How Do I Get a Temporary Sign Permit from the City of Los Angeles?
A banner feels like it should be simpler than a sign, and legally it is not. The City of Los Angeles regulates temporary signage in its own section of the municipal code, with specific limits on how large it can be, how long it can stay up, and how many days per year you get. Most violations here are not defiance. They are a business that hung a banner for a grand opening, got busy, and left it up. Understanding the rules before you order anything is the difference between a straightforward temporary sign permit and a notice from an inspector.
SHORT ANSWER
A building permit is required for a temporary sign, pennant, banner, ribbon, streamer, or spinner carrying a commercial message, and the application must specify the installation dates and location. Combined temporary sign area is capped at two square feet per foot of street frontage. Permitted temporary signs must come down within 30 days of installation, cannot be reinstalled for 30 days after removal, and cannot total more than 90 days in a calendar year. Cloth signs over 100 square feet must be flameproofed.
What Counts as a Temporary Sign
The code treats this as a category rather than just banners. It covers temporary signs, pennants, banners, ribbons, streamers, and spinners, and they may be made of paper or any other material.
That means the inflatable, the string of pennants along the lot line, and the ribbon across the entrance are all in the same regulatory bucket as the vinyl banner on the building. Businesses frequently permit the banner and overlook everything else hanging beside it.
When a Permit Is Required, and the One Exemption
A building permit is required for a temporary sign carrying a commercial message. The application must specify the dates you are requesting for installation and the proposed location, which is worth noting because it means you are committing to a window up front rather than deciding later.
The exemption is content-based in a specific way: signs containing a political, ideological, or other noncommercial message are treated differently and fall outside that permit requirement.
For a business advertising a grand opening, a sale, or a service, the message is commercial and the permit applies.
The Size Limits
Two separate caps apply, and they are calculated differently.
Street frontage. The combined area of temporary signs may not exceed two square feet for each foot of street frontage. A storefront with 30 feet of frontage is therefore working with 60 square feet total across all temporary signage, not per sign.
Window area. Where temporary signs are placed on a window, their area combined with any other window signs may not exceed ten percent of the window area.
The word combined is what catches people. These are aggregate limits across everything you have up, so a banner plus pennants plus window graphics are measured together rather than individually.
The Time Limits That Catch Everyone
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is where compliant signage becomes a violation without anyone doing anything.
A permitted temporary sign must be removed within 30 days of installation. After removal, it cannot be reinstalled for 30 days from the date it came down. And across a calendar year, installation of temporary signs cannot exceed 90 days total.
Temporary signs that do not require a permit still have to come down within 30 days of installation.
Read together, those provisions mean a business cannot run continuous banner signage by cycling permits. You get a limited number of days per year, with mandatory gaps between displays. If your messaging needs are continuous rather than occasional, that points toward permanent storefront signage rather than an ongoing sequence of temporary permits.
Material and Attachment Requirements
A few physical requirements apply beyond size and timing.
Temporary signs may be tacked, pasted, or otherwise temporarily affixed to windows and to the walls of buildings, barns, sheds, or fences. Anything requiring structural attachment moves toward professional sign installation rather than a DIY hang.
Cloth signs exceeding 100 square feet in aggregate must be flameproofed. That is a material specification to raise with your fabricator at the quoting stage, since it affects what gets produced rather than how it gets installed.
Cloth signs also have an attachment requirement, supported and attached with stranded cable of at least 1/16 inch diameter, or by other methods approved by the Department of Building and Safety. A banner zip-tied through grommets may not satisfy that, which is worth confirming before install day.
How to Apply for a Temporary Sign Permit
- Confirm your zoning and any overlay. Specific plan areas, sign districts, and community design overlays can impose requirements beyond the citywide rules.
- Calculate your allowance. Measure street frontage and window area, and total the temporary signage you intend to display.
- Fix your dates. The application specifies installation dates, so decide the window before applying.
