You’ve got the lease, the paint colour picked, and a launch date in your head. Then you get to the sign, and realize you don’t actually know if you need a permit to put your business’s name on the building. In Halifax Regional Municipality, most exterior signs do need one before they go up. A permanent sign, the kind bolted or mounted to your building, costs $200 to permit and is good for two years. Temporary signs, like banners and sandwich boards, run separate fees and shorter terms. Skip the step and you risk a stop-work order and the cost of taking the sign back down.

Which signs actually need a permit in Halifax?

Any permanent sign attached to a commercial building needs a Sign Permit from HRM before it goes up. That covers fascia signs (mounted flat against the wall), projecting signs (sticking out over the sidewalk), ground signs, roof signs, and billboards. The permit is tied to the sign itself, not the business, so if you buy an existing shop and keep the old sign as is, check whether the permit is still active before you assume it covers you too.

Temporary signage works differently. A banner, a mobile sign on a trailer, or a box sign each need their own short-term licence. A sandwich board is the one exception worth knowing well: put it on your own property, in front of your own door, and you don’t need a licence at all. Drag it out onto the public sidewalk in the municipal right-of-way, and it needs a paid licence and proof of insurance.

What’s exempt from a permit entirely?

Short-term signage on private property and election signs don’t require a permit. If your “sign” is really just a poster taped inside your own window, HRM doesn’t regulate it the same way.

What does a permanent sign permit cost and how long does it last?

A Permanent Sign Permit in Halifax costs $200 per sign, according to HRM’s permit fee schedule, and that covers projection, roof, ground, billboard, and fascia signs. Once issued, the permit is good for two years from the date it’s granted. If your build-out runs long or you’re waiting on a sign fabricator, keep that two-year clock in mind so the permit doesn’t lapse before installation.

What do you need to submit with the application?

HRM’s sign permit application asks for a specific set of drawings, not just a photo of what you want:

• A sign plan showing the sign face, the message, and its dimensions.
• Building elevation drawings showing where the sign sits on the wall, its dimensions, and the exterior wall details around it.
• A sign construction plan, sealed by a member of the Sign Association of Canada or a professional engineer, covering how the sign is fastened and, if it lights up, how it’s wired.
• A site plan showing the building footprint and where the sign sits on it, including setback from the property line.
• A Variable Message Sign application, if your sign has changing or digital content.

If you’re leasing rather than own the building, my post on what to check before taking over a Halifax storefront covers the lease and permit questions to sort out before this stage. Heritage buildings, and any sign projecting out over a public street, usually need an extra layer of review, so budget more time if either applies to you.

What about banners, sandwich boards, and mobile signs?

Temporary signs come with their own fee schedule and shorter terms:

• A banner costs $70 per licence, valid for one occasion up to 30 days.
• A sandwich board on the public right-of-way costs $94 per licence per year. On your own property, it’s free and no licence is required.
• A mobile sign (the kind on a trailer or wheeled frame) costs $37 per licence per 30-day occasion, up to a maximum of one year.
• A box sign costs $140 per licence per year.

For any of these, you’ll need to give your name as applicant, written consent from the property owner if that’s not you, and a site plan showing the sign’s location, size, and orientation, plus a scaled drawing of the design. Sandwich boards placed in the right-of-way also need proof of insurance. HRM says most licences are issued within five business days.

The steps, in order

1. Decide what you’re actually putting up. A permanent fascia or projecting sign needs the full Sign Permit. A banner, sandwich board, mobile sign, or box sign needs a temporary licence instead.
2. Check whether your sandwich board can sit on your own property. If it can, you likely don’t need a licence at all.
3. Set up a customer portal account on halifax.ca, and a contractor profile if a sign company is handling the install.
4. Get your drawings together: a sign plan and elevation for a permanent sign, or a scaled site and design drawing for a temporary one.
5. For a permanent sign, get the construction plan sealed by a Sign Association of Canada member or a professional engineer.
6. Get written consent from your landlord if you don’t own the building, since HRM asks for it on temporary applications and most landlords expect it either way.
7. Submit the application and pay online, or in person at 5251 Duke Street.
8. Install once approved. A permanent Sign Permit is valid for two years from issue; temporary licences are valid for the term you paid for.

What this actually costs, in money and time

A permanent sign permit is $200 flat, regardless of the sign’s size, and it’s good for two years. Add whatever your sign company charges to draft the sealed construction plan, which varies by fabricator and isn’t something HRM sets. On the temporary side, a sandwich board is free if you keep it on your own property, or $94 a year if it sits on the sidewalk out front. A banner runs $70 for up to 30 days, a mobile sign $37 for a 30-day stretch, and a box sign $140 a year. Processing for temporary licences is typically five business days; permanent sign permit timelines vary and HRM publishes current processing times monthly on its site, so check before you promise a fabricator an install date.

Before the sign goes up

None of this is complicated, but it’s easy to leave until the last week before opening, right when you have the least slack to absorb a delay. If you haven’t finished registering the business itself, that has its own paperwork and its own timeline, so it’s worth doing before the sign becomes the thing holding you up. Sort out the permit type early, get your drawings from your sign company as soon as you have a design, and build the two-year clock and the five-business-day (or longer) processing time into your launch schedule. A sign that goes up on time is a small thing. A sign that gets flagged and has to come back down two weeks after your grand opening is not.

For more on what it takes to open and run a business here, the rest of the Halifax Business Blog covers registration, leasing, hiring, and the tools owners actually use.

One practical note, since this is what I do for a living. A new sign is a small addition to your business property, and it’s worth a quick call to confirm it’s actually covered before the installer shows up, not after something happens to it.

About the author. Rayanur Rahman writes about running and growing a business in Halifax. He is a commercial insurance broker with Western Financial Group in Bedford, Nova Scotia, and works with businesses of every kind across the Halifax Regional Municipality. Reach him at 902-321-1712 or book a 30 minute call.

Sources: Sign Permits, Halifax Regional Municipality. Temporary Signs, Halifax Regional Municipality. Permit Fees, Halifax Regional Municipality. Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels. Photo by Kevin Bidwell on Pexels. Fees and requirements checked September 2026 and can change. General information only.