Application criteria
Your sign may be 100% pre-approved if it follows the
rules in the by-law. Make sure you know what you can and can't do with a sign. For instance, a 0,2 m² sign on a fence for the purposes of selling a house is pre-approved, but moving the sign to a nearby pole is not approved without
an application.
The criteria for an application differs depending on the type of sign and where it will be placed within the
areas of control. A poster for a church fete is treated differently from a billboard. The rules governing a sign on a non-profit organisation might be more relaxed than those on a commercial business, however, an application is still required to be submitted. .
Signage application exemptions
Some types of outdoor advertising are not regulated by the City and do not require you to apply for an outdoor advertising permit.
These include:
- any sign displayed inside a sports stadium that can’t be seen from the outside – you can apply to advertise in the DHL Stadium;
- any sign displayed inside a roofed shopping centre or inside an arcade that can’t be seen from the outside;
- any sign that is displayed inside a building that can’t be seen from the outside;
- road traffic signs which are provided for by legislation and
The South African Road Traffic Signs Manual;
- any national flag hoisted on a suitable flagpole as long as nothing is added to the design of the flag and no advertising material is added to the flag pole;
- authorised
tourist destination signs as defined by the Roads Traffic Manual;
- community information or educational boards without commercial content;
- any sign required to be displayed by law including electoral law or an Act of Parliament, provincial law or by-law; or
- safety prohibitions, directives or warnings.
Outdoor signage: general, first and third party
You will need to submit a general, first and third party application if you are considering erecting any of the following:
- Third-party billboard
- Flat, projected and projecting signs
- Locality-bound freestanding and composite first-party sign
- Locality-bound farm sign
- Service station sign
- Sky sign
- Roof sign
- Verandah, balcony, canopy, supporting columns, pillars and posts
- Boundary wall, fence and construction site signs
- Aerial sign
- Transit sign
Temporary signage
The following temporary signs follow a different application process:
- newspaper headline posters on poles;
- banners, flags and balloons;
- campaign and event posters;
- directional property marketing;
- loose portable signage on City-owned land; and
- signage for a temporary event.
Real estate signage
If you sell, market, let, lease or auction properties in Cape Town, you will need to have a permit for any directional boards you place on City-owned land. This includes a
signage application, for property marketing agents and auctioneers as well as signage for private sellers.
General enquiries
You can contact an
EHM District Office near you for advice and general enquiries about outdoor advertising.
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