8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352 Open daily 7 AM to 10 PM Calls and texts: (818) 806-9006
(818) 806-9006Open daily 7 AM–10 PM Get My Free Mockup & Quote

Pasadena sign rules

Sign Permits and Sign Rules in Pasadena

Pasadena sign permits come from the City of Pasadena, not from LADBS. Its sign code, Zoning Code Chapter 17.48, catches people out: wall signs must be individual letters, a lightbox can't sit flat on a wall unless it's a corporate logo, and new Central District signs get design review first. Each rule below links to its source.

8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley · Open daily 7 AM–10 PM

Check My Address Call (818) 806-9006

Pasadena reviews signs its own way. Send the address, and a person at our Sun Valley shop replies in writing with what the city usually asks for. Information, not an approval.

Text a storefront photoPasadena sign rules, explained How approval works

Illustration: halo-lit individual letters spelling NOVA on a dark storefront at dusk
Illustration: Individual letters are the wall-sign form Pasadena's code allows. A wall-mounted lightbox is not.

The short answer

Do I need a permit for a sign in Pasadena?

For a permanent sign, yes. Pasadena's zoning code requires a building permit to put up, alter, move or rebuild a permanent sign. Only routine maintenance and a short list of small exempt signs skip it.

Some signs need more than the building permit. New signs in the Central District, and signs on new buildings that went through design review, get a design review first. A property with six or more tenant spaces needs an approved Master Sign Plan before a sign permit is issued.

Pasadena is its own city. LADBS, the City of LA's building department, doesn't review signs here, and LA's size limits don't carry over.

City of Pasadena: when a sign needs a permit

Usually needs a permit

  • A new permanent sign
  • Altering, moving or rebuilding a sign
  • Lit signs Brightness is capped at 250 footlamberts.
  • Promotional banners and temporary window signs A Temporary Sign Permit in the CO, CD, CL, CG and IG districts.
  • Any sign on a parcel with 6 or more tenant spaces The Master Sign Plan is approved first.

Usually doesn't

  • Routine maintenance and repair
  • Small window lettering Letters up to 4 in tall, 2 sq ft per window at most.
  • Signs inside, 5 ft or more from a window
  • Address numbers Up to two per street address.
  • Small affiliation signs Such as "cards accepted": 1 sq ft each, three per business.

From the Pasadena Zoning Code, Chapter 17.48 (sections 17.48.030, 17.48.040, 17.48.060 and 17.48.120) and the city's sign design review checklist, read November 2026. General information for the City of Pasadena, not an approval.

Check My Pasadena Address

Send the address and what you have in mind. A person at our Sun Valley shop replies in writing: whether the address is in the City of Pasadena, which sign types its code allows there, and whether design review or a Master Sign Plan likely applies.

Helpful if you have it

  • A straight-on photo of the wall or storefront
  • The center's Master Sign Plan or sign criteria, if you rent
  • A photo of the old sign, if you plan a new face

Email photos to hello@angelssigns.com with the address in the subject.

Street address in Pasadena, or cross streets

Sign type Optional

New or existing Optional

Tenant spaces on the property Optional

We need an email for now so your request reaches our system.

A person at our Sun Valley shop reads it and replies in writing. Information, not an approval: rules change, and we confirm them for your address before anything is drawn. No payment details. We don't sell your details (privacy policy).

Rather talk? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo. Open daily 7 AM to 10 PM.

Pasadena sign rules, explained

The standards that most often shape a business sign, from Chapter 17.48 of the Pasadena Zoning Code. Numbers are for the CD (Central District), CL, CG, CF, IG and MU districts; the CO office district allows less. A Master Sign Plan, a specific plan or your landlord's criteria can be stricter.
See It at the Allowed Size

General information, not an approval. We check the numbers for your address before the mockup is sized.

