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Commercial Sign Permit in Cave Creek, Arizona

Required for permanent commercial/business signage (freestanding/ground-mounted, wall/building-mounted, and monument signs) erected within the Town of Cave Creek, governed by Zoning Ordinance Chapter 9 (Signage), adopted by Ordinance No. O2019-02 on January 21, 2020, effective February 21, 2020. A Zoning Clearance and/or Building Permit is required for most signs; a Building Permit AND Electrical Permit are both required for any permanent exterior electric (illuminated) sign.

Verified 2026-07-23 · Source

When you need this permit

  • A Zoning Clearance and/or Building Permit is required for signs except as otherwise specified in Chapter 9; a Building Permit and an Electrical Permit are both required for all permanent exterior electric (illuminated) signs (Zoning Ordinance § 9.1.A.1)
  • Commercial Zones (CB, TCC, GC) are limited to 1 freestanding/ground-mounted sign per lot per Table 9.2: CB and TCC zones max 40 sq ft total area / 12 ft height; GC zone max 48 sq ft total area / 12 ft height; a permit IS required for all three zoning districts under Table 9.2
  • Permanent signs within commercial zones shall be constructed and installed by a licensed contractor, with a permit issued by the Town (Zoning Ordinance § 9.3.B.1.a) Contractor
  • Neon sign elements are limited to interior window usage only within the CB, TCC, or GC zones (Zoning Ordinance § 9.3.B.1.c)
  • Where a sign has three or more faces, sign area is calculated as the total area of all faces combined (Zoning Ordinance § 9.3.B.1.d)
  • Wall/building signage may be externally illuminated or non-illuminated, but may not extend horizontally or vertically beyond the width or height of the building wall on which it is displayed (Zoning Ordinance § 9.3.B.2.a)
  • Any proposed complex containing three (3) or more businesses must submit a comprehensive sign package to be reviewed and approved by the Town before any individual tenant sign permits are issued (Zoning Ordinance § 9.3.B.2)
  • Directional signs (max 2 sq ft / 3 ft height), street address wall signs (max 2 sq ft, or as approved by the Fire Official for road visibility), and safety signs (max 2 sq ft / 3 ft height) are excluded from the aggregate sign area calculation (Zoning Ordinance § 9.1.E)
  • All signs for which a Building Permit is required are subject to inspections during various stages of construction as prescribed by the Town of Cave Creek Building & Fire Safety Department (Zoning Ordinance § 9.5.D)

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Sign — Building MountedTown of Cave Creek Comprehensive Fee Schedule (as of 2/5/2026), Other Permit Fees, Signs. Figure verified by rendering the fee-schedule PDF page to an image and reading the table visually, because pdftotext -layout scrambles this column by one row (the raw extracted text prints each fee value one row above its true label) -- cross-validated by shift-correcting against this file's own already-verified Fences/Demolitions/Pools fee entries, which line up exactly under the same one-row shift, then confirmed by direct visual read of the rendered page.
$184.00
Sign — MonumentTown of Cave Creek Comprehensive Fee Schedule (as of 2/5/2026), Other Permit Fees, Signs. Same visual-verification method as the Building Mounted sign fee above.
$307.00
Zoning Clearance — Fences, Signs, Buildings under 120 sq ftTown of Cave Creek Comprehensive Fee Schedule (as of 2/5/2026), Planning & Zoning, "ZC" - Zoning Clearances; a separate zoning clearance fee in addition to the sign permit fee above, confirmed by direct visual read of the rendered fee-schedule page (Page 4 of 9)
$100.00
Plan Review Fee, StandardTown of Cave Creek Comprehensive Fee Schedule, Plan Review Fees
65% of the permit fee (minimum $50); flat-fee sign permits have $0 plan review fee

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Commercial Sign Permit permit actually take in Cave Creek?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Footing (freestanding/monument signs)

    Verifies footing depth/size and anchor bolt placement before concrete pour for ground-mounted or monument signs

