Services) — applications, fees, and UDC §35-310.15.
I'm a new business owner and English isn't my first language — where do I start?
First find what street class your entrance faces — that sets your guaranteed minimum (50 / 75 / 100 sq ft). Then your fabricator pulls the exact facade percentage from Table 310.15-2. Because any sign over 32 sq ft needs a permit and the table is technical, most owners hire a licensed sign company that confirms the allowance and pulls the permit as part of the job.
Why can't this page just tell me my exact square footage?
San Antonio's allowance is the greater of a facade percentage (from Table 310.15-2) or a street-class minimum, plus Riverwalk and digital-display rules — variables that need site-specific confirmation. Anyone who gives you a single number sight-unseen is guessing. We give you the structure and the official sources so you don't get blindsided.
This is an informational guide based on the public San Antonio Unified Development Code (§35-310.15) and Sign Code (Chapter 28), not a permit, legal advice, or a guarantee of compliance. Wall-sign allowances in San Antonio depend on building elevation, the Table 310.15-2 percentage, street class, and special-area rules that require professional confirmation. Always verify with San Antonio Development Services and a licensed sign contractor before designing, ordering, or installing a sign.
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Last inspected against the official code: June 2026 · monitored monthly