Compare with the City of LA
Wall signs
Individual letters only, lit from inside or outside. A cabinet can't be used as a wall sign.
Lightbox (cabinet) signs
Not flush on a wall, except corporate logos. A cabinet with an opaque background and lit letters is allowed only as a projecting sign.
How many
Up to two business signs per ground-floor business, in any mix of wall, projecting and awning signs. Outside the Central District the two are counted per frontage; in it, a business with a second frontage may add one sign. Window, directory and building ID signs don't count toward the two.
How much area
1.5 sq ft per foot of building frontage, wall and projecting signs combined. A projecting sign is 20 sq ft at most. In the CO district, 1 sq ft per foot.
How high
Up to 25 ft, or the bottom of the lowest second-story window, whichever is lower.
On the wall
Flat against the wall and no more than 12 in out. Not over windows, cornices, transom windows or piers. Raceways stay as small as possible, inside the outline of the copy, painted to match the wall.
Window signs
Up to 25% of each window, on the ground floor and second story only. Anything within 3 ft of the glass counts as a window sign.
Projecting (blade) signs
At least 8 ft above the walkway, no more than 5 ft into the public right-of-way, at least 2 ft back from the curb and 18 in thick at most. Copy needs depth (routed or push-through), and on a lit one the face panels are opaque, so the letters and logo are all that shine.
Monument and pylon signs
Only on a frontage along a public street, with six tenants per sign at most. Outside the Central District: one per 250 ft of property frontage, 1 sq ft per foot of frontage up to 150 sq ft, 8, 15 or 20 ft tall depending on lot width, and irrigated landscaping around the base. In the Central District, monuments only: 8 ft tall and 40 sq ft at most.
Lighting
Brightness up to 250 footlamberts. Internally lit signs visible from a residential district stay off from 11 PM to 6 AM unless the business is open. No back-lit awnings. Section 17.48.100.D.5 also requires a sign with electrical parts to carry a UL label, or an equal lab's, in plain view.
Not allowed at all
Electronic message signs (time and temperature excepted), signs that blink, flash or move, roof signs, freeway-oriented signs and billboards.
Illustration: a round projecting sign with a dark face and lit letters reading BAR on a brick wall
IllustrationA projecting sign with a dark face and lit letters. In Pasadena a lit cabinet has to project from the wall, with only its copy lit.

The lightbox rule

Why a wall lightbox won't pass in Pasadena

One rule surprises sign buyers here more than any other. Pasadena prohibits cabinet (can) signs mounted flush on a building wall, except for corporate logos, and wall signs must be individual letters. A light box sign that would be routine in the City of LA has to change shape in Pasadena. The code doesn't define a corporate logo, so ask a planner early whether yours qualifies.

Ways to keep a lit sign:

  • Lit channel letters, front-lit or halo-lit, on a slim raceway painted to match the wall.
  • A logo cabinet beside individual letters, where the logo qualifies.
  • A projecting cabinet with an opaque face and routed or push-through letters that light.

Moving into a space with an old wall cabinet? The code allows a reface with conditions: the new face is opaque with only the letters, numbers or symbols lit, and the sign area can't grow. When a business leaves, the cabinet can't sit empty with its lights exposed. It gets a blank opaque panel.

See It on My Storefront

Send a storefront photo; we draw options to Pasadena's rules on it. Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed.

Lit channel letter options

How a sign gets approved in Pasadena

Signs in Pasadena go through the Planning and Community Development Department at the Permit Center, 175 N. Garfield Ave. The usual path for a permanent business sign:

  1. Check the site

    The zoning district, the building frontage, whether the property has a Master Sign Plan, and your landlord's criteria. Together they set what the sign may be before anyone draws it.

    Who Our shop, with you

  2. Talk to a planner

    Pasadena's sign checklists say to review them with a planner at the Permit Center before you submit. Substantially incomplete applications aren't accepted (city checklist).

    Who Applicant or agent

  3. Prepare the drawings

    A to-scale site plan with sign locations and frontage dimensions, color elevations or a color photo simulation with dimensions, large-scale details of mounting, depth, lighting and raceways, and material specs. Physical samples aren't needed for common materials like acrylic and aluminum.

    Who Our shop

  4. Design review, if required

    Required for new signs in the Central District and on new buildings that went through design review. Design and Historic Preservation staff decide most sign cases in one Consolidated Design Review. A new building identification sign goes to a Design Commission hearing.

    Who City staff or commission

  5. Master Sign Plan or Creative Sign Permit

    With six or more tenant spaces on a parcel, or six or more non-exempt signs for a single business, the Director approves a Master Sign Plan before any building permit (Master Sign Plan checklist). Separately, a Creative Sign Permit, also a Director's decision, can allow a one-of-a-kind sign outside the standard limits (city design review page).

    Who Property owner, then the city

  6. Building permit and install

    The department and the Building Official approve the building permit, then the sign goes up. The code's install standards: drill into mortar joints on masonry, remove what's left of the old sign and restore the wall, and hide junction boxes and conduit from view.

