Environment and planning permit: advertising on a public road

Do you want to place an advertising sign or banner along a public road? For example:

• a sign announcing an event
• a sign advertising your restaurant or campsite
• a banner along or over the road

Then what you need to do depends on the rules in the municipality. In some municipalities, you need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning) or an exemption. Sometimes it is enough to make a notification 4 weeks before you want to place the sign or banner. You can find the rules in the environment plan (omgevingsplan) or in the municipality's General Municipal By-law (APV).

Do you want to put an advertising sign in front of your business? Then you must apply for a display permit in some municipalities.

You are almost never allowed to place billboards on or near national highways (in Dutch).

Check if you need an environment and planning permit and apply

Go to the online service counter Omgevingsloket (in Dutch) to check if you need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning). In the Omgevingsloket you can see which rules apply in your municipality, province, or regional water authority. You can then use the Omgevingsloket to apply online for an environment and planning permit or submit a notification.

Please note that rules from the General Municipal By-law (Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening, APV) or other municipal regulations may also apply.

Online application procedure via Message Box

In some municipalities, you can use Message Box to apply for an exemption or make a notification for placing signs or banners along a public road. Message Box has not yet been linked to the Omgevingsloket. This means that you cannot apply for an environment and planning permit or make a notification using Message Box. Message Box is an official and secure email system that allows entrepreneurs to exchange digital messages with Dutch government departments and organisations.