- Prepare the submittal. Location, dimensions, material, and attachment method, plus property owner authorization.
- Submit to the Department of Building and Safety. Applications are handled through the city’s permit system, online or in person.
- Respond to any plan check comments and pay the applicable fees.
- Install within the approved window and diarize the removal date.
That last step prevents most violations. Put the removal date in a calendar the day the permit is issued, because nobody remembers in week four.
Signs in the Public Right-of-Way Are a Different Process
An important distinction that sends applications to the wrong department.
Signage on private property, including a banner on your own building, goes through Building and Safety. Signage in or over the public right-of-way, such as street pole banners, is administered separately through the city’s public works and street services functions, with its own application, fees, and insurance requirements.
If your program involves both, they are two processes rather than one, and they do not run on the same timeline.
Events and Activations
Short-term events add another layer.
Temporary use of a building, property, or the public way for an event involves a separate temporary event permit administered by Building and Safety, and applications typically require sign-off from fire and police before Building and Safety will accept the filing.
The practical consequence is that the published lead time for the final step understates reality. Because approvals must be obtained in sequence from multiple agencies, and none of them coordinate with each other on your behalf, the realistic lead time for anything beyond the simplest setup is weeks rather than days.
Fees, forms, and procedures change, so verify current requirements with the city or through professional sign permitting support rather than relying on figures published anywhere, including here.
What Happens If You Skip It
Enforcement typically begins with an order to comply, and penalties can accrue while the violation continues. The city may require removal, and the property owner as well as the business can be drawn into the matter, since most commercial leases assign signage responsibility.
The more common outcome is quieter. An unpermitted banner sits for months, nobody says anything, and then it surfaces during a lease renewal, a property sale, or a complaint from a neighboring business. Resolving it then costs more than permitting it would have.
Key Takeaways
- Temporary signs, pennants, banners, ribbons, streamers, and spinners with commercial messages require a permit.
- Political, ideological, and other noncommercial messages fall outside that requirement.
- Combined temporary sign area is capped at two square feet per foot of street frontage.
- Window signage is capped at ten percent of window area, counted with other window signs.
- Permitted temporary signs come down within 30 days and cannot be reinstalled for 30 days after.
- Total temporary sign installation cannot exceed 90 days in a calendar year.
- Cloth signs over 100 square feet must be flameproofed, and cloth signs have attachment requirements.
- Public right-of-way signage goes through a different department than private property signage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a banner stay up in Los Angeles?
A permitted temporary sign must be removed within 30 days of installation, cannot be reinstalled for 30 days after removal, and all temporary sign installation combined cannot exceed 90 days in a calendar year.
Can I just keep renewing the permit?
No. The 90-day annual cap and the mandatory 30-day gap between installations prevent continuous temporary signage. Ongoing visibility needs are better served by permanent signage.
How big can my banner be?
Combined temporary sign area is limited to two square feet per foot of street frontage, and it is an aggregate limit across all your temporary signage rather than a per-sign allowance.
Do pennants and streamers need a permit too?
Yes. The code addresses pennants, banners, ribbons, streamers, and spinners in the same provision, and they count toward your combined area.
Does my banner need to be flame resistant?
Cloth signs exceeding 100 square feet in aggregate must be flameproofed. Raise it with your fabricator at quoting, since it affects production.
What about a banner for a community event?
Content matters, since noncommercial messages are treated differently, and placement matters, since the public right-of-way involves a separate process. Confirm both before ordering.
Conclusion
Getting a temporary sign permit from the City of Los Angeles is manageable once you know the three numbers that govern it: two square feet per foot of frontage, 30 days per installation, and 90 days per year. The businesses that run into trouble are almost never the ones that could not get a permit. They are the ones that got one, hung the banner, and never diarized the date it had to come down.
Los Angeles Sign Company designs, permits, fabricates, installs, and removes signage for businesses across Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County. If you are planning temporary signage or weighing it against a permanent solution, reach out today for a free consultation.