    Who Licensed partner

Who files the permit

How Pasadena differs from the City of LA

Most of the San Fernando Valley, including Sun Valley where our shop is, falls under the City of Los Angeles sign code. A Pasadena address follows a different one. Where the two differ most for a business sign:
RuleCity of PasadenaCity of Los Angeles
Who reviewsPlanning and Community Development: design review where required, then a building permit.LADBS (Building and Safety), with City Planning for sign districts and special cases.
Wall lightbox (cabinet)Not allowed flush on a wall, except corporate logos.No citywide ban in the LADBS Sign Manual.
Wall sign area1.5 sq ft per foot of building frontage, wall and projecting signs combined, in most commercial districts.2 sq ft per foot of street frontage plus 1 per foot of building frontage. In place of a full sign inventory, 3 sq ft per foot of the tenant's own frontage.
Digital message signsProhibited, except time and temperature displays.Covered by the city's digital display rules. The property owner signs an affidavit that is recorded with LADBS.
New face on an old cabinetAllowed on a wall cabinet with an opaque background and lit copy, and no added area.No sign permit while the cabinet stays in place.
Lit signs near homesInternally lit signs visible from a residential district are off 11 PM to 6 AM unless the business is open.No lit wall sign facing a rear lot line within 30 ft of an R3 or more restrictive zone.

Sources: Pasadena Zoning Code, Chapter 17.48 and the LADBS Sign Manual, P/BC 2023-078. General information, not an approval.

Read the Los Angeles sign permit guide

Who files

Who files a sign permit in Pasadena?

Pasadena's checklists ask for scaled drawings with the preparer's contact details, plus the city's master application. State law decides who may do the work: California's $1,000 minor-work exemption doesn't apply to any job that needs a permit (CSLB), so whoever installs a permitted sign needs a contractor's license. The sign class is the C-45 sign contractor: fabrication, installation and erection of electric and non-electric signs.

Here's how that splits with us: a licensed sign-contractor partner files the Pasadena permit and installs the sign. We design the sign, prepare the drawings and the photo simulation, and update them when the planner asks for changes. Your quote lists the installer's CSLB license number. Check it yourself on the CSLB website.

Information, not an approval. We don't promise dates the city controls.

How Installation Works

What happens on install day, and what the quote spells out.

Two 3D letter samples, gold mirror and brushed aluminum, on a table in our shop
Our shopLetter samples at our Sun Valley shop.

Made in Sun Valley

From Pasadena to our shop on Lankershim

A sign for a Pasadena address is drawn at our shop at 8511 Lankershim Blvd in Sun Valley, where we also cut letters and print faces and panels. Bring the center's Master Sign Plan or your landlord's criteria, and we'll go through it with you beside real letter samples. Open daily, 7 AM to 10 PM. Call ahead so the person drawing your sign is in.

Directions From PasadenaVisit the shop

Keep reading

Pasadena sign permit questions

Still deciding? Call (818) 806-9006 or text a photo and ask.

Can I put a lightbox sign on my wall in Pasadena?
Not a standard one. Pasadena's code prohibits cabinet signs mounted flush on a wall, except corporate logos, and wall signs must be individual letters. A cabinet can work as a projecting sign if its background is opaque and only the letters light. Information, not an approval.
Can I reuse the old cabinet sign on my building?
Sometimes. Pasadena lets you change the face of an existing wall cabinet when the new face has an opaque background with lit letters, numbers or symbols, and the sign area doesn't grow. Altering, enlarging or moving a nonconforming sign beyond that needs a Sign Exception, a form of variance decided by a hearing officer.
Does my shopping center need a Master Sign Plan?
If the parcel has six or more separate nonresidential tenant spaces, yes, and the Director approves the plan before any sign's building permit. As a tenant, ask your landlord for it. The city notes that, in most cases, a sign that follows an approved plan can be approved without another design review.
Can I have a digital or LED message sign in Pasadena?
Electronic message signs are prohibited, except time and temperature displays, and so are signs that blink, flash or move. Static lit signs, such as LED-lit channel letters, are allowed within a brightness limit of 250 footlamberts.
How long does a Pasadena sign permit take?
The city's sign checklists don't publish a review time, and we don't promise dates the city controls. Two things help: going over the checklist with a planner before you submit, and a complete package, because incomplete applications aren't accepted. Design review and a Master Sign Plan add steps.
Do I need a permit for a grand-opening banner in Pasadena?
Yes: a Temporary Sign Permit, in the CO, CD, CL, CG and IG districts. One banner per frontage, up to 30 sq ft, up to three times a year for 30 days each, and never lit. An annual permit can't go past 90 days in a calendar year. Banners are printed by Angels Print, in the same building as our shop.

See your Pasadena sign on your building

Send the address and a straight-on photo. We size the sign to Pasadena's code and show it on your building, with a quote.
Get My Free Mockup & Quote Call (818) 806-9006 Text a storefront photo

Free: 1 mockup + 1 round of changes per location for business-sign requests. Extra rounds are billed. Permit information is general, not an approval.

What to send

  1. The Pasadena address, so we can check the district.
  2. A photo of the whole wall, taken square-on from the far curb.
  3. The center's Master Sign Plan or sign criteria, if you rent.

One photo is enough to start.

8511 Lankershim Blvd, Sun Valley, CA 91352Open daily 7 AM to 10 PMGet directions