Guidelines for displaying posters and signs on City property

Election and political signs

Election and political signs are allowed on City poster cylinders (see Posters on City streets) and between the backs of sidewalks and the adjoining private property.

Signs cannot be placed on City:

  • Sidewalks
  • Boulevards
  • Medians
  • Parks
  • Street lights
  • Other sidewalk amenities

 Any signs found in the areas listed above will be impounded and stored at the City at the expense of the party or candidate involved.

Signs can be recovered from 507 West Broadway, 5th floor, between 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Election and political sign guidelines (271 KB)

Report an election sign concern

Posters on city streets

Posters displayed using a poster cylinder.Use the poster cylinders on city street light poles to display your poster advertisements.

All sizes and types of posters are accepted, unless they contain offensive material. Use glue paste or tape to stick your posters to the cylinder.

Over time, posters get covered by other posters and are periodically removed by our sanitation crews.

Poster cylinders provide an aesthetically-pleasing arrangement of posters in visible locations, and reduce the burden on taxpayers when posters need to be removed from City property.

 Don't place posters on utility poles that have no poster cylinder or on any other area of City property. Posters placed illegally will be removed and discarded weekly and violators may be prosecuted.

Poster cylinder locations

Sandwich board and third-party advertising signs

Advertising signs on City property are allowed only if the City guidelines for their placement are followed:

  • One sandwich board per ground floor storefront no larger than 60 cm × 90 cm (23.5 in × 35.5 in) may be on City property
  • The sign must be directly in front of the store that is being advertised
  • The sign must be up against the building wall or at the property line (not in the middle of the sidewalk or at the curb of any street)

Sandwich board sign guidelines  (74 KB)

Third-party signs are strictly prohibited on, and will be confiscated from centre medians, utility poles not equipped with a poster cylinder, boulevards, or any other area of City property.

Third-party advertising sign guidelines (66 KB)

Brochures and posters in community centres

If you are with a public agency or provide a program at a community centre, you can have brochures or posters displayed and distributed at City community centres.

When preparing your materials for distribution:

  • Bundle brochures in groups of 10
  • Keep posters unrolled - anything larger than 10 in × 16 in will be folded

Drop off or mail brochures and posters to:

Recreation Office
4575 Clancy Loranger Way
Vancouver BC, V5Y 2M4

Real estate, open house, and sales centre signs

House-for-sale signs are allowed on private property. Signs that advertise or direct people to properties for sale cannot be placed on City property.

Open house signs that direct people to a viewing are allowed on City property only during the showing.

Sales- and presentation centre signs need to follow the rules for sandwich board signs (see Sandwich board and third-party advertising signs, above).

Real estate and sales centre sign guidelines (74 KB)

Report advertising concern

Contact us

Location - by appointment only
5th Floor
507 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V5Z 0B4

Hours
Monday to Friday
8:30am to 5pm

Mailing address
Engineering Services
320 - 507 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V5Z 0B4

Email: street.activities@vancouver.ca