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Sign Permit in Queen Creek, Arizona

Required for permanent business signage in Queen Creek. The Town's Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J states that 'Permits are required for all new signs except as provided in Article 7 of this Ordinance,' and that 'The alteration of sign faces by painting or overlay shall be considered as construction of a new sign and require a permit,' while 'Touching up or repainting existing letters or symbols shall be considered maintenance and repair and shall not require a permit.' Article 7 Section 7.4.A frames the authorization as a building permit — 'A building permit is required for all signs, unless specifically exempted, which are intended to be erected, painted, or otherwise installed in the Town of Queen Creek' — while the Town's adopted fee schedule prices it under 'Planning and Zoning Review Fees' as a 'Sign Permit Application' at $125 per individual sign. That naming split between the ordinance ('building permit') and the fee schedule ('Sign Permit Application') is reproduced here as found rather than silently resolved. The Town publishes a dedicated 'Permanent Sign Permit Application' form combined with a 'Sign Permit Submittal Checklist'.

Verified 2026-08-15 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Permits are required for all new signs except as provided in Article 7 of the Zoning Ordinance (Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J.1)
  • Alteration of sign faces by painting or overlay counts as construction of a new sign and requires a permit; touching up or repainting existing letters or symbols is maintenance/repair and does not require a permit (Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J.1)
  • Per Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J.1, 'An application form and a site plan completed by a licensed sign contractor (the applicant), shall be submitted to the Development Services Department'
  • Per Zoning Ordinance Section 7.4.A, building permits are NOT required for home occupation signs, temporary signs, or for minor repair or repainting of any permitted sign, unless otherwise provided in Article 7
  • Per Zoning Ordinance Section 7.5.A, all temporary signs require a separate Temporary Sign Permit unless specifically exempted (A-frame and T-frame signs are allowed without permit for businesses in the Commercial, Industrial, Downtown Core, Office, Employment, and Public Facility or Institutional zoning districts, per Section 7.5.C.2.b)
  • Both the property owner and the applicant must sign the Sign Permit Submittal Checklist; 'Anyone applying without authorization from the property owner(s) shall be subject to penalty under all applicable laws'
  • Written consent of the owner of the building, structure or premises on which the sign is to be erected must accompany the application (Zoning Ordinance Section 7.4.B.4)
  • Per Zoning Ordinance Section 7.4.D, every sign subject to a building permit must have affixed — visible from the adjacent grade, in letters not less than one inch (1") in height — the date of installation, the permit number, and the voltage of any electrical apparatus
  • The Permanent Sign Permit Application states that permit applications expire after 180 days: 'An application for a permit for any proposed work shall be deemed to have been abandoned 180 days after the date of acceptance, unless such application has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued'
  • Submittals missing any checklist item are considered incomplete and, per the Sign Permit Submittal Checklist, 'WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED'

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Sign Permit ApplicationTown of Queen Creek Development Services Fee Schedule, 'Valuation Data Updated - Effective 4/1/2026', document page 3 (PDF page 4), 'Planning and Zoning Review Fees' table, row J. The fee schedule is a scanned PDF with no text layer; this figure was read from a rendered page image rather than extracted text. The same table's header states 'All application fees are non-refundable'.
$125 per individual sign
Comprehensive Sign PackageSame table, row K (document page 3). Applies to a comprehensive sign package rather than an individual sign permit application. Read from the rendered page image.
$750

Review timeline

Plan reviewQueen Creek’s published plan-review target
Up to 10 business days

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

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

Inspection process

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

    Tips

    • The Town names this two different ways in two different official documents: the Zoning Ordinance (Section 7.4.A) calls it a building permit for signs, while the adopted fee schedule lists it under 'Planning and Zoning Review Fees' as a 'Sign Permit Application' at $125 per individual sign. There is no separate sign line item anywhere in the fee schedule's Building Safety permit-fee tables (document pages 5-7), so the $125-per-sign Planning figure is the operative published price.
    • The application must be completed by a LICENSED SIGN CONTRACTOR — Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J.1 names the licensed sign contractor as 'the applicant'. A property owner filling out the form themselves does not satisfy that provision as written.
    • Repainting is the dividing line. Overlaying or repainting a sign FACE is treated as building a brand-new sign and needs a permit; touching up existing letters or symbols is maintenance and does not. That distinction is written directly into Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J.1.
    • After installation, the sign itself must physically carry the installation date, the permit number, and the voltage of any electrical apparatus in letters at least one inch high, visible from adjacent grade (Zoning Ordinance Section 7.4.D). This is an easy final-inspection failure to overlook.
    • Temporary signage is a separate track: temporary signs need a Temporary Sign Permit under Section 7.5, not this permanent sign permit. Banner signs may not be displayed more than 90 cumulative days in a calendar year, and grand-opening banners are capped at 48 square feet.
    • Sign permit applications go stale after 180 days from the date of acceptance unless pursued in good faith or issued.

