Almost every permanent exterior sign on the Front Range needs a permit, and every jurisdiction writes its own rules. Denver, Englewood, Littleton, Sheridan, Lakewood, Aurora and Arvada each have a separate sign code, a separate application, and separate people reviewing it.

We've been pulling sign permits in this region since 2003. If you already have a sign company, or you're a general contractor handling a tenant finish, we'll take the permitting on as its own scope.

What the codes actually regulate

Size, usually as a ratio to your storefront width or wall area rather than a flat number. Height, which is where pylons and monuments run into limits. Setback from the property line and the right-of-way. Illumination type and brightness, with tighter rules where commercial backs onto residential. How many signs you get and of what kinds. Sight-triangle clearance at driveways and corners.

Two rules catch people repeatedly. Anything projecting over a public sidewalk is an encroachment, which in Denver is a separate permit from the sign permit and carries its own insurance requirement. And a historic district or a planned development adds design review on top of the code — a sign that's fully compliant with the zoning can still be turned down on appearance.

Landlord approval is not the same as a permit

These get confused constantly. Your lease almost certainly has sign criteria attached, and your landlord's approval satisfies your lease — not the city. The reverse is also true. We check both, and we've seen plenty of signs that would pass one and fail the other.

What we produce

Code research for your specific parcel, so you know what's permittable before anything gets designed. Scaled shop drawings and elevations to whatever the reviewing jurisdiction wants. The application itself, submitted and tracked. Responses to review comments, which is where most of the actual time goes. Landlord criteria review and submittal. Encroachment applications where a sign projects into the right-of-way.

The order matters

The expensive mistake is designing and fabricating a sign, then finding out it's ten percent too large or two feet too tall. Rework at that stage costs real money and weeks.

Start with what the code allows on your parcel. Design to that. Then permit it. Done in that order, permitting is a scheduling item rather than a crisis — and if you're working to an opening date, the permit timeline is almost always the long pole, not fabrication.

Existing signs

If you've inherited signage with no paperwork, or you've had a code complaint, we can research what's on file and what it would take to bring things into compliance. That's a common call and not an embarrassing one — unpermitted signage is everywhere, usually installed by somebody long gone.

Send us the address, a photo of the frontage, and your lease sign criteria if you have them. We'll tell you what's possible before you spend anything on design.

Permitting is billed hourly plus jurisdiction fees, which are set by the city and passed through at cost.