Sign company in Boca Raton, FLStorefronts That Belong on a Boca Street
Epic Wolf designs business signs and storefronts for Boca Raton companies and manages fabrication, permits and install through vetted partners. Every sign starts from Chapter 24 of the city code, which limits colors, letter heights and window coverage, and from the Community Appearance Board's standard of understated, elegant design. We are a West Palm Beach agency, so the sign, the brand and the website come from one team.
Signs and Storefronts in Boca Raton
Boca Raton writes its taste into law. The sign code asks for a well-planned, uncluttered and understated streetscape built on simple, elegant design and moderation in scale. The Community Appearance Board judges projects on whether they add to the city's image as a place of beauty, harmony and high quality. In Boca a sign is a brand decision and a legal one at the same time.
That changes how the work starts. Wall signs have to be channel letters or individually fabricated dimensional letters, so the familiar lit box cabinet is off the table unless the board approves an exception. A permanent sign can carry three colors at most, not counting black and white, and the main message has to be a single color. A logo can stand no taller than one and a half times the height of the words beside it. Designing inside those limits from the first sketch is how a storefront looks deliberate instead of compromised.
Downtown adds a layer. Ground-floor letters inside the downtown district default to 12 inches and top out at 18, and every in-line shop with an outdoor entrance can have one blade sign hung under the arcade. The downtown development order has long pointed designers to Addison Mizner's tradition of stucco, clay tile, painted window frames and arcades, and asks for reinterpretation rather than imitation. We design for that street, not around it.
On the ground
What to know about signs and storefronts in Boca Raton
- The review clock
The city must approve, deny or comment on a complete standard sign permit within 30 days, and each resubmittal gets up to 15 more business days. If an applicant does not answer the city's comments, the application is deemed abandoned 30 days after notice, with only one 30-day extension, and permit fees are not refunded.
Source: Boca Raton Code Sec. 24-33
- Size and placement
In commercial districts, wall sign area per frontage is the greater of 20 percent of the signable facade or the code's frontage table, capped at 120 square feet. The code's own example gives a 60-foot frontage 57 square feet. Signs must be centered in the signable area, centered on an entrance or justified to a corner, and may not exceed 75 percent of that area's width or height.
Source: Boca Raton Code Sec. 24-81
- Windows
Window signs are allowed only on the ground floor and may cover 20 percent of a window or 9 square feet, whichever is less. Only 3 square feet per business may be printed on paper or vinyl. The rest must be individual letters, logos and graphics, and window signs may not be illuminated.
Source: Boca Raton Code Sec. 24-100
- The board
Master sign plans and alternative designs go to the Community Appearance Board, which meets on Tuesday evenings twice a month. Items are due a week before the meeting, and applications are filed through the city's Boca eHub portal. Once a master sign plan is approved, the city will not consider one-off deviations from it.
- City or county
A Boca Raton address does not always mean city rules. The county's parcel control numbers start with 00 for unincorporated land, which follows the county's own sign rules in Article 8 of its land development code, while City of Boca Raton parcels start with 06. Check the parcel number before anyone designs.
Source: Palm Beach County zoning FAQ
How we run it in Boca Raton
Check the address first
We confirm whether the property sits in the city, the downtown district or unincorporated county, and whether a landlord's master sign plan already sets sizes, colors and letter styles. That one step decides which rules apply and how long approval will take.
Design to the code
The sign is drawn from the brand inside Boca's limits: three colors, a single-color message, dimensional letters, a logo in proportion and a blade sign where the storefront has an arcade. When a project deserves more, a ground sign built from materials like natural stone, stainless steel or glass can qualify as an architectural sign with additional area and height.
Permit and install
We assemble the drawings, file the permit, answer comments well inside the 30-day window and take board items through Boca eHub. Fabrication and install run through vetted partners we manage, and we stay on it through the final inspection.
What it includes
Storefront signs
Fascia and building signs designed to the brand and sized for the distance customers read them from.
Channel letter signs
Front-lit, halo-lit and non-lit dimensional letters for retail, restaurants and offices.
Blade signs
Projecting signs that catch people walking the sidewalk, not only traffic facing the building.
Window graphics and lettering
Printed and cut vinyl, perforated window film, frosted privacy film and hours decals.
Wall graphics and murals
Printed wall wraps, dimensional logos and murals for lobbies, offices, gyms and dining rooms.
Interior and wayfinding signage
Room IDs, directories, ADA room signs and directional systems for offices, clinics and campuses.
Menu boards
Printed and digital menu boards designed to be read quickly from the line.
Not sure which of these you need?
Tell us the goal
Send us the storefront address.
We will check whether it falls under the city, the downtown district, the county or a landlord's sign plan, and tell you what that means for the sign you have in mind.
Questions
Signs and Storefronts in Boca Raton questions answered
The city must approve, deny or comment on a complete standard sign permit within 30 days, and each resubmittal gets up to 15 more business days. Items that go to the Community Appearance Board, such as master sign plans and alternative designs, take longer because the hearing is set at least 25 days after staff review. Answer comments quickly, because an application left unanswered for 30 days is treated as abandoned.
Usually not. Boca Raton requires wall identity signs to be face-lit channel letters, reverse channel letters or individually fabricated dimensional letters. A cabinet or box sign is possible only through an alternative identity sign approval, which means convincing the Community Appearance Board the design is equal or superior. Most brands get a better result by designing for dimensional letters from the start.
Less than most owners expect. Window signs are allowed only on the ground floor and may cover 20 percent of a window or 9 square feet, whichever is less. Only 3 square feet per business may be printed on paper or vinyl, and window signs cannot be lit. Anything beyond that needs a waiver from the appearance board, so plan the window around letters, logos and restraint.
Three, not counting black and white. Boca Raton limits permanent signs to three colors, and the main message has to be a single color, with a second color allowed only for an outline or shadow. Fluorescent pigments and color-changing signs are prohibited. A brand with a large palette needs a sign version built for that rule, which is part of our brand work.
Not always. The city says a Boca Raton address does not necessarily mean a property is inside city limits, and large areas to the west are unincorporated Palm Beach County. Look up the parcel control number: city parcels begin with 06 and unincorporated parcels begin with 00. County properties follow the county's sign rules in Article 8 of its land development code.
Keep reading
More for Boca Raton businesses
- Getting a Sign Approved in Boca RatonHow business signs get approved in Boca Raton: city or county jurisdiction, the Chapter 24 design rules, the Community Appearance Board and real timelines.
- Opening a Business in Downtown Boca Raton: A ChecklistA marketing checklist for opening in downtown Boca Raton: licensing before advertising, storefront and sign rules, Google, press lead times and timing.
- Getting a Business Sign Approved in Palm Beach CountyHow business sign approval works in Palm Beach County: who has jurisdiction, landlord and association sign-off, design review boards and permits.
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