# Sign Regulations in Bedford, New Hampshire

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

- **Jurisdiction:** Bedford, New Hampshire (NH)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/new-hampshire/bedford
- **Data last verified:** 2026-02-17
- **Source:** [ecode360 municipal code](https://ecode360.com/14331163)

## At a glance

Bedford, New Hampshire regulates 28 sign types across 10 zoning districts. Freestanding Sign (Monument/Directory)s in the Commercial (CO); Commercial 2 (CO-2) zoning district are capped at ≤ 10 ft tall and ≤ 32 sq ft, with a Min 50 ft from side/rear; 10 ft from edge of street ROW setback (Sec. §275-74(C)(2),(4); §275-73(U); §275-73(L); §275-73(C)). Most commercial signs in Bedford require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (10 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 4 | ≤ 42 inches | ≤ 32 sq ft | — |
| Residential and Agricultural (R&A); General Residential (GR) | 2 | Freestanding sign height ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 8 sq ft | — |
| Civic and Institutional (CI) | 3 | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 50 sq ft | — |
| Commercial (CO); Commercial 2 (CO-2) | 8 | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 50 sq ft (sign area) | — |
| Office (OF) | 8 | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 50 sq ft (sign area) | — |
| Service and Industrial (SI) | 6 | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 50 sq ft | — |
| Neighborhood Commercial (NC) | 6 | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 32 sq ft | — |
| Highway Commercial (HC) | 6 | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 32 sq ft | — |
| Performance Zoning District (PZ) | 11 | ≤ 10 ft above grade | ≤ 50 sq ft per sign face | — |
| Historic District (overlay) (HD) | 1 | — | — | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 10 zones)

### Commercial (CO); Commercial 2 (CO-2)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign (Monument/Directory) | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | Min 50 ft from side/rear; 10 ft from edge of street ROW | 1 per lot/business | On premises | — | §275-74(C)(2),(4); §275-73(U); §275-73(L); §275-73(C) |
| Wall Sign | — | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 wall sign (area may be split into two signs) | On one wall of the building | — | §275-74(C)(2),(4); §275-73(L); §275-73(T) |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | 1 per business unit | Projecting from building | — | §275-74(C)(2); §275-73(L) |
| Center Identification Sign (Shopping Center/Professional Park) (Freestanding Monument/Directory) | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 50 sq ft (sign area) | — | Min 50 ft from side/rear; 10 ft from edge of street ROW | 1 per shopping center or professional park | One lot sign identifying the center/park with common group name | — | §275-74(C)(3); §275-73(U); §275-73(L) |
| Tenant Wall Sign (Shopping Center/Professional Park) | — | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 per tenant | On tenant’s building wall | — | §275-74(C)(3)-(4); §275-73(L) |
| Real Estate Sign (For sale/lease) | — | ≤ 18 sq ft | — | — | 1 per parcel | On the lot/building being offered for sale/lease | — | §275-74(C)(3) (last sentence) |
| Open Sign | — | ≤ 2.5 sq ft | — | — | 1 per business | On or within the building | — | §275-73(S)(1)(a)-(2) |
| Open Flag | — | ≤ 15 sq ft | — | If on site, must meet district height/setback rules | 1 per business | On or within the building, or on the site provided it meets sign height and setback requirements for the zoning district | — | §275-73(S)(1)(b)-(2) |

