The answer to this question is critical before you invest much in your portable sign rental business.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the answer is mixed. In Dallas, you are not supposed to have portable signs. In Fort Worth, you are allowed to have signs with a permit. Their are wrinkles to these rules though. Some customers will choose to buy signs to use in areas where signs are not permitted. They will put the signs out during the day, and they will bring them in at night. If their business is in an area not often frequented by the sign inspector (or in a non-sign area, any public official who cares about such things), they might be completely okay using this method. (I am told their are some areas on the outskirts of Dallas where this is the case.
To find out whether your city OR any of the nearby cities will allow permits, you can probably go to the cities website. Their is usually a contact for permits or inspector. If you give the phone number a call and ask for the correct person, you will probably have a pretty definitive answer. If yes, you probably want to go ahead and ask if their are any fees to get a sign permit. If “no”, you probably don’t want to read off of a list of “offenders” in that city. It probably just means the city officials don’t keep a very close tab on things.
In the cities I have placed signs thus far, the fees have run from $10 to $75 per month. A couple “cities” (more accurately 2 mile stretches on a particularly heavily traveled road) have no fees and no restrictions. Restrictions? Yes, some cities get into this as well. Some allow one month of displaying a sign with one month off. Others allow 2 months on, and one month off. While the inspectors may not hold you to an exact 30 day month, it is best to stay on their good side.
Have you seen any other variations on fees, display options or anything else described here? Please let me know!
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