What surrounds your shop’s screen: which permit to request, how late it may stay on, what to budget for and how much it uses.
In the first two articles we looked at what type of screen a shop needs and which technical figures to check. This one covers what surrounds the screen and tends to come up late: the permit, operating hours, the full budget and running costs.
A word of warning: rules vary from one municipality to another and change over time. We summarise those of five Andalusian cities and the Andalusian light pollution regulation, as consulted in October 2026. This is general information: the answer for your premises comes from your local council.
It is the most common misconception: “if it goes inside the shop window, it doesn’t need a permit”. Several of the bylaws we reviewed regulate advertising installations that can be seen from the street, whether on the façade or behind the glass. Málaga’s, for example, reaches up to 3 metres inwards from the glass of a ground-floor unit.
| Municipality | Key points for a screen | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| El Puerto de Santa María (1996 bylaw) | Prior licence (art. 64). Advertising on screens or electronic signs may be authorised “subject to a technical report” (arts. 54 and 55). | In shop windows it only exempts certain temporary notices (opening hours, prices, sales): do not count on that exemption for a permanent screen. In the Historic Quarter, its Special Plan also applies. |
| Cádiz (2005 bylaw) | Licence for advertising on façades or in “any other place visible from public space” (art. 1). | It has no specific rules for screens. In the Historic Quarter, a favourable opinion from the Municipal Heritage Commission is required (art. 9). |
| Jerez de la Frontera (2015 bylaw) | Prior licence (art. 2). It prohibits audiovisual advertising, which it defines as screens on a free-standing structure, except those awarded on municipal land (arts. 12, 13 and 28). | It does not expressly address a screen inside a shop window. In the Historic Quarter, the General Urban Plan (PGOU) generally prohibits advertising and allows identification signs with the name and general activity of the business, without flashing or dazzling lighting, except for the pharmacy symbol (art. 10.3.13). |
| Seville (2022 bylaw) | One screen per shop façade inside the window, up to 3 m² and a maximum of two per establishment (art. 38). Always with a prior licence (art. 47) and without sound (art. 35). | Not allowed on the heritage axis (Calle San Fernando, Avenida de la Constitución or the Santa Cruz area, among others) or facing streets 3.50 m wide or less. In the historic centre, check first. |
| Málaga (2024 bylaw) | In most of the city (zones C and D): one screen per shop façade in ground-floor windows, own advertising only, within the window occupancy limits (40% at the top or bottom, 20% in the centre) and with control of brightness and flashing (annex I). Generally, by formal self-declaration (declaración responsable) (art. 28). | In zone A (Historic Quarter and protected buildings) the annex contains provisions best clarified with the council before planning a screen, and a licence is required (art. 27). In zone B (rural land) they are not allowed. On façades: prohibited in zone A; in zone D, only on buildings used exclusively for retail or sport. |
Before buying, ask your council, bringing the exact address, a photo of the façade, the size and position of the screen, and what it will show: your own advertising or third-party ads. Ask which procedure applies, what technical documents they require and what fees are payable. In historic quarters and protected buildings the criteria are stricter, and a heritage report or authorisation may be required.
Since March 2025, Decree 37/2025 on protection against light pollution in Andalusia has been in force. It expressly covers “LED screens” and shop-window lighting that emits light outdoors: if your screen emits light towards the street, the prudent approach is to assume it applies to you.
A media player with scheduling and adjustable brightness helps meet these requirements. If your municipality’s bylaw, which predates the decree, sets longer hours, check which one applies. And to avoid confusion: the national requirement to switch off shop windows at 22:00, introduced in 2022, was temporary and ceased to apply on 1 November 2023.
If installing the screen requires a new circuit or changes to the electrical installation, have the work done by a registered low-voltage installation company and ask which documents and certificate apply to that work. If the work involves extending the installation of premises classed as locales de pública concurrencia under Spanish electrical regulations (for shops, when expected occupancy exceeds 50 people, calculated at one person per 0.8 m² of usable floor area, excluding corridors, lobbies and service areas), the regulations require a design project and an initial inspection by an inspection body. Your installer will tell you which documents your case requires.
If you buy the screen directly from outside the European Union, check first who takes on the import and compliance obligations: customs clearance is subject to controls and, where applicable, to compliance with the obligations of the Integrated Industrial Register (Royal Decree 993/2022, arts. 4 and 5).
A real example: on a Spanish distributor’s website, a 46-inch, 4,000-nit professional shop-window display (an LCD with LED backlighting, not a modular LED screen) costs €1,495 excluding VAT as of October 2026. The price includes the screen, a three-year warranty and shipping. The mount or stand (from around €350, according to the same website) and the content are extra, and installation is not listed as included.
Ask for these items to be itemised:
| Item | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Screen or display | Exact model, brightness, warranty and delivery time. |
| Mount, stand or structure | Type (floor, ceiling, suspended or fixed) and whether it needs calculations or a technician’s signature. |
| Electrical work | Whether a new circuit or changes to the installation are needed, and whether the applicable documents and certificate are included. |
| Assembly and commissioning | Access equipment (scaffolding or lift), configuration and testing. |
| Player and software | Whether it is included, and whether content management is a one-off payment or a subscription. |
| Content | Who prepares it, how many pieces are included and how much changes cost. |
| Permits | Technical documents the council requires, and fees. |
| Maintenance | What it covers, response time and who handles the warranty. |
Permits also carry technical costs: in Seville, an application for a screen requires a project or technical document drawn up by a qualified professional (art. 49.3), and in Málaga the self-declaration must be accompanied by a descriptive technical memorandum with drawings (memoria técnica), prepared and signed by a qualified professional (art. 22.2). Two quotes with the same screen price can differ a lot in total.
Data sheets for modular LED screens usually give two figures per square metre: maximum and average or typical power consumption. In the outdoor data sheets we reviewed, typical consumption ranges from one third to just over half of the maximum; for example, 240 W/m² against 720 W/m². To estimate your bill, start from the typical figure and then adjust it with real usage, since it depends on brightness and content; to size the power supply, use the maximum.
The formula: consumption (kWh) = typical power (kW) × hours of use. Cost = kWh × the price per kWh in your contract.
An example with those figures: for a 2.5 × 1.5 m screen (3.75 m²) with a typical consumption of 240 W/m², the estimate is about 0.9 kW. Switched on 12 hours a day for 30 days, that is about 324 kWh a month; multiply it by the price per kWh on your bill. Its peak, at 720 W/m², would be about 2.7 kW. If the screen means increasing your contracted power, the power charge, which is a fixed part of the bill, also goes up.
With this article we complete the basics of the series: what screen your shop needs, which technical figures to check and what surrounds the purchase.
Regulations consulted in October 2026. This guide is for information only and does not replace consulting your council or technical or legal advice for your case.
We review the location, size and content with you before quoting, so that you go to the council with the information it needs and the quote holds no surprises. We are your local technical team for installing the screen: anchoring, structure, mounting and commissioning, with the manufacturer's technical support for the configuration.
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