Every outdoor sign in Hollywood 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 Hollywood 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 Hollywood.
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 Hollywood, Florida. 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 Hollywood, 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.
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Ground sign setback
At least 1 ft of setback for every 2 ft of sign height, but not less than 3 ft.
Appeal
Sign Permit Appeal
If a sign permit is denied, the applicant may appeal to the City Commission within 30 days after receiving the written denial notice.
Authority
Article 8 Scope
Hollywood Zoning and Land Development Regulations Article 8 governs the number, size, location, and character of signs allowed as main or accessory uses.
Building Signs
Building Sign Max Number
Commercial wall signs: single-tenant buildings get 1 per facade, up to 3 per building; multiple-tenant buildings get 1 per street frontage.
Building Sign Illumination
Permitted if it does not create direct glare; allowed methods include internal channel-letter lights, halo lights, directed external lights with discreet fixtures, and exposed neon, except exposed neon is not allowed on monument signs.
Hollywood's Signage Checklist lists ePermits@hollywoodfl.org and phone 954.921.3335 for sign-permit submittals.
Definitions
Sign Area Measurement
Sign area includes the sign face and elements such as frames, background, embellishments, arrows, or other sign media; structural supports are excluded.
Common Sign Types
Article 2 defines sign types including awning-canopy, banner, billboard, box, canopy, freestanding, monument, pole, post and panel, projecting, wall, and window signs.
Freestanding signs must maintain a minimum setback of one foot for every two feet of sign height, but not less than three feet.
Freestanding Landscaping
Landscaping must be provided at the base of each freestanding sign, equal in area to the sign length by a width of two feet, with living ground cover or shrubs.
Sign lighting must not cause direct glare onto another property, motorists, or pedestrians; signs may be illuminated by internal channel-letter lights, halo lights, directed external lights with discreet fixtures, or exposed neon except on monument signs.
Maintenance
Sign Maintenance
All signs must be maintained in good condition and appearance and may not show deterioration, weathering, discoloration, rust, or other inadequate-maintenance conditions.
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Materials
Permitted Sign Media Materials
Permitted media/materials include individually mounted or reverse channel letters, metal/wood/similar panels with push-through or die-cut letters, stuccoed surfaces with channel letters, painted wall signs on smooth surfaces, and letters/symbols integrated into building architecture.
Nonconforming
Legal Nonconforming Status
Signs inconsistent with Article 8 are legal nonconforming only if a building permit was issued before installation and the sign is not in violation of Sec. 8.5.B; all other signs are illegal nonconforming.
Nonconforming Repair Limit
Repair value for a nonconforming sign may not exceed 50% of replacement cost as determined by the Building Official, and no more than one repair building permit may issue within a three-year period.
Except as provided in Article 8, a person or firm may not post, display, repair, change, paint, or erect a sign or sign structure without first obtaining a sign permit; separate sign permits are required for each sign.
Signage Checklist Permanent Temporary
The City Signage Checklist states installation or replacement of a permanent or temporary sign requires a Sign Permit.
30 days after a complete application to approve or deny.
Permitted
Residential Monument Wall Limits
In RS-1 through RS-10, RM-9, TP, and qualifying PD/PUD single-family districts, monument/identification signs and wall identification signs are limited to 25 square feet and one sign per entrance.
Medium High Multifamily Limits
Medium/high multifamily districts allow one freestanding monument/identification or post-and-panel sign per street frontage, one canopy/projecting/wall sign per street frontage, and parapet signs on buildings 10 stories or greater, subject to the Sec. 8.4.A.2 size table.
Hollywood regulates signs permissively: a sign is not allowed unless expressly permitted and not expressly prohibited.
Prohibited
Prohibited Locations Designs
Prohibited sign conditions include flashing signs, signs that mimic or may be confused with traffic-control devices, signs causing glare or impaired driver vision, signs emitting sounds/odors/visible matter, insecure signs, signs attached to trees or vegetation, and private signs on public property or rights-of-way.
Prohibited Sign Types
Prohibited sign types include rooftop signs, off-premises signs, swinging signs, snipe signs, animated/rotating signs, A-frame signs except in CRA districts, permanent banners, buntings/fluttering devices/pennants/streamers, running lights/electronic message centers, bare-bulb signs, box signs, pole signs, and neon banding around freestanding signs and existing box signs.
Temporary
Temporary Banner Signs
Temporary banner signs require a sign permit, may be up to 50 square feet, and except for institutional/governmental uses, are limited to one sign for 10 consecutive days no more than three times in a 12-month period.
Active Building Permit Temporary Signs
Temporary signs with an active building permit require sign permits; they may be erected at building permit issuance and must be removed at certificate of occupancy or building-permit expiration.
Yes; temporary signs are allowed, but banner, active-building-permit, and real-estate temporary signs require a sign permit.
Temp Sign Rules
Banner signs: up to 50 sq ft, 1 sign, 10 consecutive days, no more than 3 times in 12 months, permit required; temporary signs with an active building permit: permit required, may go up at building-permit issuance, remove at certificate of occupancy or permit expiration; temporary real estate signs: permit required, remove within 7 days after sale or lease; temporary noncommercial signs: residential 24 sq ft and 4 ft high for 180 days, or nonresidential 24 sq ft per sign with a 100 sq ft total cap and 15 ft high for 180 days.
Window Signs
Window Sign Allowable Area
Up to 100% of the window area.
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