Every outdoor sign in Phoenix is governed by the municipality’s sign ordinance, which sets how large a sign may be, how tall it may stand, how far it must sit from the property line, whether it may be illuminated, and which sign types are permitted in each zoning district. This page summarizes those requirements in plain language and links each value back to the section of the Phoenix code it came from.
Sign rules here are layered. The base zoning district — commercial, industrial, or residential — sets the default limits, and overlay districts such as historic or downtown districts can tighten them further. Because the most specific jurisdiction controls, a freestanding monument sign on a commercial parcel and a wall sign in a historic overlay can face very different limits even on the same street in Phoenix.
Use the figures below as a fast first check, then run a full address lookup to confirm the exact limits for a specific parcel in Phoenix, Arizona. The full report also covers permit requirements, prohibited sign types, and illumination rules — each cited to the source ordinance so your permit application can reference it directly.
Before you order or install a sign in Phoenix, confirm three things: the maximum sign area and height allowed in the parcel’s zoning district, the minimum setback from the right-of-way, and whether the sign type you want — freestanding, monument, wall, projecting, or awning — is permitted there at all. Many permit denials come from missing a setback or an overlay-district restriction rather than from the size of the sign itself, so checking the governing section before applying saves a costly resubmittal.
Census snapshot
Population
1,609,456
Median household income
$72,092
Median home value
$340,200
Time zone
Mountain Time (no DST)
Demographic figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey) and are provided as jurisdiction context for Phoenix; they do not affect sign-code requirements.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Max ground sign height
Corner parcel ground signs: up to 20 feet high (single-sign option) OR up to 5 feet as of right, 8 feet through design review (multi-sign option per street frontage). Maximum height for single-use and multiple-use parcels other than corner classifications is not specified in provided ordinance text.
Awning Signs
Awning Marquee Wall Sign Treatment
Signs on canopies and awnings shall be considered wall signs and subject to wall sign requirements
Building Signs
Painted Wall Sign Design Review
Signs that are painted directly onto walls require design review approval.
Commercial Address Sign Limit
Street address signs, wall-mounted nameplates, and wall-mounted combination nameplate and street address signs with no advertising copy may not exceed 6 square feet in area for commercial and industrial uses.
Directional Signs
Directional Sign Limits
No more than two directional signs are allowed per driveway entrance to a lot, parcel, or multiple-use lot or parcel; only one may include business identification, and each sign must be no more than 6 square feet and 3 feet above grade, with business identification limited to 25 percent of the sign area.
Directional Max Size
6 square feet. No more than two directional signs are permitted per driveway entrance. Business identification is limited to 25 percent of the sign area.
No off-premise sign may have more than two support columns.
Off Premise Shielded Lighting Exception
Lighting for off-premise structures must be shielded under Section 23-100 unless the structure exceeds 301 square feet per sign face, uses removable top panels, and has an automatic shutoff between 11:00 p.m. and sunrise; in that case, no more than four bottom-mounted fixtures with a maximum of 40,000 lumens per fixture and 1,117 lumens spill beyond the sign face are allowed, and fluorescent fixtures are subject to additional shielding limits.
Except as provided, no part of an off-premise advertising structure may be closer than 500 feet from a residential district and residential use; within a PUD boundary there is no setback from residential uses inside the PUD, and a school-site PUD exception may reduce the setback outside the PUD boundary to 250 feet by use permit with visual or physical barriers.
Off Premise Property Line Setback
All off-premise structures, except freeway signs, must maintain a minimum 25-foot setback from property lines adjacent to public rights-of-way.
Ground signs shall be located in front yard or side yard of corner lot adjacent to street
Ground Sign Separation From Building
A freestanding ground sign over eight feet high must be at least one times the width of the sign at its widest point from a building or structure; otherwise it must be attached as a wall or projecting sign unless approved through design review.
An off-premise structure erected within 500 feet of a historic preservation district, or within 250 feet of a special planning district or neighborhood conservation district, requires a use permit and approval findings addressing compatibility, public open areas and parks, public views or vistas, and impacts to adjacent residential uses.
Off Premise Owner Authorization Required
An off-premise sign permit application must include written authorization from the property owner or a recorded easement, and conflicting authorization claims block issuance or suspend an issued permit until resolved.
Off-premise signs may not be erected upon the roof of any building, and no sign may be partially or totally supported by the roof or roof structure of any building.
Temporary Signs
Right Of Way Construction Temporary Sign Limit
temporary business identification during right-of-way construction: Signs limited to 16 sq ft area and no more than 5 feet high
Temporary Event Sign Duration
Temporary event signs must be erected no more than two days before the event and removed no more than one day after the event, with no more than four events at one site in a calendar year.
Window signs may cover up to 30 percent of each ground-floor window area, they are not counted as wall signs, and they may not be located on glass doors.
Window Sign Allowable Area
30 percent of each ground-floor window area. Window signs may not be located on glass doors. Window signs are not counted as wall signs for area compliance purposes.
Zoning
Off Premise Pud Minimum Area
Off-premise advertising structures in a PUD must comply with all standards in this section and the PUD gross area must have a minimum of 20 acres; a smaller PUD may qualify if the structure is on publicly owned K-12 school land and the PUD has a minimum gross area of 15 acres.
Need the full sign-code report?
The full interactive report includes all sign types, illumination rules, permit requirements, and source citations — for free.