    Frequently asked questions

    It depends on what you repaint. Touching up or repainting existing letters or symbols is treated as maintenance and repair and does not require a permit. But altering the sign FACE by painting or overlay is treated as construction of a new sign and does require a permit. That distinction is stated in Zoning Ordinance Section 3.2.J.1.

    $125 per individual sign, per the Town of Queen Creek Development Services Fee Schedule effective 4/1/2026 (document page 3, 'Planning and Zoning Review Fees' table, row J). A Comprehensive Sign Package is $750. All application fees are non-refundable.

    Queen Creek's published plan-review target for a sign permit is Up to 10 business days.

    You'll need: Permanent Sign Permit Application; Sign Permit Submittal Checklist; Sign Designs; Elevations; Site Plan. Depending on your project, Queen Creek may also ask for: Monument/Freestanding Sign Supplement. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

    Apply through Town of Queen Creek Development Services Department — Building Safety Division at Municipal Services Building, 22358 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek, AZ 85142. Phone: 480-358-3003, email: development@QueenCreekAZ.gov. Office hours: Monday - Thursday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.; closed Fridays (Town offices closed Friday-Sunday). Applications are submitted electronically through the Development Nexus / Accela Citizen Access online portal (aca-prod.accela.com/QC). Building inspections are scheduled through Development Nexus or by phone/text; the cutoff for next-business-day inspection requests is 6:00 p.m. Inspection hours are 6 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Mon-Thu and 6-10 a.m. Fri (September-May), and 5:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Mon-Thu and 5:30-10 a.m. Fri (June-August). Building Official: Michael Williams, CBO, Building Safety Manager, Michael.Williams@QueenCreekAZ.gov, 480-358-3009.. Official information: https://www.queencreekaz.gov/government/development-services/building-safety.

    Queen Creek, Arizona has adopted: Arizona has NO statewide mandatory building code floor for general construction — code adoption is a per-jurisdiction authority under state enabling statutes (A.R.S. Title 9 for municipalities). The Town of Queen Creek is an independently incorporated town (not administered by Maricopa or Pinal County for permitting purposes) that adopts and administers its own construction codes through its Development Services Department / Building Safety Division. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Safety page (queencreekaz.gov/government/development-services/building-safety) and Building Codes page.; 2021 International Building Code (IBC), as published by the International Code Council, adopted by the Town of Queen Creek with an effective date of January 1, 2023; applications submitted on or after April 1, 2023 must be designed to the 2021 edition. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page (queencreekaz.gov/government/development-services/building-safety/building-codes).; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023 (mandatory for submittals from April 1, 2023). Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC), as published by the National Fire Protection Association, adopted by the Town of Queen Creek — one edition behind the 2021 ICC family (the Town has not moved to the 2023 NEC as of this review). Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023, governing energy-efficiency requirements. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Urban-Wildland Interface Code, adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Pool and Spa Code, adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023, governing swimming pool and spa construction and barrier requirements. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page.; 2021 International Fire Code (IFC), adopted by the Town of Queen Creek effective January 1, 2023 as the Town's uniform fire code, administered by Fire Prevention within Development Services (see the Fire Prevention section of the Development Services Fee Schedule for operational/construction permit fees). Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page; Town of Queen Creek Development Services Fee Schedule (Valuation Data, effective 4/1/2026), Fire Prevention section.; 2021 code adoption included Town-specific amendments; the Town's official '2021 Amendments' document and the original 2012 adopting Ordinance 539-13 / Resolution 969-13 / Exhibit A are both published on the Building Codes page for reference. Source: Town of Queen Creek Building Codes page (2021 Amendments PDF, and 2012 Ordinance/Resolution/Exhibit A PDFs).. Local amendments apply — see the Queen Creek overview page for the full list.

    The Zoning Ordinance names the licensed sign contractor as the applicant: Section 3.2.J.1 requires 'An application form and a site plan completed by a licensed sign contractor (the applicant)'. The Sign Permit Submittal Checklist also requires both a property owner signature and an applicant signature, and warns that applying without property owner authorization carries penalties under all applicable laws.

    Other permits in Queen Creek

    Residential Building Permit (New Single-Family Construction)Residential Addition / Remodel PermitElectrical PermitPlumbing PermitMechanical / HVAC PermitRe-Roofing PermitSingle Family Residential Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System PermitDemolition PermitFence and Wall PermitSwimming Pool and Spa PermitEV Charging Station Permit (Electrical Permit)Commercial Building Permit (New Construction)Commercial Tenant Improvement PermitFire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm PermitChange of Use (Zoning Clearance and Certificate of Occupancy)

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