Hoarding advertising costwithout the guesswork

1. City and area. Each city has its own demand and its own civic fees. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata each publish a different system.
2. The site itself. Our view: a board that many people see for a long time, from a clear angle, away from clutter, is worth more than a hidden one. Delhi's policy records the police view that two devices should be at least 100 metres apart on highways and main roads, which keeps good sites few.
3. Size and type. CBC's list of outdoor media separates hoardings, unipoles, gantries, bridge panels, wall panels and petrol pump boards.
4. Light. A lit board needs power and, in some cities, extra approval. Mumbai's 2025 policy asks for a traffic police NOC for illuminated or digital boards.
5. Time. Boards are usually sold by the month. CBC's Delhi tender pays at least one month, even if the display is shorter.
6. Printing and mounting. Who prints the flex, how often you change it, and who takes it down.
7. Permission, tax and upkeep. In Kolkata, tax and fees are paid before display. In Delhi, you need prior written permission.
8. The seller. An owner, a local agency and a national agency price their service differently. A good one earns the gap by doing checks for you.

Ask the seller to tell you which of these are inside the quote and which are extra. Then you can compare.

The Central Bureau of Communication

CBC sits under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It runs government publicity. For outdoor space it empanels agencies by tender. Empanel means it puts them on an approved list.

• Its outdoor media list has a category called Hoarding (Tender Rate) All Inclusive, next to categories such as unipoles, gantries, bridge panels and airport boards.
• Its advisory of 26 December 2025 refers to a request for proposals dated 18 November 2025 to empanel agencies for tender hoardings, called Category B.
• It extended the validity of the tender-rate hoarding rates on the same terms, first until 31 March 2026. An advisory of 1 April 2026 then extended it until 30 September 2026 or further orders.
• An advisory of 10 February 2026 fixed the opening of technical bids for 18 February 2026.

We could not read the request for proposals or its price format, so we cannot tell you what unit the rates use. Ask CBC or the agency if you need it.

A tender you can learn from

CBC's tender of 16 December 2024 for short-term hoardings on rent-free sites in Delhi shows the terms a careful buyer sets. It is a different tender, but it is on CBC's own site.

• Two sealed bids. A technical bid on experience and capacity, and a separate financial bid.
• Rent on a rate per square foot basis, paid monthly after a full month, with at least one month's rent.
• All inclusive: fabrication, maintenance, flex printing and mounting, and removal.
• No rent for any period when the hoarding is damaged or not properly shown.
• Erection within two days, and penalties for unreported non-display.
• The agency handles civic permission and carries the risk if it is missing.
• The first bill needs two geo-tagged photographs, one from afar and one close up, at the start and the end, plus an inspection report.
• A clause on abnormally low bids, so a price too low to deliver can be rejected.

City bodies

Cities also sell space on their own property. Kolkata Municipal Corporation says advertisements on its property are often allotted through tender. Mumbai's 2025 policy says advertisements on its premises are offered through e-tenders, with a bank guarantee for tendered sites.

• Delhi. The Delhi Outdoor Advertising Policy 2017 says no advertisement may go up without the prior written permission of the Commissioner. Only licensed or registered advertisers or agencies may display for others, and the licence holder's name goes on the device.
• Mumbai. The 2025 policy guidelines were published on 27 November 2025. They add a procedure for structural stability, a three-month limit after a permit expires, and NOCs for boards near high tension wires or lit boards.
• Kolkata. Chapter XIV of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act needs prior permission and licence. A permanent hoarding on private land needs a structural stability certificate. Each hoarding has an identification number.
• Highways. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told the Rajya Sabha that hoardings along national highways are removed by the highway authority with help from local administration. We could not read the Ministry's circulars, so ask for the permission.

Our pages on outdoor advertising in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata cover the local side.

1. Fill every line above for each quote. Mark the blanks.
2. Add what is missing. If one quote leaves out printing, lighting or permission, add the cost of those from the other, or ask.
3. Compare the price per month for the same size, light and period. The size matters, because rent can be set per square foot.
4. Compare the sites, not only the prices. A site that more of your buyers pass, at the right time, may earn more.
5. Read the terms for damage, replacement and proof of display.

Say Quote A has the lower headline price, but leaves out the flex, the lights and the permit. Quote B is higher, and includes all three. After you add the missing lines to A, B may be the cheaper one. The example is made up, and carries no figures.

• Visit the site by day and by night. Stand where a driver or walker sees it.
• Ask for the permit, the structural stability certificate for the board, and any NOC for lights. Kolkata, for example, asks for the stability certificate and gives each hoarding a number.
• Check with the city body that the site is allowed. Kolkata says to enquire with its advertising department.

At the start

• Ask for two photographs with date, time and location: one from afar and one close up. This is what CBC asks its agencies for.
• Check that the creative is right: colour, spelling, phone number and website.
• Make sure the board is not hidden by trees, signs or other boards.

During and at the end

• Ask for a photograph each week, and a night photograph for a lit board.
• Visit now and then without telling the seller.
• Take end-of-campaign photographs before the board is changed or removed.
• Tie the final payment to the proof. CBC does not pay rent for a period when the hoarding is damaged or not shown.