  2. 2

    Final

    Verifies completed sign installation, structural attachment, and electrical connections (if illuminated) against approved plans, per Town of Cave Creek Building & Fire Safety Department inspection stages (Zoning Ordinance § 9.5.D)

See the full Cave Creek inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • As of July 2026, the Town of Cave Creek does not appear to publish permit-specific plan review turnaround times for sign permits on its public website. Call the Building and Fire Safety Department directly at 480-488-6622 for a current estimate.
  • A Building Permit AND a separate Electrical Permit are both required for any permanent exterior illuminated sign -- budget for both application fees.
  • Any commercial complex with 3 or more businesses must have a comprehensive sign package reviewed and approved by the Town before individual tenant signs can be permitted -- for a new multi-tenant shopping center, get the master sign package approved first to avoid delays on individual tenant signage.
  • Neon sign elements are restricted to interior window display only within Cave Creek's commercial zones (CB, TCC, GC) -- exterior neon is not permitted.
  • Directional signs, street-address wall signs, and safety signs (each capped at 2 sq ft) do not count toward a property's aggregate sign area, so they don't consume the 40-48 sq ft freestanding-sign allowance.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. A Zoning Clearance and/or Building Permit is required for most signs in Cave Creek, per Zoning Ordinance Chapter 9. Freestanding/ground-mounted signs in the Town's commercial zones (CB, TCC, GC) always require a permit under Table 9.2. Illuminated exterior signs additionally require an Electrical Permit.

$184.00 for a building-mounted sign or $307.00 for a monument sign, per the Town's Comprehensive Fee Schedule, plus a separate $100.00 Zoning Clearance fee for signs (and fences/buildings under 120 sq ft), plus a standard plan review fee of 65% of the permit fee (minimum $50).

Cave Creek does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Town of Cave Creek Building and Fire Safety Department at 480-488-1400 (Main); 480-488-6637 / 480-488-6622 (Building Official / Building Department); 480-488-6631 (Plans Examiner) for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit Application (Sign); Sign Inventory and Site Plan; Fully Dimensioned Sign Plans and Elevations; Structural Plans. Depending on your project, Cave Creek may also ask for: Comprehensive Sign Package. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Cave Creek requires 2 inspection(s) for a commercial sign permit, in order: Footing (freestanding/monument signs), Final. Schedule each through Town of Cave Creek Building and Fire Safety Department (480-488-1400 (Main); 480-488-6637 / 480-488-6622 (Building Official / Building Department); 480-488-6631 (Plans Examiner)).

Apply through Town of Cave Creek Building and Fire Safety Department at 37622 N. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331. Phone: 480-488-1400 (Main); 480-488-6637 / 480-488-6622 (Building Official / Building Department); 480-488-6631 (Plans Examiner), email: ahicks@cavecreekaz.gov (Adam Hicks, Building Official/Fire Marshal); jlombardo@cavecreekaz.gov (Jenifer Lombardo, Plans Examiner/Building Inspector); twilgus@cavecreekaz.gov (Tracie Wilgus, Sr. Permit Tech). Office hours: Monday - Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. All permit applications, plan reviews, inspection requests, and payments must be submitted through the Town's online portal, the SmartGov Community Platform (twn-cavecreek-az.smartgovcommunity.com/Public/Home) — effective as the Town's exclusive permitting channel per the Town's Online Permitting and Inspection Service notice.. Official information: https://www.cavecreekaz.gov/577/Building-Fire-Code-Compliance.

