Scottsdale building (wall) sign size: sum total area by district
Confirm with the city before you build or bid. This page is a plain-English summary for planning only. It is not legal advice and not the official code. Many Scottsdale sites have a master sign program; the city says a master sign program is typically required for developments in the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Overlay (ESLO) District and developments with freestanding signs that include multiple tenant panels. [1] Questions: One Stop Shop, 7447 E. Indian School Road, 480-312-2500 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wednesday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; no transactions after 4 p.m.; the page adds "Wednesday, Permit Services 1-5 p.m."). [2] If anything here disagrees with the code or city staff, the city is right.
Sign area by district category
| Category | Applies to | Max sum total per business | Per development | Business front under 200 ft from a street line | Business front 200 ft or more from a street line | Max height | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Residential districts and O-S | N/A | 60 sq ft | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | Building height allowed by the lot's zoning | [3][4] |
| B | Multiple-family developments in residential districts | N/A | 60 sq ft | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 36 ft | [3][4] |
| C | Commercial, industrial and mixed use districts, W-P and S-C (not PRC, S-R or C-O) | 1.5 sq ft per linear ft of the longest business front | N/A | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 1.5 sq ft per lineal ft | 36 ft | [3][4] |
| D | C-O, P-1, P-2 | 24 sq ft (see note 8 below) | N/A | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 36 ft | [3][4] |
| E | Planned Regional Center (PRC) | 1.5 sq ft per linear ft of the longest business front | N/A | 1 sq ft per lineal ft | 1.5 sq ft per lineal ft | 36 ft | [3][4] |
| F | Service Residential (S-R) | 18 sq ft (note 5: includes any sign area on a freestanding sign for the same business) | 72 sq ft (development under 40,000 sq ft of floor area) or 144 sq ft (40,000 sq ft or more) | 1 sq ft per lineal ft, not to exceed 12 sq ft | 1 sq ft per lineal ft, not to exceed 12 sq ft | 18 ft | [3][4] |
- Category definitions are in §8.502.B (including comparable P-C and PRD areas). [4]
- The maximum sum total sign area per business includes the additional building sign allowances (Table 8.502.A, note 1). [3]
- Category E (PRC) only (the table attaches notes 3 and 4 to the Category E row): through a Master Sign Program, the Development Review Board may approve a sum total of 2 sq ft per linear ft of the longest business front for businesses with one front facing a public street and a second front facing the interior of a development (note 3), and a maximum sign height of 60 feet in PRC (note 4). [3]
- Category D, C-O district (note 8): the Development Review Board may approve a sum total of 1.5 sq ft per linear ft of the longest business front through a Master Sign Program; as printed, note 8 applies "for a building with a gross floor area less of 50,000 square feet, or more" (the wording is unclear; ask the city). [3]
Size, height and placement
| Rule | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Largest building sign | Maximum area of any building sign: forty (40) square feet in the Type 1 Area, two hundred fifty (250) square feet elsewhere. | ZO §8.501.C [5] |
| Downtown Type 1 Area | Downtown Type 1 Area: building signs are capped at 40 sq ft, and column, drive-through, entryway monument, entryway wall, landscape wall, mid-size monument, monument, perimeter site wall and tower signs are prohibited (§8.511.F). | [5][6] |
| Placement | Limited to identifying an onsite business or development; placed on a wall of the business it identifies; no part above a roof line. | [5] |
| Character and cabinet height | Maximum height of an individual character: six (6) feet; of a cabinet or panel: six (6) feet. | [5] |
| Raceways | Individual characters may not be mounted to the front of a raceway. | [5] |
| Projection from wall | Wall signs: no part more than twelve (12) inches from the building wall (§8.502.A). | [4] |
Canopy, awning, shingle, entry and address signs
| Rule | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Suspended canopy signs | Suspended canopy signs (Categories C and D, PRC, S-R): included in the business's sum total sign area; minimum clearance seven (7) foot, six (6) inches. | [7] |
| Shingle signs | Shingle signs: four (4) square feet; not included in the sum total sign area; minimum clearance seven (7) foot, six (6) inches; placed "within ten (10) of the primary pedestrian entrance" (the ordinance text gives no unit). | [7] |
| Freestanding canopy signs | Freestanding canopy signs: one per side of canopy; one (1) square foot for each two (2) linear feet of canopy fascia, not to exceed twenty four (24) square feet on any one side and forty eight (48) square feet per canopy; the canopy sign area is included in the business's building wall sum total sign area. | [7] |
| PRC projecting signs | PRC projecting signs (with an approved master sign program): area the same as the building wall sign area allowed in Table 8.502.A, not to exceed thirty-six (36) square feet, and included in the business's sum total sign area; one (1) sign for each fifty (50) lineal feet of building wall; not within one-hundred fifty (150) feet of an abutting public street unless separated by a structure and not visible from that street; projection forty-eight (48) inches; clearance eight (8) feet; at least twenty (20) feet between projecting signs on the same building wall. | [8] |
| Awning signs | Awning signs (Categories B, C and D, PRC, S-R): twenty (20) percent of the total front face area of the awning, or the business front, whichever is less; copy lit only by a light source internal to the awning. | [9][8] |
| Entry signs | Entry signs (all districts): one (1) square foot; within ten (10) feet of the primary entrance; maximum height ten (10) feet; maximum projection four (4) inches. | [9] |
| Address signs | Address signs: maximum letter height twelve (12) inches; an address taller than twelve (12) inches is a building wall sign. Address signs twelve (12) inches or less are not included in sum total sign area. | [9][10] |
Again: confirm with the City of Scottsdale One Stop Shop (480-312-2500) before you fabricate or submit. [2] Codes and fees change. Last checked October 2026.
Section numbers (§) refer to the city's zoning ordinance unless noted. Each statement on this page is checked against a saved copy of an official city source, and where official sources disagree we show both. Spotted an error or an outdated fee? Report an error.