Rules about signs and posters

Council strictly prohibits real estate signage of any kind (including open home picket signs) to be placed on public land or assets, for example fences, poles, roadside berms, etc. Real estate signage must always be placed on private property.

If your property has no street visibility, we will consider granting approval for a sign to be placed on the street close to your property.

To apply for approval, send us:

• the address of the property being listed
• a brief description of why signage can't be seen from the property
• a diagram or photo (a Google street view screenshot) showing where you want the sign placed.

Email us streetactivities@wcc.govt.nz.

Real Estate signage guide (1.1MB PDF) 

Sandwich boards

To use a sandwich board on a public footpath you must first get a Sandwich Board Licence.

Whether we grant a licence depends on whether it is safe and appropriate to have a sandwich board at that location.

Boards that do not have a displayed license sticker or that aren’t being used in accordance with the license conditions risk being removed by Council.

How to apply

To apply for a licence, complete the online application form:

Sandwich board application form

If your license is approved, you should position the board so it doesn't get in the way of pedestrians or clutter the footpath. If you're not sure where to put your board, we can help you. 

Contact us streetactivities@wcc.govt.nz 

Renewals

All Sandwich Board Licences are issued for 1 year (1 July to 30 June). We will send you a reminder before your licence expires.

Annual fees cover the processing and monitoring of the Footpath Management Policy as it relates to sandwich boards.

To update changes to your current licence (contact details or change of location or board), contact the Street Activities Officer: streetactivities@wcc.govt.nz.

Fees

Rules and Compliance

If a sandwich board is unlicensed or used non-compliantly, it will be ticketed with a notice sticker by one of Council’s officers, with the expectation that action be taken.

If no action is taken to remedy the non-compliance, the sandwich board may be seized by Council, and a fee could apply to retrieve it.

Wellington City Council expects sandwich board owners to effectively self-manage their board and meet the conditions outlined below.

Sandwich board conditions

• Council reserves the right to select the exact location where the board may be placed, with a view to prioritise pedestrian safety and convenience.
• Licence holders are responsible for ensuring the board remains in the designated location, including if it is moved by other forces such as pedestrians or wind.
• The board must be weighted to ensure stability, and any folding boards must be prevented (e.g., by use of a metal latch) from opening or closing in windy conditions.
• In heavy winds, sandwich boards should be brought indoors to mitigate safety hazard for pedestrians.
• Sandwich boards must be brought onto private property outside of business hours. They may not be left overnight on the footpath.
• If the board is attached to an object or fixture on the road corridor, prior approval must be obtained from the owner of that asset.

Licence conditions

• For each license, only one (1) board may be placed on public land at any given time. Council generally will not approve multiple boards for one business.
• Licence stickers must be attached to the sandwich board and visible at all times.
• Licence stickers and licences are non-transferable, and application processing fees are non-refundable.
• Council reserves the right to cancel an existing license or decline a license application (e.g., if there is no suitable location on public footpath for a board to be placed). If Council cancels a paid license, a credit will be issued to the license holder for the remaining unused days.

Council does not allow commercial-advertising signage on public land or assets. If you want to put up signage to advertise your business, it must be placed on private property.

Alternatively, you could contact Phantom Billstickers or Shout Media to pay for billboard advertising, or apply for a sandwich board license to place a single sign on the public footpath outside your business. 

Before putting posters up in public places, you need to get the property owner's or the Council's permission if it's on Council-owned land or fixtures.

Where you can't put posters

Council property where you can't put up posters include:

• public street furniture
• poles
• poster bollards and holders (contact Phantom Billstickers - see below)
• seats
• signal cabinets
• bus shelters (contact Adshel).

What you can get permission for

Posters for community and charity events 

Posters on poles for community and charity events may be permitted - contact the Council to discuss.

Central business district and suburban centres

If you want to put posters up on the Council's poster bollards and pole poster holders in the central business district and suburban centres, contact the Council's contractor, Phantom Billstickers. 

Phantom Billstickers can sort out whether you can put your posters up there, and if they can be put up for free or if a management fee applies. 

More information about posters 

Council Contact Centre 

Phone: 04 499 4444
Mobile: Free text 3400
Email: info@wcc.govt.nz
Fax: 04 801 3138 

Phantom Billstickers 

Phone: 04 382 9199 or 0800 PHANTOM (0800 742 686) 
Mobile: 027 752 0906 
Email: posters@0800phantom.co.nz 
Postal address: 8 Tennyson Street 
Te Aro 
Wellington 6011

If you want to advertise your non-profit or community event (e.g., fundraiser, book fair, pop-up market, etc.), you can put up temporary signage:

• only after receiving a Council-issued permit; and,
• only at Council’s approved signage sites (you may select up to seven).

See Council's approved signage sites (6.3 MB PDF)

If we approve your application, we will provide you with clear instructions on where your signs can be put up.

Apply online - Temporary signage permit

For more information on our signage rules, see our Guidelines for temporary signs in public places (149KB PDF)

As a general rule, we do not permit the use of flag signs on the public road corridor (such as footpath, berm, etc.). This is mainly because they add clutter to public space and pose accessibility issues for pedestrians, especially those with visual impairments.

Flags are also a safety hazard in that they can blow around in Wellington’s heavy winds and potentially hit unsuspecting pedestrians.

You may place flag signage on your own private property. If you do, and the flag overhangs above public footpath/land, the entire flag must be at least 2.5 metres above the ground. 

If you want to advertise a party, candidate, or referendum during an electioneering period, you are required to obtain Council permission before erecting any signage on public land in the Wellington District.

Permission to place signage on public land will be issued to the applicant in writing upon approval and will show the distinct Council-approved sites where signs may be placed.

Guidelines will be released for the 2022 local elections. 

• The Encroachment Team receives the application
• You receive a letter of acknowledgement

The letter will either ask for more information or advise the application will be processed within 4 weeks.

• We discuss your application

The Roading and Traffic and Parks and Gardens teams consider how the application affects the amenity of the area, public and private views, vegetation and the neighbours.

• You’ll receive a decision letter

We’ll let you know if your application has been approved or declined, and reasons why.

If your application for consent is approved, we’ll send you the Terms and Conditions and License Agreements. These need to be signed, witnessed and returned within 30 days. A bond may be requested. 

The licensee has 18 months to obtain any Regulatory Consents and complete construction of structure on legal road. 

• Bond refund

Licensee needs to advise the Encroachment team that all works are complete and request inspection for bond return. The bond is refunded if the structure is build in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of Landowner Consent.