Uzbekistan Cancels Advertising Location Passports for Signage

How are city design codes changing?

A design code is a set of rules governing the appearance of signage and advertising in a city. The amendments prohibit making changes to design codes without public discussion on the SOVAZ portal (regulation.gov.uz). Adopted amendments enter into force three months after official publication. The three-month delay gives businesses time to adapt.

A separate provision concerns trademarks. Design codes are now required to provide for the possibility of using registered trademarks on signage. In other words, urban aesthetic standards can no longer completely crowd out brands' corporate styling. For international chains and franchises, this is a significant concession.

Dismantling: new procedures and safeguards

The resolution also regulates the forced dismantling of signage — the procedure most painful for businesses, around which most conflicts with local authorities have arisen in recent years.

New requirements:

• the hokimiyat must announce the date and time of the dismantling on its official website at least two days in advance;
• the owner of the structure is sent a written notification;
• the work is carried out only on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00;
• in the owner's presence, a dismantling report is drawn up indicating the date, time, reason, and storage location of the structure.

The requirement to record the storage location of the structure is a telling detail. Previously, dismantled signs often disappeared without a trace, and their value was measured in hundreds of dollars. Now the owner at least knows where to look for their property.

What does this mean for the market?

What does the resolution change in practice for Uzbekistan's advertising market? Three things: the removal of the permit burden from identification signage, predictable deadlines for temporary structures, and procedural protection during dismantling. Taken together, this reduces administrative costs primarily for small and medium-sized businesses — it is they who most often place signs on their own facades and lack lawyers for disputes with hokimiyats.

For advertising operators and sign manufacturers, this simplification means potential growth in orders: the barrier to entry for a client wanting to mark their shop has effectively disappeared. And the mandatory public discussion of design code changes shifts the conflict of "authorities versus signage" into the public arena, where businesses now have a voice.

Earlier, Uzbekistan proposed abolishing the triple electricity tariff for signage — a signal that the deregulation of outdoor advertising will continue. Judging by the October 13 resolution, the direction has been chosen: fewer passports, more notifications. In advertising regulation, this is almost a manifesto.