Check your sign before you file
Send your dimensions and the city you are in, and we will reply with what that city's code allows for that sign. No charge. We are not a sign contractor and not a permit agent.
Four ways to charge Charged yearly No fee published
| City | What the city charges on | Starting figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Building alteration filing fee, plus a charge by sign area and type, and an annual use fee if the sign is lit | $5 for each 100 sq ft on top of the filing fee, not less than $35; from $45 a year if illuminated | Administrative Code § 28-112.2, Table 28-112.2, amendment effective 12/21/2025 |
| Dallas | Flat amounts by sign type | $281 for a premise sign | Permit Fee Schedule, Ordinance 33080, effective July 1, 2025 |
| Fort Worth | Application fee plus add-ons for display area, height above grade and electrical amperage | $38.98 application fee before any add-on | Table 1-K, Ordinance 26-28781, effective October 1, 2026 |
| Houston | Per action, and the on-premise permit is renewed every year | $97.25 plan exam; $69.46 a year to keep the sign | Building Code Enforcement Sign Administration 2026 Fee Schedule, revised January 2026 |
| Phoenix | Staff time for review, then a flat permit fee per sign | $195 per hour with a one-hour minimum; $98 per wall sign | PDD Fee Schedule, approved 12/17/2025, effective 1/20/2026 |
| Seattle | Tiers by sign area | $193.20 for the first 32 sq ft | 2026 Fee Subtitle, Table D-16, effective January 1, 2026 |
| San Diego | Flat plan check by sign type, with an inspection fee when the sign is electric | $793.95 plan check for one wall sign, plus $737.00 general plan maintenance on every application | Information Bulletin 111, May 2026 |
| Philadelphia | Flat per sign, charged separately by the zoning side and the building side | $253 for an accessory sign on each of the two permits | Summary of zoning and construction permit fees, Rev 7.2026 |
| San Francisco | Flat Planning review fee, with Building Inspection charging its own on top | $246 at Planning; the building permit fee is not published in a document we could open | Planning Department Fee Schedule, effective August 29, 2025, updated June 15, 2026 |
| Denver | Flat zoning fee | $25 | Denver Development Fees page, no date printed |
| Columbus | Flat, by one size break | $500 under 100 sq ft, $600 at or above | 2026 Combined Development Related Fee Schedule |
| Las Vegas | Per square foot of sign area | $0.50 per sq ft | Department of Planning Fee Schedule, Resolution R-21-2008 |
| San Antonio | Line items for area, lighting type and height, plus two percentage fees | $50 inspection + $50 plan review + $10.80 for the first 32 sq ft | Information Bulletin 191, revised March 2025 |
| Nashville | The valuation of the work, from the commercial construction table, with a minimum for a sign | $40.39 for the first $2,000 of valuation; $55.00 minimum for a sign permit | Codes Fee Schedule (BL2022-1215, BL2022-1254), as published |
| Boston | The estimated cost of the work, through a Long Form or Short Form building permit; the fee schedule has no sign line | $50 + $10 per $1,000 (new sign, Long Form)1 | ISD Building Division Permit Fees, with the sign-to-permit link from the Boston Planning page |
| Miami | A flat planning warrant fee; the building permit fee schedule has no sign line | $475 warrant entitlement fee2 | Chapter 62, Article VI, Sec. 62-22, Ordinance 13981 |
| Sacramento | A flat submittal fee; the other fees are named but not priced | $100 submittal fee; other fees not published3 | Sign Permit Application CDD-0274, Revised 01-01-2023 |
| Charlotte | Not published for commercial signs | No figure published | Chapter 13 sets a 15-business-day review deadline but prints no amount |
| Indianapolis | Not published | No figure published | Sign Regulations Chapter 734 requires a permit but prints no fee |
1 Boston: the ISD fee schedule never mentions signs; the sign-to-permit link comes from the Boston Planning page, so the figure is a building permit fee on the estimated cost of the work, not a sign fee.
2 Miami: only the warrant entitlement fee is shown; the separate Warrant – Sign Package line is left out because the published table does not say which printed figure is the flat fee and which is the per-square-foot rate.
3 Sacramento: the city names its sign fees but prints the amounts only in a Development Fee Schedule we could not find on a public path; $100 is the one amount the application form prints.
Each city page carries that city's full fee table and the link to the document itself.
Four different ways of charging
Put the nineteen side by side and the fees fall into four shapes. Denver, Columbus, Dallas, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco charge a flat amount by permit or sign type. Seattle, Las Vegas and San Antonio charge on how big the sign is. Phoenix charges for the hours its staff spend reviewing. Fort Worth, San Antonio and New York stack add-ons on top of a base fee, so two signs of the same size can cost very different amounts depending on height, lighting and amperage. Nashville and Boston do not price the sign itself: they price the work, by valuation in Nashville and by estimated cost in Boston, from a general building table. Miami and Sacramento publish a single flat fee each.
That is why a quoted figure from one city tells you nothing about another, and why a sign contractor who works in one metro will guess wrong in the next.
The spread is wider than most owners expect. A zoning sign permit in Denver is $25. The plan check on a single wall sign in San Diego is $793.95, before the $737.00 that lands on every application there. Same sign, same country, thirty times the money.
The ones that charge you every year
Four of the nineteen keep charging after the sign is up. Houston does not sell you a permit once: an on-premise sign permit there is an annual operating permit renewed every year, with fees subject to an automatic increase each January 1. New York charges an annual use fee on any illuminated sign, from $45 a year for a small one. Dallas charges an annual registration on non-premise signs, and $2,817 a year on a detached non-premise digital display. San Francisco charges $349 a year per general advertising sign just to keep it on the inventory. Budget those as running costs, not install costs.
Two cities that publish nothing
Charlotte and Indianapolis both require a sign permit and neither prints an amount we could tie to commercial signs. Charlotte's ordinance says only that all fees in accordance with the associated fee schedule shall be paid, and puts a 15-business-day deadline on the city's review. Indianapolis requires an Improvement Location Permit and leaves the fee off the regulations. In both cases you have to ask the department before you order the sign.
Every figure on this page is taken from the city's own published fee schedule and was read on 7 October 2026. Each city page links the document it came from. Cities revise these schedules, most of them in January; confirm the current amount before you file.
Not sure what your city charges? Send your dimensions and we will tell you →