Opening a Business in Gwinnett County? Your Complete Sign Checklist

Gwinnett County is one of the busiest places in the Southeast to open a business — and one of the more particular about signage. Our shop has been on Pinnacle Way in Norcross since 2006, and a huge share of our work is helping new businesses in Norcross, Duluth, Peachtree Corners, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, and Buford get open with signage that passes review the first time. Here is the checklist we walk every new owner through.

1. Know Whose Rules Apply

Gwinnett is a patchwork: if your address is inside a city (Norcross, Duluth, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Buford, Peachtree Corners and others), that city issues your sign permit under its own ordinance. Unincorporated addresses fall under the Gwinnett County sign ordinance. The rules differ meaningfully — allowed sign area, monument height, and LED message center regulations vary city by city — so the first step of any project is confirming the jurisdiction, not sketching the sign.

2. The Approval Sequence

For a leased space the order is: landlord sign criteria approval first, then the city or county sign permit, then fabrication and installation. Permits in Gwinnett jurisdictions typically require scaled drawings, site plans for freestanding signs, electrical details for illuminated signs, and a licensed sign contractor pulling the permit. Most reviews run one to four weeks. Illuminated signs also need to be UL-listed — inspectors check.

3. What New Owners Forget

Three things, over and over: window graphics and temporary banners are regulated too (most Gwinnett cities cap banner display time and require a temporary sign permit); your certificate of occupancy inspection is separate from your sign inspection; and interior signs visible through glass are usually fine — which is why a well-designed window and lobby package is the fastest way to look open while your exterior sign moves through permitting.

4. Build the Timeline Into Your Opening

Comfortable timeline from signed lease to installed exterior sign in Gwinnett: six to eight weeks. That means signage should start the week you sign the lease, not the month you open. If your date is closer than that, we will tell you what is realistic and bridge the gap with temporary signage that keeps you visible.

GOM Signs handles the whole sequence — design, landlord submittal, permit, fabrication, and installation — from right here in Norcross. If you are opening anywhere in Gwinnett or the metro area, send us your address and we will tell you exactly which rules apply to your storefront.