Cave Creek, Arizona has adopted: Arizona has NO statewide mandatory building code floor for general construction — code adoption is a per-city/county authority under state enabling statutes (A.R.S. § 9-802 authorizes municipalities to adopt codes or public records by reference without setting forth their provisions in full, provided the adopting ordinance is published in full). The Town of Cave Creek independently adopts and administers its own construction codes through its Building and Fire Safety Department; it does not defer permitting to Maricopa County. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08 (adopted November 18, 2025, effective January 1, 2026).; 2024 International Building Code (IBC), as published by the International Code Council, adopted by reference (Town Code Title XV, Chapter 151, § 151.01), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Exhibit A.1 and A.2, Section 1.; 2024 International Residential Code (IRC), as published by the International Code Council, adopted by reference (§ 151.02), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Chapter 11 (Energy Efficiency) of the 2024 IRC is deleted in its entirety and replaced with Chapter 11 of the 2018 IRC. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 2.; 2024 International Mechanical Code (IMC), adopted by reference (§ 151.03), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 3.; 2025 International Plumbing Code (IPC), adopted by reference (§ 151.04), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026 (the Town's Building & Fire Code Compliance summary page separately lists this as the '2024 International Plumbing Code' — the governing Ordinance No. 2025-08 text itself specifies the 2025 edition; treat the Ordinance as authoritative). Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 4.; 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC), as published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 70), adopted by reference (§ 151.05), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 5.; 2025 International Fire Code (IFC), adopted by reference (§ 151.06) as the Town's uniform fire code, with Town of Cave Creek amendments; administered by the Building and Fire Safety Department under the Chief Building and Fire Code Official. Appendix B (Fire Flow Requirements for Buildings) and Appendix D (Fire Apparatus Access Roads) are adopted, with Appendix D.102.1 amended to require an approved fire apparatus access road capable of supporting an imposed load of fire apparatus weighing up to 50,000 pounds. Annual fire and life safety inspections are required for all occupancies and buildings except one- and two-family dwellings. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 6.; Town of Cave Creek Sprinkler Code (§ 151.07), originally adopted from Chapter 9 of the 2003 International Fire Code in July 2004 and unchanged since; automatic fire sprinkler systems in new and existing buildings are governed by this Town-specific sprinkler code rather than the IFC's own Section 903 (which is deleted and replaced by reference to § 151.07). Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 6(2)-(3) and Section 7.; 2024 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), adopted by reference (§ 151.08), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 8.; 2025 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), adopted by reference (§ 151.09), with Town of Cave Creek amendments, effective January 1, 2026. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 9.; 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), adopted by reference (§ 151.10), effective January 1, 2026, EXCEPT that Chapters R1 through R5 of the IECC's residential section are deleted in their entirety and replaced with Chapters R1 through R5 of the 2018 IECC — so residential energy compliance in Cave Creek runs on the 2018 IECC residential provisions even though the commercial IECC baseline is 2024. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 10.; 2024 International Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC), adopted by reference (§ 151.11 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code), effective January 1, 2026; all swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs must comply with this code, and pool/spa/hot-tub enclosures must comply with A.R.S. § 36-1681 (Arizona's pool barrier statute). Swimming pools and spas are issued under a separate permit from the building permit. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Section 11; Town of Cave Creek Residential Plan Review Check List (rev. 6/15/2026).; ICC A117.1-2017 (Standard for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities), adopted as part of the Town's code suite alongside the 2024 IBC. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08 (preamble); Town of Cave Creek Commercial Plan Submittal Guidelines.; All prior versions of Chapter 151 (Building Code § 151.01, Residential Code § 151.02, Mechanical Code § 151.03, Plumbing Code § 151.04, Electrical Code § 151.05, Fire Code § 151.06, Fuel Gas Code § 151.08, Existing Building Code § 151.09, and Energy Conservation Code § 151.10) were repealed in their entirety and replaced by Ordinance No. 2025-08, effective January 1, 2026; all former conflicting ordinances were repealed as of that date. Source: Town of Cave Creek Ordinance No. 2025-08, Sections 1-2 (Repeal, Effective Date).. Local amendments apply — see the Cave Creek overview page for the full list.

In the CB and TCC zones, a freestanding/ground-mounted sign is limited to 40 sq ft in total area and 12 feet in height. In the GC zone, the limit is 48 sq ft and 12 feet in height. Only one freestanding/ground-mounted sign per lot is allowed under Table 9.2 of the Zoning Ordinance.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-23.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Cave Creek building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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