### Office (OF)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign (Monument/Directory) | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | Min 50 ft from side/rear; 10 ft from edge of street ROW | 1 per lot/business | On premises | — | §275-74(C)(2),(4); §275-73(U); §275-73(L); §275-73(C) |
| Wall Sign | — | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 wall sign (area may be split); multi-tenant buildings limited to 4 total wall signs | On one wall of the building | — | §275-74(C)(2),(4)-(5); §275-73(L); §275-73(T) |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | 1 per business unit | Projecting from building | — | §275-74(C)(2); §275-73(L) |
| Center Identification Sign (Professional Park) (Freestanding Monument/Directory) | ≤ 10 ft | ≤ 50 sq ft (sign area) | — | Min 50 ft from side/rear; 10 ft from edge of street ROW | 1 per park | One lot sign identifying the professional park with common group name | — | §275-74(C)(3); §275-73(U); §275-73(L) |
| Tenant Wall Sign (Professional Park) | — | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 per tenant | On tenant’s building wall | — | §275-74(C)(3)-(4); §275-73(L) |
| Real Estate Sign (For sale/lease) | — | ≤ 18 sq ft | — | — | 1 per parcel | On the lot/building being offered for sale/lease | — | §275-74(C)(3) (last sentence) |
| Open Sign | — | ≤ 2.5 sq ft | — | — | 1 per business | On or within the building | — | §275-73(S)(1)(a)-(2) |
| Open Flag | — | ≤ 15 sq ft | — | If on site, must meet district height/setback rules | 1 per business | On or within the building, or on the site provided it meets sign height and setback requirements for the zoning district | — | §275-73(S)(1)(b)-(2) |

### Performance Zoning District (PZ)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall Sign (Single-tenant building) | Shall not project above eaveline or canopy eaveline | ≤ 32 sq ft per sign | — | — | Max 2 wall/eaveline building signs per building (one per frontage) plus 1 projecting sign | On building wall or eaveline | — | PZ Table 6/Center & Building Identification standards; §275-68(C)(1)-(4); §275-68(B)(2)-(5); §275-74(H)(3) |
| Wall Sign (First-floor tenant with separate public exterior entrance) | Shall not project above eaveline or canopy eaveline | ≤ 32 sq ft | — | — | 1 wall/eaveline sign per qualifying tenant + 1 projecting sign | On building wall or eaveline | — | PZ Table 6 (Identification sign (building)); §275-68(C)(1)-(4); §275-68(B)(2)-(5); §275-74(H)(3) |
| Wall Sign (Upper-floor or no separate entrance tenants – Shared) | Shall not project above eaveline or canopy eaveline | ≤ 32 sq ft per sign | — | — | Up to 4 shared building signs per building | Shared building signs | — | PZ Table 6 (Identification sign (building)); §275-68(C); §275-68(B)(2)-(5); §275-74(H)(3) |
| Center Identification Sign (Freestanding – Monument/Directory) (1–2 tenants) | ≤ 10 ft above grade | ≤ 32 sq ft per sign face | — | Min 30 ft from side/rear property lines; 10 ft from front property line/edge of street ROW | 1 double-faced sign per lot | Perpendicular to approaching vehicular traffic; include street address range | — | PZ Table 6/Center Identification Sign; §275-68(D)(1)-(3); §275-68(B)(2)-(5) |
| Center Identification Sign (Freestanding – Monument/Directory) (More than 2 tenants) | ≤ 10 ft above grade | ≤ 50 sq ft per sign face | — | Min 30 ft from side/rear property lines; 10 ft from front property line/edge of street ROW | 1 double-faced sign per lot | Perpendicular to approaching vehicular traffic; include street address range | — | PZ Table 6/Center Identification Sign; §275-68(D)(1)-(3); §275-68(B)(2)-(5) |
| Real Estate Sign (For sale/lease) | — | ≤ 18 sq ft | — | — | 1 per parcel | On the lot/building being offered for sale/lease | — | §275-68(B)(2) |
| Open Sign | — | ≤ 2.5 sq ft | — | — | 1 per business | On or within the building | — | §275-73(S)(1)(a)-(2) (applies in PZ) |
| Open Flag | — | ≤ 15 sq ft | — | If on site, must meet district height/setback rules | 1 per business | On or within the building, or on the site provided it meets sign height and setback requirements for the zoning district | — | §275-73(S)(1)(b)-(2) (applies in PZ) |

## 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 10 zoning districts in Bedford — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Bedford+NH&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-bedford

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