The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced a new policy to regulate outdoor advertising across Mumbai, eighteen months after an illegal hoarding has collapsed onto a petrol pump in Ghatkopar during a dust storm, causing multiple casualties. The civic body has revised and expanded its earlier 2008 guidelines, setting stricter conditions on the size, location, lighting and formats of hoardings.
Under the latest rules, hoardings larger than 40 ft x 40 ft have no longer been permitted anywhere in the city, as per media reports. Ads on footpaths and building terraces have been fully barred, while digital billboards have been subjected to a capped luminance ratio of 3:1 and have been prohibited from showing flickering visuals.
Digital and LED displays have been allowed only within controlled environments such as malls, multiplexes, commercial complexes and petrol pumps. Both commercial and non-commercial messages have also been permitted on the fencing or external facades of buildings undergoing construction or repair.
A significant revision has been the formal approval of multiple display formats. For the first time, the BMC has sanctioned back-to-back units, front-facing hoardings, and L-shaped, V-shaped, three-sided, four-sided, five-sided and six-sided structures, all subject to clearance from the Mumbai traffic police.
In the preface to the new policy document, Advertising Guidelines–2025, municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has stated that the updated norms have been designed to bring the city’s outdoor advertising standards closer to global practices, while balancing visual aesthetics with commercial goals. Judicial directives, committee recommendations and citizen inputs have also been incorporated.
On revenue sharing, the BMC has formalised a 70:30 split for advertisements placed on roads or structures owned by agencies such as MMRDA, MSRDC and other government bodies, with the land-owning authority receiving the larger share. Once such roads are transferred to the civic body, the BMC will retain the full revenue. Advertisers have additionally been required to pay advertisement fees and applicable municipal taxes.
The guidelines have also introduced a sponsorship model for beautifying central medians, traffic islands and strip gardens. Listed companies, banks, developers and major commercial entities — excluding advertising agencies — have been allowed to maintain these spaces. Sponsors have been chosen on a first-come basis, tasked with undertaking all civil and horticultural work, with scope for only limited short-term sculpture installations. Each agreement has been set for a three-year duration.
The policy has reaffirmed that all advertisements within municipal limits fall under Sections 328/328A of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, requiring written approval from the municipal commissioner. Enforcement responsibilities have been assigned to the BMC’s licence department, which has been authorised to act against unauthorised displays.
Structural stability reports from BMC-registered structural engineers have been made mandatory for hoardings above 300 sq ft and sky-signs over 100 sq ft. Name boards have been restricted to business premises, while glass façade advertisements have been allowed only on approved buildings, capped at 50% of each panel and requiring permission from the chief fire officer.
Hoarding permissions have been required to be renewed every two years. In cases of violation, the civic body has mandated the issuance of a show-cause notice, requiring advertisers to submit a structural stability certificate or audit report from a BMC-approved engineer, along with an electrical safety certificate for illuminated displays.
The BMC has urged advertisers, agencies and other stakeholders to adhere strictly to the updated norms, which have been published on its official website.
