Sign permits across Texas
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
28
Always need one
19
Depends on size
1
| Where the line falls | Fee | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 2,390,125 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| San Antonio | 1,526,656 | Yes | Installing, erecting, or altering any sign requires a sig… | — |
| Austin | 993,588 | Unconfirmed | — | The code does not print a dollar amount. Austin sets permit… |
| El Paso | 681,723 | Yes | A sign permit is required before a sign is placed. The pe… | — |
| Corpus Christi | 317,317 | Unconfirmed | — | Sign permit is $158.12; a building permit for electrical si… |
| Plano | 293,286 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Laredo | 261,260 | Yes | Installing a business or property sign requires a sign pe… | — |
| McKinney | 227,526 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Grand Prairie | 207,331 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Amarillo | 203,729 | Yes | You need a sign permit to install a business or property … | The code sets sign permit and inspection fees in a separate… |
| Brownsville | 191,967 | Yes | Installing a business or property sign needs a Sign Permi… | — |
| Denton | 165,998 | Yes | Installing a business or property sign needs a sign permi… | — |
| Killeen | 160,616 | Yes | You need a sign permit to install a business or property … | Sign permit and related fees are set in the adopted fee sch… |
| Mesquite | 150,140 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Sign permit fees per Appendix D (Sec. 12-106), e.g. freeway… |
| Pasadena | 149,617 | Yes | Most on-premises signs need a permit; a short list of sma… | Sign permit fees are set in Sec. 31-9 (amount not shown in … |
| Waco | 146,608 | Yes | You need a sign permit to install a business or property … | The code does not print a dollar amount for a sign permit i… |
| Midland | 143,687 | Yes | You need a sign permit to install a business or property … | Temporary sign permit: $50.00 annual fee (Sec. 11-7a-11). S… |
| Lewisville | 135,983 | Yes | Installing a business or property sign needs a sign permi… | Sign fees are set by the city fee schedule (Sec. 2-201 / Se… |
| Round Rock | 135,359 | Yes | business or property sign (some exceptions such as refaci… | — |
| Abilene | 130,501 | Yes | Sign permit required for business/property signs; exempt … | A $3,000 performance guarantee (bond) must be filed before … |
| Pearland | 129,620 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| College Station | 128,023 | Yes | A sign permit is required to install a sign; routine main… | Repair of conforming signs damaged by accident or act of Go… |
| League City | 118,456 | Unconfirmed | — | — |
| Richardson | 118,221 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Set by the Master Fee Schedule |
| New Braunfels | 116,477 | Depends | A business or property sign normally needs a building per… | Sign permit fees are set per Appendix D of the Code; the am… |
| Conroe | 114,581 | Yes | A permit is required for a freestanding on-premises sign;… | A sign permit fee applies, set in Appendix A. |
| Allen | 113,746 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Sugar Land | 109,851 | Yes | Installing a business or property sign needs a sign permi… | Sign permit fee is set in Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinanc… |
“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.