Sign Permit in Sidney, Montana

Sidney requires a sign permit for: A Building Permit is required for the erection, construction, relocation, or alteration of any sign or other outdoor advertising device, unless the sign qualifies for an exemption under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 11.19.30 (Exemptions); Exempt signs (no permit required) include: official notices/warning signs/historical information; indoor signs and window displays not visible from outside; building-identification/commemorative signage up to 4 sq ft and residential owner/occupant wall signs; holiday lights/displays (up to 45 days before and 15 days after the holiday); one real estate 'for sale'/'for rent' sign per lot up to 6 sq ft; religious symbols, non-commercial message signs, and temporary political signs; way-finding/traffic-control signs up to 6 sq ft; and non-commercial murals; An Electrical Permit is separately required if the sign is illuminated — issued by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau as a State Electrical Permit, since Sidney is not electrical-certified (see this file's electrical-permit entry); Non-residential (commercial) district sign area is capped at 300 total square feet per property, measured as the surface area of one face of each sign; there is no maximum number of individual signs provided the 300 sq ft total is not exceeded; Maximum height of any freestanding sign, including embellishments, may not exceed the maximum building height allowed in the given zoning district; Internally illuminated signs are prohibited in all residential zoning districts and are only allowed in Commercially and Industrially zoned districts; flashing, blinking, rotating-beam, or hologram signs are prohibited everywhere; Signs that display moving or electronic images (digital/electronic graphic display signs) require a Conditional Use Permit in addition to the standard sign permit; Off-site signs are permitted but count toward the overall sign-area cap for the property/use on which they are located; Nonconforming signs (legally existing before the current Ordinance) may not be moved, altered, re-erected, relocated, or replaced without being brought into full compliance; abandoned signs must be removed within 60 days of the use they advertised ending; The Zoning Administrator may approve temporary signs for up to 30 days to advertise special events. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Sidney Fire Marshal / Building Inspector — Kale Rasmussen; city-certified for Building (B), ALL project types (residential and commercial), within Sidney city limits ONLY. Electrical and Plumbing permits of ANY project type within Sidney city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau (Sidney holds no state certification in those trades), as is Mechanical/HVAC. at 406.433.1122 before starting work.

There is no dedicated sign-permit fee. Signs are billed under the same valuation-based Building Permit Fee Schedule used for all other City of Sidney building permits ($23.50 minimum, scaling with project valuation), plus a 35% Plan Review Fee when submittal documents are required, and a separate State Electrical Permit fee if the sign is illuminated.

Plan review for a sign permit in Sidney typically runs 0–60 business days. This is an estimate, not a published figure — confirm current review times with City of Sidney Fire Marshal / Building Inspector — Kale Rasmussen; city-certified for Building (B), ALL project types (residential and commercial), within Sidney city limits ONLY. Electrical and Plumbing permits of ANY project type within Sidney city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau (Sidney holds no state certification in those trades), as is Mechanical/HVAC. at 406.433.1122.

You'll need: City of Sidney Building Permit Application (Residential or Commercial, as applicable); Sign plans/drawings. Depending on your project, Sidney may also ask for: State of Montana Application for Residential or Commercial Electrical Permit (BCP-1, Rev. 11/25). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Apply through City of Sidney Fire Marshal / Building Inspector — Kale Rasmussen; city-certified for Building (B), ALL project types (residential and commercial), within Sidney city limits ONLY. Electrical and Plumbing permits of ANY project type within Sidney city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau (Sidney holds no state certification in those trades), as is Mechanical/HVAC. at 1105 3rd St NW, Sidney, MT 59270. Phone: 406.433.1122, email: buildingofficial@cityofsidneymt.com; firemarshal@cityofsidneymt.com. Office hours: Not published on the City of Sidney Fire Marshal / Building Inspector pages; call 406.433.1122 or email buildingofficial@cityofsidneymt.com. Fax: 406.433.7509.. Official information: https://cityofsidneymt.com/fire-building.

Sidney, 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; non-certified trades fall under direct state administration by the DLI Building Codes Bureau. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Certified City, County and Town Programs (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Sidney is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B), ALL project types, within CITY LIMITS ONLY; certified official on file with DLI: Kale Rasmussen, 480-9113 (city phone format as printed in the roster; the City of Sidney's own published number for the same official is 406.433.1122). Verified directly by fetching and text-extracting the DLI Building Codes Bureau's 'MONTANA CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM' roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026): the roster carries TWO SEPARATE line items — 'Richland County | B | Kale Rasmussen | 480-9113 | County except Sidney' and 'Sidney | B | Kale Rasmussen | 480-9113 | City Limits'. This confirms Sidney's own certification is a DISTINCT, SEPARATE entry from Richland County's countywide program, not a subset or duplicate listing — the same certified official (Kale Rasmussen, who is also Richland County's building inspector per richland.org/building.html) administers both programs, but the County's own certification explicitly EXCLUDES Sidney ('County except Sidney'), and Sidney has its own independent 'City Limits' certification. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf; Unlike several Montana B-only-certified cities (e.g., Hardin, Anaconda-Deer Lodge, Colstrip) whose certification is explicitly 'B (residential only)', Sidney's DLI roster entry lists plainly 'B' with no residential-only qualifier — matching the pattern of Choteau/Conrad/Cutbank/Glasgow/Lewistown/Red Lodge, i.e. Sidney's local Building certification covers BOTH residential and commercial building permitting within city limits. Corroborated directly by the City's own published forms: cityofsidneymt.com/fire-building/page/building-permit-applications lists both a 'Residential Building Permit Application' and a two-part 'Commercial Building Permit Application' as separate City-issued forms, each captioned 'WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF SIDNEY.' Source: DLI roster PDF; https://cityofsidneymt.com/fire-building/page/building-permit-applications; Electrical and Mechanical/HVAC permitting are NOT locally certified in Sidney — the DLI roster's Sidney line lists only 'B' (no 'E' or 'M' code), meaning Electrical and Mechanical permits of any project type within Sidney city limits route DIRECTLY to the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau for state administration, exactly as in a non-certified jurisdiction. Plumbing is likewise not covered by Sidney's own DLI code letter, and is independently confirmed as state-administered by the City's own Residential and Commercial Building Permit Application forms, both of which include a checklist item 'State Plumber Permit (required)' and 'State Electrical Permit (required)' under the Contractor section — direct documentary evidence, from the City's own application forms, that plumbing and electrical permits for construction within Sidney are STATE permits, not city-issued. Source: DLI roster PDF; City of Sidney Residential Building Permit Application PDF; Commercial Building Permit Application PDF; Per the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's Current Codes page (statewide effective date June 11, 2022, applicable uniformly to all certified and state-enforced jurisdictions): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 ISPSC, 2021 UPC, 2020 NEC, 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility. Source: bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes. Local amendments apply — see the Sidney overview page for the full list.

Yes, unless the sign qualifies for one of the exemptions in the Zoning Ordinance (e.g., small window signs, a single small real estate sign). Per Sec. 11.19.50 of Ordinance 593, erecting, constructing, relocating, or altering a non-exempt sign 'requires a Building Permit,' issued locally by the City of Sidney Fire Marshal / Building Inspector.

In non-residential (commercial/industrial) zoning districts, total sign area for a property is capped at 300 square feet, with no limit on the number of individual signs as long as the total is not exceeded. Freestanding sign height may not exceed the maximum building height allowed in that zoning district. Internally illuminated signs are only allowed in commercial/industrial districts, and digital/electronic message signs require a separate Conditional Use Permit.