La Antigua Guatemala Sign Ordinances

So, finally I have gotten a copy of La Antigua Guatemala’s sign ordinances. I received two legal-size pages with almost Illegible text on both sides (let’s call it the 100-generation photocopy effect) from El Consejo Nacional para la Protección de La Antigua Guatemala, CNPAG. Half guessing half deciphering, I was able to draw the information from the photocopies.

Of course, if I had bothered to look the CNPAG.ORG website first, I could have saved lots of time by downloading the PDF document Requisitos para licencia de rótulos. Hah! don’t you forget that La Antigua Guatemala is a very modern city! 😉

Here’s a little summary of what the PDF documents below describe at length:

The sign can be any of this three dimensions 0.70m x 0.70m square, .50m x 1m rectangle and .25m x 2m rectangle. The sign can only include any two of the following materials: wood, metal, ceramic tiles, bronze and forged metal. Three is the maximum limit of colors that can be used; with a matte finish. The business sign can only have a logo and name of business and nothing more. The sign must be in Spanish and following the grammatical rules set forth by the Real Academia de la Lengua Española; text in other languages can be included as long as it’s set at a much lower size and must include at least French and English. The typography (font) should be roman typeface (up and lower case) and can not be a modern-looking font. Synthetic materials and glass are forbidden.

No advertising signs and/or billboards can be placed within 4 kilometers on the road coming from Guatemala City; anywhere on the roads between La Antigua Guatemala and Alotenango, Santa María de Jesús and San Luis las Carretas (road to Chimaltenango).

Here are the three PDF documents which are required to obtain a sign license:

• Lineamientos para obtener Licencia de Rótulos — Sign License Requirements (PDF download at CNPAG)
• Reglamento para la colocación de rótulos o letreros — Sign Placement Ordinance (PDF download at CNPAG)
• Solicitud de Licencia de Rótulo — Sign License Application (PDF download at CNPAG)

The La Antigua Guatemala sign ordinances were enacted on March 23, 1973. All existing signs were given 12 months to comply with the new sign ordinances.

A quick scan at the sign category would reveal that many of the regulations and requirements are not being observed or adhered by many businesses. 🙁

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