Home Durham, NC
Sign company in Durham, NC
From storefronts to office campuses, we build signs for Durham businesses and take them through the Durham sign permit, start to finish.
How Durham sign permits work
- One planning department serves the City of Durham and Durham County
- Signs follow Article 11 of the Durham Unified Development Ordinance
- The property owner must sign the application
- Lit signs also need an electrical permit
- Every permitted sign gets a final inspection
- 4.9 from 91 Google reviews
- Locally owned since 2009
- Permits handled for you
- Serving the whole Triangle
One rulebook for the city and the county
In Durham, the City and the County share one planning department, and both follow the same Unified Development Ordinance. So whether your business is downtown or out in the county, the sign permit goes to the same office and is checked against the same sign standards in Article 11. Interior signs that cannot be read from the street are exempt.
Durham's mix is wide: restaurants and shops in older buildings, offices and labs, medical practices, churches and schools. A projecting sign on a brick storefront and a lit monument at an office park face different rules, and we plan each one around the rules that apply to its spot. We find out which rules those are before we design.
Signs Durham businesses ask us for
Blade and projecting signs
A sign that hangs out from the wall so people on the sidewalk can see it from down the block.
Channel letters
Lit letters for restaurants and shops that stay open after dark.
Building and wall signs
Carved, painted or dimensional signs mounted flat on the building, lit or not.
Wayfinding signs
Directional and room signs for campuses, schools and medical buildings.
Monument signs
Ground signs for offices, clinics and churches set back from the road.
Recent work around the Triangle
Projecting signs, lit letters, wall signs and interior work we have built for Triangle businesses.
Suede LoungeOval projecting sign with neon ring
Young & AssociatesHanging blade sign on porch
AlpacaRound blade sign
Bongiorno & SonCarved wall sign with gooseneck lights
Anise PhoLit logo and letters on brick
Shaba ShabuLit letters on restaurant facade at dusk
Element GastropubCanopy-mounted letters
Knightdale High SchoolHallway history wall displays
Advance Community HealthMonument sign
DHLAcrylic world map wall sign
DHLAcrylic logo wall sign
Irish PubLit sign at night
How a Durham sign project runs
Site visit
We check the building, the frontage and whether your site falls under a Common Signage Plan or a historic district.
Design
You approve a mockup drawn to the Article 11 standards for your zoning.
Permit
We file the sign permit with the owner signature and drawings, plus the electrical permit for lit signs.
Build
We fabricate once the permit is issued.
Install and final inspection
We install the sign and request the final inspection the permit requires.
Durham sign questions
Do I need a permit for a sign in Durham?
In most cases, yes. Under the Durham UDO, no sign can be put up, moved, enlarged or changed without a sign permit, except for a short list of exempt types and interior signs that cannot be read from the street. Applications go to Durham City-County Planning, and every permitted sign gets a final inspection.
My business is in Durham County, not the city. Who handles the permit?
The same department. Durham City-County Planning is the planning staff for both the City of Durham and Durham County, so the process and the sign standards are the same.
What is a Common Signage Plan?
If your building is part of a unified development, like a shopping center or office complex shown on one site plan, Durham requires an approved Common Signage Plan before any individual sign permit is issued. Many centers already have one. We find out early so your sign fits it.
Does a sign in a historic district need anything extra?
It can. Durham reviews sign permits against any Certificate of Appropriateness that applies to the property. If your building is in a local historic district, we plan for that review from the start.
Does a lit sign need a separate permit?
Yes. In Durham, illumination requires an electrical permit through the City-County Inspections Department, in addition to the sign permit. We handle both.
What areas do you serve?
We're based in North Raleigh and work across the Triangle, including Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Apex, Wake Forest, Holly Springs, Garner, Morrisville and Fuquay-Varina.
Get a free sign quote for your Durham location
Tell us what you need and where it goes. Carlo will get back to you with questions or a price.
- Free quote, no obligation
- We handle the permit
- Design, build and install in one shop
Rather talk it through?
Call 919-696-0353