An outdoor billboard standing at a location is the product of four stacked legal layers: the local outdoor advertising plan decides whether that location may host a board at all; land law grants the right to place the board on that plot; construction law permits erecting that structure; and advertising law regulates the content on its face. A company handling only the last layer — content — can be forced to demolish a perfectly well-designed structure.
The planning and land layers: location decides before content
Outdoor billboard locations must conform to the outdoor advertising plan approved and published by the provincial People Committee: the plan fixes routes, areas, vehicle types and scales permitted at each point. A location outside the plan — however willing the landowner — cannot be regularised by any other paper; it is the first and cheapest check of any billboard project. On the planning base, land use rights for the board footing are established under land law: leasing land from a lawful land user by contract, or accessing locations on public land or traffic corridors through the local authority mechanism as regulated — each land source carries its own file and certainty level, and the board-site lease must state a term matching the board exploitation life plus a clause handling planning changes.
On face content and form, outdoor signs and billboards follow the general rules of the Advertising Law 16/2012 (as amended by Law 75/2025/QH15): Vietnamese as the standard script with the foreign-script-smaller-and-below rule as for signboards; no obstruction of traffic sightlines, no encroachment on road safety corridors; and special-goods content must still pass content confirmation like every other channel before going on the board.
The construction layer: when a billboard needs a construction permit
Under Article 31 of the Advertising Law, construction of advertising screens, signboards and billboards with a one-face area of 20 square metres or more, having a metal-frame structure or similar construction materials attached to an existing construction work, requires a construction permit from the competent authority. Below that threshold, small boards and ordinary signboards follow a lighter regime but must still comply with technical standards, location planning and structural safety. The construction-permit file for a board comprises structural design drawings, load calculations — especially wind load — location information and related land papers; the local construction permitting authority is the focal point.
Structural safety is a duty across the board whole life, not ending on permit day: the board owner must maintain and periodically inspect structural condition, reinforce before storm seasons, and bear full liability when a collapse or falling incident damages people and property — liability spanning civil compensation and administrative or criminal handling by consequence. Billboard collapses in storms are periodic reminders that a board structure is a real-risk construction work, not a large poster.
Location and permit violations, and the correct deployment sequence
A board placed outside the plan, lacking a construction permit where one is required, or violating traffic safety corridors is fined under Decree 87/2026/ND-CP on advertising and related construction and traffic penalty decrees, with the heaviest remediation being forced dismantling of the advertising vehicle — dismantling a large board can cost far more than a year exploitation contract value of that board. A landowner leasing a site for an off-plan board also bears joint handling for its part, so the site lease should carry a planning-conformity warranty for the location from the lessor where they hold the planning information.
The correct deployment sequence for a new board site is: look up the provincial outdoor advertising plan at the intended location; lock land use rights with a lease carrying planning clauses; determine the construction-permit duty by area and structure and complete permitting before construction; design face content complying with script rules and, for special goods, content confirmation; construct, accept structural safety, and schedule periodic maintenance and inspection throughout exploitation. Run in this order, a board stands ten years without meeting a single violation record.
In outdoor advertising the most important permit is not for content, but for location and structure conformity. Planning for the site, land for the footing, construction for the structure, advertising law for the face — with all four layers a board is an asset; missing one layer, it is a dismantling debt waiting for its date. This draft is pending review by the QA Council.
Frequently asked questions
What permits does erecting an advertising board need?
By scale: a billboard with a one-face area of 20 square metres or more, with a metal-frame structure or similar construction materials attached to an existing work, requires a construction permit under Article 31 of the Advertising Law 16/2012. Beyond the construction permit (where applicable), the board location must conform to the provincial outdoor advertising plan, the footing land use right must be lawful, and special-goods advertising content must be confirmed in advance. Small boards below the threshold must still follow location planning and safety standards.
Are billboard locations restricted?
Yes, by the outdoor advertising plan approved by the provincial People Committee: the plan fixes the routes, areas and advertising vehicle types permitted. An off-plan location cannot be regularised even with the landowner consent. Sector limits add on: no obstructing traffic sightlines and signs, no encroaching road or railway safety corridors, no violating protection corridors of defence works, relics or power grids under related rules. A plan lookup at the intended location is the first step of every board project.
May a billboard stand on land leased from another person?
Yes, with a lawful site lease from a land user entitled to lease, provided the location conforms to the outdoor advertising plan and construction and safety procedures are completed. The lease should state: a term matching the board exploitation life, the lessor warranty of the location planning conformity, access rights for construction and maintenance, and the dismantling-cost mechanism where the plan changes or the lease ends. Sites on public land are accessed through the local authority under public-land use rules for advertising.
What safety requirements apply to large billboards?
A large board is a construction work: structural design must calculate load bearing, especially storm wind load under construction standards; construction and acceptance follow the approved file; during exploitation the owner must maintain and periodically inspect structural condition and reinforce before storm seasons. The advertising-vehicle owner bears civil and other liabilities when a board collapses causing damage. Maintenance and safety-inspection costs belong in the board exploitation model from the start as fixed costs, not optional items.
How is an off-plan billboard handled?
Administrative fines under Decree 87/2026/ND-CP in the advertising field, together with related construction and traffic penalty rules by act, and the central remediation of forced dismantling of the violating advertising vehicle — dismantling costs fall on the violator and usually far exceed the fine. This is why the plan lookup and site-paper locking must precede all design and face-production spending in the project budget.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council