External Signage in Dubai
External signage in Dubai covers everything fixed to the outside of a building — fascia boards, 3D letters, LED and backlit boards, projecting blades and neon. Two things separate it from interior work: it needs a permit from the authority for your location, and it has to survive summer heat, UV and dust. This page explains which type suits which frontage.
- Price
- Get your quote today
- Turnaround
- Confirmed with your quote
- Artwork
- Included
- Languages
- Arabic & English
- Delivery
- Dubai and across the UAE
Specifications
What you can order
If what you need is not listed, ask — this is what we make most often, not a limit.
| Types | Fascia boards · 3D letters · LED and backlit boards · projecting blade signs · neon · window and door graphics |
|---|---|
| Permit | Required. The authority depends on your location and medium — see the signboard permit guide before committing to a design. |
| Arabic | Required, as the main language, occupying at least half the advertising medium under Decree No. 6 of 2020. |
| Materials | Aluminium composite · powder-coated steel · acrylic faces · stainless steel returns. UV-stable throughout, not just on the face. |
| Lighting | Face-lit · halo-lit · edge-lit · unlit. Brightness must stay within approved levels; bright white backgrounds are not permitted on shopfronts. |
| What fails first | Not the sign face — the power supply, the sealed joints and the fixings. Specify those for outdoors rather than accepting an indoor build. |
Build your specification
Choose what you need and send it over. Your selection arrives with the enquiry, so the quote comes back against the exact specification rather than a guess at it.
Product examples
External signage
3D letters on a building elevation 
Illuminated board, photographed after dark 
Projecting blade, read along the street
Product photography from our production partner. The artwork shown is their sample design, not work produced for a Falcon client — our own projects are in the portfolio.
What's included
In the price you are quoted
- Advice on which sign type suits your frontage before anything is designed
- Artwork dimensioned and shown in position on a photograph of your unit
- Arabic set as the main language and measured against the 50% requirement
- A digital proof before fabrication
- Delivery across Dubai
Choose the type from the approach, not from a catalogue
The most common reason an expensive external sign underperforms is that the type was chosen before anyone thought about how it would actually be seen.
Read head-on, from across a road or a car park — a lit fascia or 3D letters. Both present a flat face to the viewer, which is what works at distance.
Read along a pavement or a mall walkway — a projecting blade. Nobody walking past a shop approaches its fascia face-on; they see it edge-on until they are level with it, by which point they have passed. A blade is read from fifty metres down the walkway.
Mattering mainly after dark — halo or face lighting, and the decision needs a power feed, which is a construction question.
Walk up to your own unit the way a customer does, from the direction they actually arrive. That walk usually decides the sign type.
Two things make outdoor different
It needs a permit. Advertising across Dubai is governed by Decree No. 6 of 2020, and which authority issues yours depends on the medium and the location. Getting that wrong means a rejection without review rather than a redirect. The signboard permit guide covers which door to knock on.
It has to survive the summer. This is where budget is genuinely at risk, and it is almost never the sign face that fails — it is the power supply, the sealed connections and the fixings. An indoor-rated supply behind an outdoor sign looks identical on the day it goes up and fails in its first August.
Arabic is a measurement, not a layout choice
Article 11(7) of the decree requires Arabic to be the main language, with the Arabic text occupying at least fifty percent of the advertising medium.
That is checkable with a ruler. A sign with a large English wordmark and an Arabic line beneath it at a third of the height does not meet it, however carefully the Arabic was set. It has to be designed in from the first sketch, which is why we set both languages together rather than fitting English and adding Arabic afterwards.
Where to go next
- 3D letter signage — individual standing letters, lit or unlit
- LED sign boards — lightboxes and backlit fascia
- Shopfront & office signage — the full exterior set
- Neon signage — LED neon flex, for atmosphere and close range
- Internal signage — everything inside the door
Questions
External signage: Common questions
Which external sign type should I choose?
Start from how it will be seen. A sign read head-on from across a road wants a lit fascia or 3D letters. A sign read along a pavement, where nobody approaches it face-on, wants a projecting blade. A sign that matters mainly after dark wants halo or face lighting. Choosing the type from a catalogue rather than from the approach is the most common reason an expensive sign underperforms.
Do I need a permit for external signage?
Yes. Advertising in Dubai is governed by Decree No. 6 of 2020, and the issuing authority depends on your medium and location — the Department of Economy and Tourism for commercial outlet facades, Dubai Municipality for buildings and land, the RTA where it faces the road reserve, and your own free zone authority inside a free zone. Our signboard permit guide covers this in detail.
How much Arabic does an external sign need?
Arabic must be the main language and the Arabic text must occupy at least fifty percent of the advertising medium. That is a measurable threshold rather than a design preference, and it has to be built into the artwork from the first sketch — adding an Arabic line underneath an English wordmark at the end does not meet it.
What actually fails on an outdoor sign in Dubai?
Rarely the face. It is the power supply, the sealed connections and the fixings. Summer heat and UV are hard on components that were specified for an interior, and a sign that looks identical on day one can fail in its first August. Specify a rated outdoor supply and sealed joints, and treat them as part of the sign rather than as an upgrade.
Can the sign be any colour or brightness?
Within limits. Published shopfront requirements set approved brightness levels and prohibit bright white backgrounds. If your brand palette depends on a bright white field, that is a constraint to resolve at design stage, not something to discover at inspection.
Related
Often ordered together
Get a price for this
Send your specification, or a photo of what you use now. You will get a written price with the exact specification listed against it.