Property owners have recently been receiving letters from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) regarding undocumented (non-permitted) signs along interstate highways and scenic byways in Illinois. The letter comes with a photo of the sign in question and instructions for permitting the sign. Many of these signs have been in existence without the required permit for years.

Why are the notices being sent now? IDOT was not actively enforcing the permits in the past for on-premise signs under the US Highway Beautification Act. Recently, however, IDOT has come under scrutiny by the US Department of Transportation to document signs along these federal highways. In turn, IDOT is responding to this request by contacting sign owners and asking that their signs come into compliance by completing a sign permit application. There are six different types of signs that fall under this permitting requirement and the definitions, rules, and application details can be found at their website:

www.dot.il.gov/billboards/applications.html#Primary_Highway Parvin-Clauss Sign Company has a permit department that understands the IDOT permit requirements. Businesses that receive this letter should work with a sign company to bring their sign into compliance. For more information contact Parvin-Clauss Sign Company.