# Sign Regulations in Danbury, Connecticut

Sign permit rules, size and height limits, setbacks, and ordinance citations for Danbury, Connecticut, compiled by PermitPal from the jurisdiction's published municipal code.

- **Jurisdiction:** Danbury, Connecticut (CT)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/connecticut/danbury
- **Data last verified:** 2025-08-25
- **Source:** [other municipal code](https://danbury-ct.gov/DocumentCenter/View/309/Zoning-Regulations-PDF?bidId=#page=237)

## At a glance

Danbury, Connecticut regulates 23 sign types across 5 zoning districts. Billboard (Relocated)s in the General Commercial District (CG-20), Arterial Commercial District (CA-80), Limited Roadside Commercial Industrial District (LCI-40), Light Commercial District (CL-10), Neighborhood Commercial District (CN-5, CN-20), Campus Research Park (CRP), Light Industrial District (IL-40), General Industrial District (IG-80) zoning district are capped at 50 ft (I-84), 35 ft (US Route 7) tall, Max 15 ft width x 50 ft length per sign face; 1 sign face per side, 2 per structure, and 15 ft wide, with a Not within required yards or less than 10 ft from front line except along I-84/US 7 ROW; 100 ft min from residential zoning setback (Sec. §8.E.10). Most commercial signs in Danbury require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (5 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Single Family Residential District (RA-8, RA-20, RA-40, RA-80), Multi-Family Residential District (RMF-10, RMF-6, RMF-4), Three Family Residential District (R-3), High-Rise Residential District (RH-3), Waterfront Residential-Recreational District (RR-10), Residential-Office District (R-O), Planned Neighborhood Development (PND) | 6 | 25 ft (flagpole) | 40 sq ft per side, per lot (aggregate) | — |
| General Commercial District (CG-20), Arterial Commercial District (CA-80), Limited Roadside Commercial Industrial District (LCI-40), Light Commercial District (CL-10), Neighborhood Commercial District (CN-5, CN-20), Campus Research Park (CRP), Light Industrial District (IL-40), General Industrial District (IG-80) | 7 | 50 ft (I-84), 35 ft (US Route 7) | 96 sq ft per side per lot | — |
| Downtown Transit Oriented Development District (D-TOD) | 11 | 24 inches per letter (height/width) | 150 sq ft per wall (max) | — |
| Mixed-Use Regional Mall District (MURM) | 8 | 50 ft | 400 sq ft per side | — |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 3 | 6 ft | 6 sq ft (max area) | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 5 zones)

### General Commercial District (CG-20), Arterial Commercial District (CA-80), Limited Roadside Commercial Industrial District (LCI-40), Light Commercial District (CL-10), Neighborhood Commercial District (CN-5, CN-20), Campus Research Park (CRP), Light Industrial District (IL-40), General Industrial District (IG-80)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign and Canopy/Awning Sign | 30 ft | — | — | — | — | Building exterior wall | — | §8.E.3.a(1) |
| Hanging or Projecting Sign | 20 ft (top), 8 ft (minimum bottom clearance) | 12 sq ft (total of all sides per wall) | — | — | — | On exterior building wall | — | §8.E.3.a(2) |
| Freestanding Sign | 20 ft | 75 sq ft per side (150 sq ft per side if 2 signs combined on one structure) | — | — | Depends on frontage | On lot, not closer than 300 ft to another signpost (unless signs <=6 ft height) | — | §8.E.3.a(3) |
| Flag | — | 96 sq ft per side per lot | — | — | — | On lot | — | §8.E.3.a(4) |
| Window or Door Sign | — | 15% of each window/door area | — | — | — | Interior face of window or door window | — | §8.E.3.a(5) |
| Residential Signs (in Com/Industrial zone) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | §8.E.3.b |
| Billboard (Relocated) | 50 ft (I-84), 35 ft (US Route 7) | Max 15 ft width x 50 ft length per sign face; 1 sign face per side, 2 per structure | 15 ft | Not within required yards or less than 10 ft from front line except along I-84/US 7 ROW; 100 ft min from residential zoning | — | On lots abutting I-84 or US Route 7 as per §8.E.10 | — | §8.E.10 |

### Downtown Transit Oriented Development District (D-TOD)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign and Canopy/Awning Sign | 20 ft | 150 sq ft per wall (max) | — | — | — | Exterior wall | — | §8.E.4.a(1) |
| Hanging or Projecting Sign | 20 ft (top), 8 ft (minimum bottom) | 12 sq ft (total for all sides per wall) | — | — | — | Exterior building wall | — | §8.E.4.a(2) |
| Freestanding Sign (within 50 ft ROW) | — | 12 sq ft per side | — | — | 1 per 300 ft frontage | Within 50 ft of public right of way | — | §8.E.4.a(3) |
| Freestanding Sign (more than 50 ft ROW) | — | 25 sq ft per side | — | — | 1 per 300 ft frontage | More than 50 ft from public right of way | — | §8.E.4.a(3) |
| Flag | — | 96 sq ft per side per lot | — | — | — | On lot | — | §8.E.4.a(4) |
| Portable Sign | — | 6 sq ft per side, max 2 sides | — | — | 1 per lot | Not within public right of way. Max one per lot. | — | §8.E.4.a(6) |
| Letters on Any Sign (Within 50 ft of ROW) | 18 inches per letter (height/width) | N/A | 18 inches per letter (width/height) | — | — | Within 50 ft of public right-of-way | — | §8.E.4.a(7)(a) |
| Letters on Any Sign (Over 50 ft from ROW) | 24 inches per letter (height/width) | N/A | 24 inches per letter (width/height) | — | — | Over 50 ft from public right-of-way | — | §8.E.4.a(7)(a) |

