Sign permits: what applies before façade lettering

In consultations this question usually comes too late: am I even allowed to put this up? The lettering is designed, the installation date is set – and then it turns out the municipality expects a sign application. With a little lead time it is a formality; under time pressure it gets expensive.

When do you need a sign permit?

In Switzerland the cantons and municipalities regulate outdoor advertising themselves, usually in a sign regulation or in the building and zoning regulation. The basic rule is similar everywhere: anything visible from public ground that remains permanently on the building requires a permit. That covers individual letters on the façade, projecting signs, light boxes, flags, banners and large-scale shop window graphics.

Not subject to a permit in many municipalities are small company signs up to a certain area, temporary notices for events and interior lettering with no effect outside. The thresholds differ – Solothurn, Bern and Zurich set them differently. A call to the building office clears it up in ten minutes.

Sign application or building application?

The sign application is the small procedure: site plan, façade elevation with the sign drawn in, detail drawing with dimensions, information on material, colour, lighting and fixing, plus a photo of the current situation. For larger interventions – freestanding advertising structures, installations with foundations, interventions in the façade structure – the municipality demands a regular building application with publication in the official gazette and an objection period.

Core zone, townscape and heritage protection

As soon as the building stands in an old town or core zone, is listed in the ISOS inventory or placed under heritage protection, a specialist office or townscape commission additionally assesses the application. Then not only the area counts but also the execution: individual letters instead of boxes, muted colours, no visible cable ducts, fixing in the joints instead of the stone. We plan such lettering in this language from the outset – that saves the detour via a rejection.

Illuminated signs: brightness and operating hours

With illuminated installations two more topics come up. First, glare: many regulations require the luminance to be reduced at night, often via a timer or a dusk sensor. Second, operating hours – in residential zones switching off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is widespread. Flashing or moving elements are delicate along roads under the signalling ordinance because they distract traffic; near cantonal roads the cantonal civil engineering office has a say as well.

How long does the procedure take?

Always count the lead time backwards from the desired opening date. Anyone opening in spring submits in winter.

What does a permit cost?

The fee depends on the municipality, the area and the procedure; in individual municipalities recurring sign levies are added. Only the information from the responsible office is reliable – we obtain it as part of the planning and disclose it before anything is produced.

What we take care of

We prepare the application documents in the required form, hold the preliminary discussion with the building office, adapt the design to conditions and only install after the permit. Anyone who likes can drop by in Solothurn beforehand and see samples of individual letters, light boxes and films for real – that eases the decision more than any visualisation.