Not every building-mounted sign lies flat against the wall. Awning signs and projecting signs are the two pedestrian-oriented forms that downtowns love, and because they hang over or near the public sidewalk, codes regulate them with a set of rules a flat wall sign never triggers. If you treat them like ordinary wall signage, you will miss the clearance and encroachment provisions that govern them.
Awning signs
An awning sign is copy printed on, painted on, or attached to a building awning or canopy. Codes typically restrict where the copy can go (often the front valance only, not the sloped top), cap the letter height, and limit how much of the awning area the sign can cover. Many codes count awning copy against the same allowance as the flat wall sign — so an awning sign and a fascia sign on the same storefront share a budget computed by the wall sign allowance formula.
Projecting (blade) signs
A projecting sign, or blade sign, mounts perpendicular to the wall so pedestrians walking the sidewalk can read it edge-on. Because it extends into the air over (or toward) the public way, the controlling rules are:
- Vertical clearance. Minimum height above the sidewalk, commonly 8 ft, so no one walks into it.
- Projection distance. How far the sign may stick out from the wall — often capped at 3–4 ft, and limited so it does not reach past the curb.
- Encroachment / right-of-way. If the sign overhangs the public right-of-way, many cities require a separate encroachment permit or license in addition to the sign permit.
- Size and quantity. Blade signs are usually small (a few square feet) and limited to one per storefront entrance.
Real-municipality example
Savannah, Georgia’s historic downtown actively encourages projecting blade signs as part of its pedestrian character, while regulating their size, projection, and clearance and routing them through historic-district design review. A shop owner can get a charming blade sign approved there — but only at the permitted projection and clearance, and only after the design passes review. That review layer comes from the historic district overlay sitting on top of the base sign code, so confirm both the base rule and the overlay before promising a client a blade sign.
Practical takeaway for installers
For awning signs, find out whether the copy counts against the wall-sign budget and where on the awning it is allowed. For projecting signs, nail down clearance, projection distance, and whether an encroachment permit is required for right-of-way overhang. In older downtowns, assume a design-review overlay applies. FreeCodeChecks flags the awning and projecting-sign provisions for the address so these pedestrian-scaled forms do not get quoted like flat wall signs.