Signage approval is the step that decides your opening date, and it is the step most new businesses discover too late. Fabrication takes one to three weeks. Approval routinely takes four to eight. If you start the permit process after the sign is built, you have already lost a month.
Who approves what
- Dubai Municipality — the default for most of the city, through its advertising permit system.
- Trakhees — for DP World zones, including JAFZA, Dubai South and Palm Jumeirah.
- Free zone authorities — some zones run their own process; check before assuming Municipality.
- RTA — involved whenever a sign is visible from a public road.
- DEWA — involved whenever the sign is electrically powered or illuminated.
More than one can apply to the same sign. An illuminated fascia visible from a main road touches all three.
What you need to submit
- Copy of your trade licence
- A no objection certificate from the landlord or developer
- A photograph of the building facade
- A scaled technical drawing, dimensioned in metric units
- A mock-up or perspective render showing the sign in position
- Structural calculations for wind load on larger or elevated installations
Chase the landlord NOC first. It sits outside your control and outside the authority’s timeline, and everything else waits for it.
Design rules that cause rejections
Arabic prominence
Commercial signage generally must carry Arabic with equal or greater prominence than English. This is the commonest reason a design comes back. It is not a translation task bolted on at the end: the bilingual lockup changes the proportions of the whole sign, so design both languages together from the first sketch.
Metric drawings
Drawings in inches or feet get rejected. Everything is metric.
Size relative to facade
Sign dimensions are capped in proportion to the shopfront or elevation, and the cap varies by zone and building type. Design to the rule rather than designing big and negotiating down.
Concealed wiring
Visible cabling on an illuminated sign will not pass. Plan the power route into the design.
Realistic timeline
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Landlord or developer NOC | Days to weeks, dependent on them |
| Design and drawing preparation | 3 to 7 days |
| Authority review and approval | 4 to 8 weeks, longer with RTA involvement |
| Fabrication | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Installation | 1 day for most shopfronts |
How to lose the least time
- Request the landlord NOC the day you sign the lease, not when the design is ready.
- Confirm which authority covers your address before designing anything.
- Design bilingual from the start.
- Have your signage company prepare and submit the drawings in the format the authority expects.
- Do not fabricate ahead of approval unless you can absorb the cost of a change.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put up a temporary sign while waiting?
Temporary and promotional signage has its own rules and permissions. Ask before you hang anything, including opening-soon banners on hoarding.
What happens if I install without approval?
Unapproved signage can be ordered down and can carry penalties, and it complicates licence renewal. It is not worth the time saved.
Do you handle the submission?
Yes. We prepare the drawings and documentation and manage the submission as part of the project.
Does interior signage need approval?
Generally no, unless it reads to the outside through glazing.
Related reading
Talk to Logos Advertising
Logos Advertising LLC handles signage design, approval submission, fabrication and installation from one place, our production facility in Ras Al Khor, Dubai. See our services, read our Dubai signage cost guide, compare acrylic, channelium and neon, or send us your location and trade licence details.
