The rules on the placement of advertisements and advertising media are laid down in Act C of 2023 on Hungarian Architecture (Architecture Act) and Government Decree 476/2024 (XII. 31.) on its implementation, which provide a unified procedural framework for the installation, modification and operation of advertising media placed in public spaces or in locations visible from public spaces. In connection with the system, NMHH ensures the nationwide registration and identification of advertising media by maintaining a national advertising register under the Media Act.
Under the Architecture Act, a new advertising device – meaning both the advertising medium and its supporting structure – may be placed in a public space or in a private area visible from a public space only following an official acknowledgement procedure, and an advertisement may only appear there only once NMHH has registered the advertising device in the national advertising register.
The acknowledgment procedure for advertising devices is conducted by the district office (or, in Budapest, the district office of the capital) having jurisdiction over the location of the advertising device.
The district office shall monitor compliance with the rules on the publication of advertisements and the placement of advertising devices, and is entitled to review previously issued acknowledgement decisions. If it finds that the advertising device does not comply with the statutory requirements, it may withdraw the acknowledgement. If the district office withdraws, annuls or revokes its decision, NMHH shall delete the advertising device from the register. The same procedure shall apply where the deletion is requested by the owner.
In its official decision on registration, NMHH assigns a unique identifier to registered advertising device, which must be displayed on the device in a durable, weather-resistant and clearly visible manner.
The regulatory system is therefore linked to the national register, i.e. the maintenance of which is governed by NMHH Decree 2/2024 (I. 23.) The register is a unified, nationwide database of advertising devices, which includes, among other things, the location, owner and other reported data of the advertising device.
No prior acknowledgement decision by the District Office is required for the entry into the national advertising register of advertising devices that were installed before 1 October 2024 and whose installation was previously acknowledged in the municipal townscape notification procedure. In such cases, registration takes place on the basis of the owner's declaration, while NMHH also examines compliance with the other statutory conditions prescribed for registration. In this case, the owner of the advertising device must subsequently, after entry in the national advertising register, initiate the District Office's acknowledgement procedure.
NMHH is responsible for operating the advertising register, managing and keeping the data up to date, and carrying out registrations and deletions.
The owner is required to pay an annual fee of HUF 15,000 per advertising space for the operation of the national advertising register.
NMHH shall delete an advertising device from the register
- at the owner's request;
- if the application should have been rejected at the time of registration;
- if the advertising device is removed or relocated;
- if the owner fails to place an identifier on the device, and does not remedy this within the prescribed deadline upon request;
- if the legal entity owner is dissolved without a legal successor;
- if the annual fee is not paid by 31 August of the year in question;
- if the district office revokes the acknowledgement decision, or if the decision is annulled or invalidated.
Details and other useful information relating to the advertising register, including information on the reporting and registration of advertising devices, are available in the related content section.