Rules & Tips for Placing Outdoor Advertising in the USA

In this article, Banner Sign World, a Custom banner printing company advertising and production company specialists, will tell you about the rules for placing outdoor advertising — what should and should not be done, what laws to rely on, and what time frame to wait for your application to be considered. If you do not want to go through the coordination of advertising structures and understand the state’s requirements in detail, our manager will do it for you.

1. Law on the placement of outdoor advertising

• Various regulations regulate the rules for placing signs and advertising on the facades of buildings. The design and installation of simple signs is the ninth article of the Law, “On the Protection of Consumer Rights,” since they are not considered outdoor advertising media. The article states that the performer/seller must inform the consumer of the name of his company, its location, mode of operation, and information on state registration.
• This means that the entrepreneur is obliged to place a sign and a security plate at the entrance to his establishment, and they do not require approval from the city administration. However, you should know the rules for designing signs on the facades of houses so that you do not have problems with the Law:
• Content. A sign should not motivate passers-by to enter and buy a service/product from you. It is forbidden to indicate anything other than the company’s name and type of activity — list the advantages, a list of goods or services, and compare yourself with competitors. For example, “Pharmacy “Health” is allowed, but “Pharmacy “Health”: the best prices in the city” is prohibited.
• Appearance. The article of the law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” mentioned by us does not regulate the appearance of signboards and regime plates in any way — such requirements can be spelled out in the regulatory legal acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. As a rule, they indicate that the structures should not stand out from the urban architectural ensemble and prescribe acceptable sizes.
• Location. The sign must hang strictly above the institution’s premises — above the entrance, windows, or between the 1st and 2nd floors. Also, it should be placed on the same level as other advertising and information structures, centered relative to windows and doors. It is forbidden to place signs on roofs (only if your establishment does not occupy the entire building), in arches, door and window openings, balconies, fences, canopies, and bay windows.
• The requirements for outdoor advertising are set out in Law No. the Bonus Act, P.L. 85–381, in 1956, “On Advertising,” and in the legal acts of each subject of the American, Federation individually. It contains all the necessary steps to coordinate the placement of outdoor advertising on the facades of buildings.

2. General requirements for outdoor advertising

• There are many rules for creating and placing outdoor advertising media — if necessary, our company manager will introduce you to them. Here we list only the most serious of them:
• The design should not exceed the adjacent road signs in brightness and size and be similar in appearance.
• The design should not glare in the sun and dazzle drivers of vehicles and pedestrians, block their view of the roadway, and limit the visibility of video cameras.
• Manufacturing and installation must be carried out considering the planned load and accompanied by design documentation on fire and electrical safety.
• Safe distances must be observed: at least a meter from the foundation of the structure to underground utilities, at least a meter from power lines, the lower edge of the structure must be at least four and a half meters from the road surface, and so on.
• Advertising can be placed only based on an agreement: rent a place for it from an entrepreneur if it is a private building, negotiate with at least two-thirds of the residents if it is an apartment building, and also win a competition and obtain permission from the administration if the building belongs to the city.

3. Rules for advertising on facades, roads, residential buildings

• To place outdoor advertising on the facade of a commercial and residential building, on roads, and in other suitable places, you need to go through a few steps:
• Create a design project. Develop a layout for future advertising, photograph the installation site and combine images in Adobe Photoshop.
• Get prior approval. Send the project to the relevant committee in your city — in the USA, for example.
• Collect a package of documents. Make up an advertising project, make copies of the, TIN, and title document for the use of a trademark, draw up the concept of the building facade, and so on.
• Apply for approval. You can do this in person or through the Gosuslugi portal. For each outdoor advertising unit, you will need to pay a fee.
• Get a result. Within a few days, the commission will consider your application and decide whether to permit you to advertise. In case of a negative answer, all steps will have to be repeated — to avoid this, contact our company for a competent execution of the application.

Call Banner Sign World's custom banner printing company to help in compliance with all the rules for placing and designing a custom outdoor banner advertising, arrange and install it quickly, and avoid fines.