Medical office signs in Toronto: what a clinic needs and which rules apply

A patient's first question is usually "am I in the right place?" For a clinic, dental office, physiotherapy practice or other health office, the signs answer it from the sidewalk, at the suite door and down the hallway. This guide sets out what each sign does and which rules apply.

The signs a medical office uses

• Exterior sign. The sign that names the practice, on the wall, a pole or a pylon. Channel letters read well and look clean on a building, and a lightbox or blade sign is another way to light a name. In a plaza, the landlord's sign criteria usually decide the size, colour and position.
• Suite and door signs. Where a building has many tenants, a clear suite number and practice name at the entrance saves patients a wrong turn.
• Reception and directory signs. Practice name behind reception, and a directory where several providers share a space. Modular inserts make it easier to update names without replacing the sign.
• Wayfinding inside the clinic. Directional signs, room identification and washroom and exit signs, planned as one family. See our wayfinding signage, which is designed with Ontario accessibility requirements in view and uses tactile and Braille characters where needed.
• Window graphics. Hours, contact details and your logo on the glass, or frosted film where you want privacy for a waiting room or treatment room. See vinyl graphics.

Planning the route first

A clinic is often a stressful place for the people in it, and many patients arrive unfamiliar with the building. We walk the space, map the points where someone has to decide which way to go, and produce a schedule that shows every sign, its message and its location for your approval before anything is made.

The exterior sign: City permit

A sign that identifies a business on its own property is a first party sign in Toronto, and it generally needs a permit under the City's Sign By-law (Municipal Code Chapter 694). Our Toronto sign permit guide sets out what the City asks you to submit, what it costs and how long it takes, using the City's own pages. We prepare the drawings and apply for you as part of the job. If you are a tenant, you will need a letter of authorization from the property owner.

Physicians: signage counts as advertising

If the practice is run by physicians, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has guidance that applies to your signs. Its Advice to the Profession: Advertising (last updated December 2020) lists "logos and signage" as advertising. The College's Advertising policy (approved by Council in December 2020) says advertising must be accurate, factual and in good taste, and must not be false or misleading, make comparisons with other physicians or claim better service than others. It also says physicians may refer to titles, designations and specialties only as the General Regulation under the Medicine Act, 1991 allows, and warns against a physician attaching their name to a facility where they do not practise.

Sources: CPSO, Advertising policy and Advice to the Profession: Advertising. We are a sign company, not a regulator, so we do not decide what your sign may say: check your wording with the College or your own advisers, and we will make the sign exactly as you supply it. Other regulated health professions have their own colleges and rules, so check yours.

Accessibility

Ontario's accessibility rules affect how signs are made and mounted, through contrast, type size, mounting height and, in some places, tactile and Braille characters. We design wayfinding with those requirements in view and confirm the specifics for your building before we make anything. The Government of Ontario's accessibility rules for businesses explain the customer service standard that applies to businesses and the Design of Public Spaces standard, which applies to new construction and renovated public spaces.

What it costs

We do not publish prices for medical office signs. Every sign is quoted per job, because the number of signs, lighting, materials, mounting, access and city requirements all change the cost. For how pricing works on lit letters, see our channel letter sign cost guide.

How to get a quote

1. Send a photo of the building and the suite entrance, plus the address.
2. Send your logo and the exact wording for each sign.
3. Tell us if you are a tenant, so we can check the landlord's sign rules before we draw anything.

We come back with a drawing on a photo of your building and a quote, including the permit and installation for the exterior sign.

Other cities

This guide covers Toronto. Mississauga, Markham, Vaughan and the other GTA cities have their own sign by-laws, forms and fees. Tell us the address and we will check the local rules before quoting.

Planning signs for a restaurant instead? See our restaurant signs guide.