Guides
Sign Buyer Guides for Los Angeles
8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley · Open daily 7 AM–10 PM
Rather skip the reading? Send a phone photo of the wall. The first mockup and one round of changes are free for business-sign requests, per location. Extra rounds are billed.
What signs and wraps cost
-
Illustration
Cost guide Channel letter sign cost
How tall the letters are, how many, how they light and how they mount, plus what a quote can leave out. In the City of LA, channel letters get 20% more wall-sign area when the background color stays the same. Read the channel letter guide
-
Illustration
Cost guide How much does a business sign cost?
Seven sign types side by side, from vinyl window lettering to a pylon sign, each with a national reference and what moves it. Plus the lines a complete sign quote should list. Read the business sign guide
-
Illustration
Cost guide What vehicle wraps cost
Door lettering through a full wrap: why coverage, the vehicle's size, the film and the design work move the price, plus wrap lifespan and the paint question. Read the vehicle wrap guide
Any range in these guides is a national reference, not our price. Send a photo for a quote for your building.
Sign-type photos are illustrations, not our projects.
Three questions, short answers
Most sign projects in LA start with the same three questions. Here is the short version, and the guide that goes deeper on each.
- What will it cost? Size, lighting, mounting, the wall and your city's rules set the price. For scale only: HomeAdvisor's national reference puts channel letters at $4,000 to $20,000 installed and monument signs at $5,000 to $20,000 (HomeAdvisor, updated June 20, 2026). Both are national figures, not what we charge. The business sign cost guide lines up seven sign types.
- Which sign fits? Start with where people see it from: the sidewalk, a car on the boulevard or the front desk. Then let your hours decide lit or unlit. Types of signs matches each type to a building.
- Will the city allow it? In the City of Los Angeles, a new sign, an alteration and a removal all need a permit. New faces in an existing cabinet usually don't, as long as the cabinet stays (LADBS Sign Manual). Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena run their own sign review.
Choosing the right sign
-
Illustration
Guide Types of signs
Wall, freestanding, projecting, window, interior and vehicle signs: where each one works and the City of LA rule that limits it. Read the sign types guide
-
Illustration
By kind of business Signs by industry
What restaurants, shops, clinics, offices and shopping centers usually need: outside, on the glass and inside. See signs by industry
-
Illustration
Process How a sign project works
Seven steps from a phone photo to a finished sign, and who does each one: you, your landlord, our shop, the city or the licensed installer. See how it works
Send a photo. We'll suggest options that fit your wall and your city's rules.
Sign-type photos are illustrations, not our projects.
Permit guide
Los Angeles sign permits, start to finish
The Los Angeles sign permit guide covers the City of LA: when a business sign needs a permit, what LADBS asks for, the wait times LADBS publishes and who can pull a permit for a lit sign. Each point links to the official source.
Two rules catch people out. A sign within a mall needs a permit, and so do temporary business signs and banners. And a lit sign's permit can go only to a C-10 electrical contractor or a C-45 electrical sign contractor (LADBS Sign Manual, P/BC 2023-078).
A licensed sign-contractor partner files the permit. We prepare the drawings and coordinate. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number.
Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena review signs their own way
- Burbank Burbank sign permits Burbank's Planning Division reviews sign applications for zoning first. Its checklist asks for a site plan and an elevation plan, and incomplete applications aren't accepted. Read the Burbank guide
- Glendale Glendale sign permits No sign, banner included, goes up, changes or moves in Glendale without a permit from its building official. Many sites with business buildings approved after July 25, 2000 need a sign program that sets sign location, construction and lighting. Read the Glendale guide
- Pasadena Pasadena sign permits Some signs get a design review first, by city staff or the Design Commission depending on the project. Six or more non-residential tenant spaces on one property means a Master Sign Plan. Read the Pasadena guide
One address is enough. You get a written answer from our Sun Valley shop naming the city that reviews it. Information, not an approval.
Sources: Burbank's sign application checklist, Glendale Municipal Code § 30.33.050 and § 30.33.220, and Pasadena's design review page. Information, not an approval.
Which guide to read first
| Your situation | Read first | Then | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening a restaurant or shop | Types of signs | Channel letter sign cost | Open after dark? Plan for a lit sign and power near the sign location. Send your landlord's sign criteria with the first photo. |
| New faces on an existing cabinet or pylon panel | LA sign permits | Pylon signs | Measure each face opening and photograph the old faces. Whether the cabinet stays decides the City of LA permit question (see the FAQ below). |
| Comparing two sign quotes | What a complete quote includes | How a sign project works | Check that both quotes cover the same things: drawings, permit, engineering, electrical, removal of the old sign and installation, with the installer's CSLB license number. |
| Lettering or wrapping a work van | What vehicle wraps cost | Vehicle wraps | Price follows how much of the vehicle the film covers. For a quote, photograph every side and note the year, make and model. |
| A business in Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena | The guide for your city: Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena | Types of signs | Each city runs its own sign review, not LADBS. In a shopping center, ask whether the property has a sign program or sign plan. |
| Not sure which city reviews your address | Permits by city | Check My Address | The city on your mail isn't always the city that reviews the sign. Sun Valley, North Hollywood and Van Nuys are neighborhoods of the City of LA, and ZIMAS shows the zone of any City of LA parcel. |
The City of LA entries summarize the LADBS Sign Manual. Information, not an approval: a sign district, a specific plan or your landlord can set tighter limits.
Editorial rules
How these guides are written
- Sources, linked. Permit facts come from city documents, such as the LADBS Sign Manual or Glendale's municipal code, and the source is linked where the fact appears.
- National references, not our prices. We don't publish our own prices. Cost ranges come from named national sources, such as HomeAdvisor, and are labeled that way. Your number comes from a photo of your building.
- Information, not an approval. Rules change. We confirm them for your address.
- Who does what. We design, fabricate, prepare drawings and coordinate. Installation and permit filing are done by a licensed sign-contractor partner. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number, and you can look up any license on the CSLB website.
Spotted a rule that changed? Tell us which guide, and link the source if you have it.
About Angels SignsQuestions sign buyers ask
Still deciding? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo and ask.
Are the prices in these guides your prices?
Do these guides cover my city?
Do new faces in my old sign cabinet need a permit?
Do you install the sign and file the permit yourselves?
Can I see sign materials before I choose?
Is the information in these guides a permit approval?
Read enough? Send a photo of your wall.
Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. Or bring your logo to the shop, open daily 7 AM–10 PM.
What to send
- A straight-on photo of the wall, or of the vehicle from each side.
- The address, so we know which city reviews the sign.
- Your logo file and your landlord's sign criteria, if you have them.
One photo is enough to start.
8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352Open daily 7 AM to 10 PMGet directions