### Mixed-Use Regional Mall District (MURM)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign and Canopy/Awning Sign | — | — | — | — | — | On building, in relative proximity to business/tenant | — | §8.E.4.A.a(1) |
| Hanging or Projecting Sign | No higher than roofline (top); 8 ft minimum clearance to ground | — | — | — | — | On exterior wall | — | §8.E.4.A.a(2) |
| Freestanding Commercial Center Sign | 50 ft | 400 sq ft per side | — | Not within required yards or less than 10 ft from front lot line | 1 per 1,000 ft frontage | At least 600 ft apart along same frontage | — | §8.E.4.A.a(3)(a)(1-10) |
| Freestanding Access Drive Entrance Sign | 7 ft | — | 21 ft | — | 1 per entrance | At each driveway entrance to commercial center from public street | — | §8.E.4.A.a(3)(b) |
| Freestanding Tenant Pedestrian Identification Sign | 6 ft | 12 sq ft | — | — | 2 per site | Within 50 ft of tenant entrance/doorway | — | §8.E.4.A.a(3)(c) |
| Window or Door Sign | — | 15% of each window/door area | — | — | — | Interior face of window or door window | — | §8.E.4.A.a(4) |
| Portable Sign | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | §8.E.4.A.a(5) |
| Residential Wall Sign (Portion of MURM building used for residential) | — | — | — | — | — | On residential portion of building | — | §8.E.4.A.b |

## Prohibited signs in Danbury

- No sign shall be placed within a required side or rear yard, or within ten (10) feet of a front lot line, except as otherwise specified in §8.E.10.
- Any illumination of signs shall be confined to the surface of the illuminated sign. No flashing, animated, or rotating illumination shall be used for either directly or indirectly illuminated signs.
- Cut outs or other embellishments which extend beyond the perimeter, periphery or surface of the sign structure or sign face display area are prohibited.
- No sign shall obstruct or impair access to a public sidewalk, public or private street or driveway, traffic control sign, bus stop, fire hydrant or any type of street furniture, or otherwise create a hazard including a tripping hazard.
- Roof signs and signs affixed to any wall of any building which project above the top of the roof of said wall are prohibited.
- Billboards and all other off-premises advertising signs are prohibited, except as permitted to be relocated under Section 8.E.10.
- Signs that interfere with traffic safety by creating glare, violating corner lot visibility, blocking reasonable sight lines for streets or driveways, or creating confusion with traffic control devices by reason of color, location, shape, or other characteristic are prohibited.
- Signs which incorporate flashing or moving illumination, including flashing, beacon, strobe, rotating beacon, chasing or zip lights, string lights, searchlights, pennants, spinners, banners, streamers, and inflatable signs are prohibited.
- Signs with visible moving parts or other apparent visible revolving movement achieved by electrical pulsations or actions of wind currents are prohibited.
- Signs with any audio or video advertising devices are prohibited.
- All signs located within or projecting over public lands and rights-of-way are prohibited except as permitted herein.
- Portable signs are prohibited except as expressly permitted in certain districts.

## Signs exempt from permit in Danbury

- Flags are permitted in all zoning districts without a permit, provided they comply with all applicable regulations of Section 8.E.
- Window and door signs are permitted in all zoning districts without a permit, provided they comply with all applicable regulations of Section 8.E.
- Any other sign that is not illuminated and has a sign face area of less than six (6) square feet and does not exceed six (6) feet in height is permitted in all zoning districts without a permit.
- Any public notice or warning required by a valid and applicable federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance is exempt from these regulations.
- Signs located within or projecting over public lands and rights-of-way which are approved by the City or other appropriate governmental jurisdictions and which meet all conditions of such approval are exempt from these regulations.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- No explicit requirement for a master sign plan is found; however, billboards to be relocated require a Billboard Relocation Notice and a Billboard Relocation Permit, including site plans and drawings prepared by a licensed engineer, surveyor, or architect.
- Approval of relocated billboards requires submission of a site plan and compliance with permit application requirements as specified in section 10.B. of these Regulations.
- Any change to an approved site plan other than the location of the relocated billboard requires approval of a revised site plan prepared in accordance with §10.D.4. prior to submission of a Billboard Relocation Permit.

## Full detail

This page publishes an overview of every zoning district plus a sample of 3 districts in full. Complete zone-by-zone requirements for all 5 zoning districts in Danbury — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Danbury+CT&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-danbury

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