Yellow Advertising Plates Under Road Signs to Be Banned in Russia

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One of the oldest forms of advertising may soon disappear from Russian roads, according to Kommersant. Legislators plan to eliminate the practice of placing signs for cafes, shops, or hotels on yellow panels under road signs, masquerading as social navigation. A new bill will explicitly prohibit commercial logos on these panels, leaving only signs for parking lots and train stations. For small businesses that have long saved on expensive outdoor advertising, this could be a serious blow, while the legal advertising market could see billions of rubles enter it.

Different Ads, Different Rules

The problem arose due to the ambiguity of the regulations. On the one hand, the "Advertising Law" explicitly prohibits placing ads on signs and their supports. On the other hand, the 2019 GOST standard allows installing yellow information panels to mark "points of attraction." Entrepreneurs have been exploiting this loophole. The situation has reached absurdity, for example, a sign to a restaurant with a logo may appear under the "Dead End" sign.

Legislators believe that a strict list of permitted information, excluding brands, is needed.

Why Businesses Choose Yellow Panels:

• Cost. It is 2-5 times cheaper than legal outdoor advertising. Prices for traditional billboards increased by 18-20% in 2025.
• Effectiveness. The panel is at eye level for drivers, often at busy intersections where people are looking for where to turn. This is a "native" integration into the road environment with high engagement.
• Simplicity. Deals are often made directly with road maintenance contractors, bypassing large operators and complex approvals.

What’s Next? Market Forecast

For small and medium-sized businesses (cafes, hotels, local stores), the channel for attracting customers from car traffic will narrow. They will either have to pay more for legal billboards or move to the digital space (geolocation services, online maps, targeted advertising).

In the advertising market, analysts predict that 50-70% of budgets from "yellow panels" will shift to the legal segment of outdoor advertising, which is expected to exceed 100 billion rubles for the first time in 2025. Another 30-50% may move to online formats.

For drivers, the road environment will become cleaner from visual noise, but finding a specific restaurant or store "on the spot" may become more difficult.

In regions, legalizing road advertising could create new sources of budget revenue through taxes on advertising activities.