Putting up your own parking signs: a summary of the rules

You are allowed to put up the parking signs for your construction site or house move yourself. You are therefore responsible for ensuring that this is done correctly: if anything is wrong, the police won’t tow the vehicle away and you’ll still not have a free parking space. Below is a list of exactly what needs to be done correctly.

Always follow the terms of your permit

The basic principle is simple: you must place the signs exactly as specified in your permit. It is not the applicant but the city, the municipality or the police who decide what type of sign you are allowed to put up and over what distance. So make sure you check your permit before you set off and see which signs are listed on it.

The five rules for posting

• One set of parking signs covers a maximum of 25 metres of public land. If you need more, you’ll need an extra set.
• At the start of the zone, place the sign with the arrow pointing upwards.
• At the end of the zone, turn the sign so that the arrow is pointing downwards.
• On the signs below, note the dates and times when the no-parking zone applies.
• Position the signs so that they are legible from the carriageway and do not blow over in the wind.

What type of sign do you need?

For a house move, a delivery, a skip or a scaffold, this is usually type E1. In a narrow street, one set of E1 is usually sufficient. For construction vehicles or lorries, the City of Ghent uses type E9c. This is a local rule and therefore does not apply everywhere. You can find out what each sign is for in our article on signs E1, E3 and E9c.

Forwarding photos and number plates

This is the step that is most often overlooked, yet it is also the most important. During the installation of the signs, take photographs of them and of any vehicles already parked in the zone at that time, and send these photographs, together with the number plates, to the police and the relevant municipality. Without this notification, the police cannot tow the vehicle on the day itself: there is then no evidence that the vehicle was already there before the ban came into force.

Those photos also serve as evidence afterwards. If a dispute arises on the day of the move or when the works begin, you can simply show that the signage was in place in good time and correctly.

When should the signs be put up?

Usually a few days in advance, so that anyone parked there has time to move their car. The exact timeframe varies by municipality and is stated on your permit. You can find out how long the application process itself takes in our article on processing times.

Would you prefer to have it fitted?

If you’re not sure about the installation, we’ll take care of it. You rents the signs with us and chooses to delivery and installation. We install them in accordance with the permit, take the photos and send the number plates on. That part is sorted, then.