The Greater Chennai Corporation has made it mandatory for all applications seeking permission to erect billboards and outdoor advertisement displays within city limits to be submitted exclusively through its official online portal.
The civic body said the move is aimed at enhancing transparency, streamlining the approval process and ensuring strict compliance with urban advertising regulations. With immediate effect, individuals, advertising agencies and property owners must apply only through the digital system, as manual or offline applications will no longer be accepted.
According to the notification, the online process will enable faster scrutiny and approval of applications, real-time tracking of status, reduction in paperwork and administrative delays, and improved monitoring of outdoor advertising structures across the city.
The Corporation has also directed existing billboard owners, including those functioning with earlier approvals or facing pending compliance issues, to regularise their licences within the stipulated deadline. Officials have warned that stringent action will be initiated against unauthorised hoardings once the deadline lapses.
Applicants have been instructed to strictly adhere to safety and regulatory norms, including submission of structural stability certificates, compliance with approved size and height limits, use of authorised materials for static displays, and adherence to prescribed display timing norms for digital billboards. Hoardings must not obstruct traffic visibility or pose risks to public safety. Violations may attract penalties, removal of unauthorised structures and other legal action.
The shift to an online-only system forms part of the Corporation’s broader efforts to modernise civic services and strengthen regulation of outdoor advertising, with the aim of preserving city aesthetics and ensuring public safety.