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Sign Permit in Columbia Falls, Montana

Required to display, erect, relocate, or alter any sign within Columbia Falls city limits and its extraterritorial zone, except signs specifically exempted by Municipal Code Title 18, Chapter 18.438 (Signs). Issued by the City of Columbia Falls Building Inspector/Zoning Administrator upon review of an application and scaled sign drawings against the district-specific standards in Chapter 18.438.

Verified 2026-07-22 · Source

When you need this permit

  • It is unlawful to display, erect, relocate, or alter any sign without first filing a written application with the building inspector and obtaining a sign permit, except signs exempted under 18.438.020 (Municipal Code 18.438.090.A)
  • Exempt without a permit: for-sale/lease/rental signs up to 12 sq ft (6 sq ft in residential districts), legal/directional/identification signs required or erected by governmental bodies, political signs up to 20 sq ft each, one contractor sign per building under construction (16 sq ft residential / 20 sq ft other districts), garage/yard-sale and non-profit event signs (max 5 days posted, dated, removed within 48 hours), directional signs on private property up to 12 sq ft (6 sq ft residential), identification signs up to 12 sq ft (6 sq ft residential), architectural elements, certain bulletin boards, and one subdivision entrance sign per street up to 24 sq ft per face / 6 ft height (18.438.020)
  • On-site signs permitted as accessory uses in business and industrial districts require a permit and are subject to projection, setback, electric-changeable-copy, height, number, and permitted-surface-area regulations (18.438.040)
  • Off-site signs require a permit and are limited to frontages along U.S. Highway 2, subject to setback, area (max 50 sq ft total / 25 sq ft per side), and height limits (18.438.050)
  • Temporary signs (portable reader boards up to 30 days, special event signs up to 10 days, 'going out of business' signs up to 60 days with a 24-month interim period) require a permit issued by the zoning administrator (18.438.060)
  • Absolutely prohibited in all districts regardless of permit: revolving signs, billboards, abandoned signs, rotating/flashing/blinking signs and strobe/searchlights (except permitted electronic message signs), permanent banners/pennants/balloons/inflatables, roof signs higher than the roof apex, signs imitating traffic/government signs, vehicle-mounted advertising signs, exposed incandescent/metal-halide/fluorescent bulbs, and signs in the public right-of-way except those erected by a government agency or authorized by a council-issued right-of-way encroachment permit (18.438.030)
  • Permitted sign types, counts, area, and height vary by zoning district (CSAG-20/10/5, CR-1 through CR-5, CRA-1/CB-1/CB-5, CB-2/CI-1/CI-2, CB-3 Limited Business, CB-4 Central Business, CPUD) per 18.438.080; the CB-3 district allows no freestanding signs at all, and the CB-4 district caps freestanding sign height at 10 feet with a 20-foot setback required
  • A master sign plan is required for all multiuse buildings and commercial developments with more than one tenant and/or building, must be approved before a building permit is issued for new buildings, additions, or renovations, and runs with the property rather than individual tenants (18.438.090.E)
  • All wiring, fittings, and materials used in illuminated signs must comply with the current electrical code adopted by the State of Montana (18.438.100.B); a separate Electrical Permit is required for illuminated signs and is not covered by the sign permit itself, per the variance note printed directly on the application form

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Sign Permit Processing FeeMunicipal Code 18.438.090.C ('A processing fee in the amount determined by the city council') and City of Columbia Falls Application for Permit for the Erection and Alteration of a Sign (DocumentCenter/View/238); no standalone sign-fee schedule document was found published separately by the City after exhaustive search of the DocumentCenter and Resolutions listings
Amount determined by the City Council; not printed as a fixed dollar figure on the application form itself (the form has a blank 'FEE:$___' field completed by the Building Department at time of submission)

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Sign Permit permit actually take in Columbia Falls?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Code Compliance Inspection (as-needed, not routine)

    Not a scheduled final inspection. Municipal Code 18.438.120.B authorizes the administrator to inspect a sign and issue a written order to repair or remove it within 14 days if, upon inspection, it is found abandoned, or structurally, materially, or electrically defective, or otherwise endangers the public; the administrator may act immediately without notice in cases presenting a hazard to public safety

See the full Columbia Falls inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • Real-estate/for-sale signs up to 12 sq ft (6 sq ft in residential districts) do not require a permit at all, per 18.438.020.
  • Electronic changeable-copy signs are allowed up to 20 sq ft per face with lighting limited to 11-watt-equivalent bulbs, but are prohibited outright in the CB-3 and CB-4 districts (18.438.040.C and 18.438.080).
  • Multi-tenant commercial buildings and developments need a City-approved master sign plan on file before any individual tenant sign permit can be issued, and it must be approved before a building permit for the building itself is issued.
  • Billboards are prohibited outright citywide; any nonconforming billboard existing at annexation must come into compliance within 7 years (18.438.030.B, 18.438.110.B/D.4).
  • The Sign Permit application itself notes that electrical permits are separate from the sign permit — illuminated signs require an additional Electrical Permit application and fee.

Frequently asked questions

No. Signs advertising the sale, lease, or rental of the premises (up to 12 sq ft, or 6 sq ft in residential districts) and garage/yard-sale signs meeting the posting-duration limits are exempt from the permit requirement under Municipal Code 18.438.020.

