Sign permits across Florida
Where each city draws the line on sign work. Sort any column — useful if you build across several towns and need to know where the rules change.
Cities compared
36
Always need one
32
Depends on size
0
The statewide starting point is Florida Building Code, Building, 2023, 8th edition. Cities that changed the rule are the interesting rows below.
| Where the line falls | Fee | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 1,009,833 | Yes | You need a sign permit to put up a business or property s… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Off-site sign permits mus… |
| Miami | 487,014 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Tampa | 414,547 | Yes | You need a sign permit for a business or property sign. S… | Sec. 27-289.2 handles sign permit fees and process, but the… |
| Orlando | 334,854 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| St. Petersburg | 267,102 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Port St. Lucie | 258,575 | Yes | You need a sign permit from the Building Department to pu… | The city charges a sign inspection fee set by City Council … |
| Hialeah | 235,388 | Yes | You need a building permit to install a business or prope… | The code gives no general fee for a business sign; amounts … |
| Cape Coral | 233,025 | Yes | You need a sign permit before you place, build, alter, or… | — |
| Tallahassee | 205,089 | Yes | You need a sign permit before you erect, alter, or reloca… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Sign permit fees are publ… |
| Fort Lauderdale | 190,641 | Yes | You must get a sign permit before any sign is erected, an… | — |
| Gainesville | 148,720 | Yes | You need a sign permit to put up a business or property s… | — |
| Miramar | 143,242 | Yes | You need a sign permit before you erect, install, move, o… | A non-refundable sign permit fee is due after the applicati… |
| Coral Springs | 140,808 | Yes | You need a sign permit before you install or alter a busi… | — |
| West Palm Beach | 127,744 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Lakeland | 124,990 | Yes | You must get a sign permit before installing a business o… | — |
| Clearwater | 116,811 | Yes | You must get a sign permit before you place, erect, const… | — |
| Miami Gardens | 116,173 | Yes | You need a sign permit to put up a business or property s… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Sign permit fees are set … |
| Davie | 112,052 | Yes | You need a sign permit unless the sign fits one of the li… | — |
| Palm Coast | 106,729 | Yes | You need a sign permit before you build, alter, or reloca… | The code lists no dollar amounts. Fees are published by the… |
| Boca Raton | 102,238 | Yes | You need a sign permit to install a business or property … | The dollar amount is set by the city's municipal facilities… |
| Plantation | 100,694 | Yes | You need a permit to put up a business or property sign. … | The code lists no dollar amount for a sign permit. Amounts … |
| Deltona | 100,513 | Yes | You must get a sign permit before you install a business … | — |
| Sunrise | 100,128 | Yes | You need a sign permit before you install a business or p… | Sign permit fees are set by the development code fee schedu… |
| Fort Myers | 99,918 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Sign permit fees follow the schedule in Sec. 126-42 (which … |
| North Port | 92,875 | Yes | You must get city approval before you install a business … | — |
| Deerfield Beach | 90,507 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | The city sets permit fees by a separate commission resoluti… |
| Melbourne | 87,561 | Yes | You need a sign permit to put up a business or property s… | The code lists no dollar amount. Sign permit fees are set b… |
| Daytona Beach | 86,015 | Yes | You need a sign permit to put up a business or property s… | The code lists no dollar amounts. The City Commission sets … |
| Homestead | 85,796 | Yes | You must get a sign permit before you post, erect, alter,… | — |
| Kissimmee | 84,756 | Yes | You need a sign permit for a business or property sign. K… | Temporary signs carry an application fee due when you apply… |
| Doral | 83,625 | Yes | Most signs need a sign permit; awning, canopy, roller cur… | — |
| Miami Beach | 83,251 | Unconfirmed | — | Building permit fees follow Appendix A, the city's fee sche… |
| Boynton Beach | 83,095 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Largo | 82,337 | Yes | You must get a sign permit before you erect, alter, repai… | — |
| Lauderhill | 76,627 | Yes | You need a sign development permit before you install a b… | Permanent sign with a static message is $100; temporary sig… |
| Tamarac | 75,147 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
“Unconfirmed” means the city's code doesn't state the rule plainly enough to publish. Those city pages link straight to the ordinance section instead.
Why neighboring cities disagree
Every city starts from a model code and then edits it. One town raises the shed cutoff, the next lowers the fence height, a third exempts the structure where its neighbor only exempts repairs to it. None of that is visible from a national article — you have to read each ordinance, which is what these pages do.