No fixed dollar amount is published. Municipal Code 18.438.090.C sets the fee 'in the amount determined by the city council,' and the application form itself leaves the fee field blank for the Building Department to complete at submission.

Columbia Falls does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Columbia Falls Building Department (Building, Planning & Public Works) at (406) 892-4391 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Application for Permit for the Erection and Alteration of a Sign; Scaled Sign Drawings. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Columbia Falls requires 1 inspection(s) for a sign permit, in order: Code Compliance Inspection (as-needed, not routine). Schedule each through City of Columbia Falls Building Department (Building, Planning & Public Works) ((406) 892-4391).

Apply through City of Columbia Falls Building Department (Building, Planning & Public Works) at 130 6th St West, Columbia Falls, MT 59912. Phone: (406) 892-4391, email: sobczakc@cityofcolumbiafalls.com. Office hours: City Hall, 130 6th St West, Columbia Falls, MT 59912. Building/Planning/Public Works Clerk: Caleb Sobczak, (406) 892-4432, sobczakc@cityofcolumbiafalls.com. All building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing permit applications begin at City Hall by contacting the Building Clerk; actual building inspections are scheduled directly with the City of Whitefish Building Department, (406) 863-2410, buildingdept@cityofwhitefish.gov, under a contractual inspection-services agreement between the two cities. Source: City of Columbia Falls Building Inspection & Code Enforcement page, cityofcolumbiafalls.org/1204/Building-Inspection-Code-Enforcement. Official information: https://www.cityofcolumbiafalls.org/1240/Permits-Applications.

Columbia Falls, Montana has adopted: Montana has a mandatory statewide building code administered by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Building Codes Bureau, amended by the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Title 24, Chapter 301. Cities, counties, and towns may become 'certified' to locally administer permitting and inspection for all or part of the code (building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, swimming pool, wildland-urban interface, etc.); a certified local program's adopted code 'may include only codes adopted by the Building Codes Bureau' (ARM 24.301.202). Non-certified trades/areas fall under direct state administration by the DLI Building Codes Bureau. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Certified City, County and Town Programs and Current Codes pages (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Columbia Falls is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B), Plumbing (P), Electrical (E), Mechanical (M), Swimming Pool (SP), AND Wildland-Urban Interface (W) within Columbia Falls city limits — the fullest certification tier on the statewide DLI list (matched only by Whitefish and Bozeman). Certified Building Official of record: Tad Lisowski, per the DLI 'CITY CODES BUILDING OFFICIAL PHONE JURISDICTION' certified-jurisdictions PDF (bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf), updated 04/22/2026. Legend on that PDF: B = Building, P = Plumbing, M/G = Medical Gas, E = Electrical, M = Mechanical, SP = Pool, W = WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface). Tad Lisowski is also the certified building official of record for Whitefish, consistent with the two cities' shared building-inspection arrangement.; The City of Columbia Falls has adopted all 2021 building-related codes (2021 IBC, IRC, IEBC, IMC, IFGC, IECC, ISPSC editions as adopted statewide, effective June 11, 2022) per 'Administrative Order 2022 Building Code Adoption,' referenced on the City's Permits & Applications page. Source: City of Columbia Falls Permits & Applications page, cityofcolumbiafalls.org/1240/Permits-Applications.; 2021 International Building Code (IBC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; adopted by City of Columbia Falls per Administrative Order 2022 Building Code Adoption; 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; adopted by City of Columbia Falls per Administrative Order 2022 Building Code Adoption; 2021 International Existing Building Code (IEBC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; state-adopted edition applicable within Columbia Falls' certified Building program; 2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; adopted by City of Columbia Falls per Administrative Order 2022 Building Code Adoption; 2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; state-adopted edition applicable within Columbia Falls' certified Mechanical program; 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; adopted by City of Columbia Falls per Administrative Order 2022 Building Code Adoption; the City's Building Permit Application requires ResCheck or the Prescriptive Method for energy-code compliance; 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; state-adopted edition applicable within Columbia Falls' certified Plumbing program (Montana uses the Uniform Plumbing Code, not the International Plumbing Code); 2020 National Electrical Code (NEC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; applicable within Columbia Falls' certified Electrical program per the City's Electrical Permit Application, which cites Title 50, Chapter 60, MCA and ARM 24.301.421/24.301.203; 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC) — effective statewide June 11, 2022; Columbia Falls is DLI-certified for swimming pool (SP) permitting; 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) — state-adopted edition; the City's Building Permit Application references a 'Fire Prevention Program Fee' as a distinct line item collected with building permit fees; Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) code provisions — Columbia Falls holds DLI 'W' certification, meaning the City (not the state) enforces WUI code requirements within city limits. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau certified-jurisdictions PDF.. Local amendments apply — see the Columbia Falls overview page for the full list.

Billboards are prohibited in all districts. Electronic changeable-copy signs are allowed up to 20 sq ft per face with limited-wattage bulbs, except in the CB-3 and CB-4 (Central Business) districts, where they are prohibited.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-22.

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 Columbia Falls building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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