Banners and Permits for Conventions

Moscone Convention Center Poles

The San Francisco Travel Association maintains the permit for select poles for banner placement around Moscone Convention Center including Howard Street between 3rd and 4th Streets and 4th Street between Howard and Mission Streets.   The convention group and the particular convention center building to be used will determine the number and location of poles eligible for use.

Convention Center groups are given approval to receive the banners approximately six months in advance.  San Francisco Travel has a limited budget to pay for the production and installation of these banners for a limited number of convention groups.  Groups who fall under the San Francisco Travel budget are determined by a number of qualifying factors include usage of Moscone Center, repeat business, attendance and number of room nights.

San Francisco Travel Budgeted Banners:

Incoming conventions that meet the qualifying factors now have two options regarding the installation of banners.

1. Use the banners provided by San Francisco Travel which conform to a pre-determined graphic. Installation paid for by San Francisco Travel.
2. Groups can create their own banners to have the association’s "look and feel";  however, the association will bear all costs relating to the production, must work with a designated banner company and comply with City banner ordinance. Groups will be permitted to use only one side of the available poles. The other side will be a generic "Welcome to San Francisco Banner". Installation costs will be paid by San Francisco Travel, but not production costs. In addition, a certificate of insurance naming the City and County of San Francisco as additional insured will be needed.

For sample images, please contact [email protected].

San Francisco Travel Non-Budgeted Banners

For incoming conventions/meetings at Moscone Center that do not meet specific criteria, poles may be available.  These groups must work with a designated banner company for both production and installation/de-installation and will be charged accordingly and directly by the banner company.  This is to create a smooth transition between installations and reduce banner loss.  Installation and de-installation dates are to be cleared with San Francisco Travel.  In addition, a certificate of insurance naming the City and County of San Francisco as additional insured will be needed.

Designated Banner Company: 
A3 Visual
113 10th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: 415-431-2950 
Fax: 415-431-5129 
URL: http://a3visual.com/
For further details, please contact [email protected].

Other City Poles/Banners

There is limited availability in the downtown area for in-coming meetings to produce and hang their own banners.

We strongly suggest you select a company to produce and hang your banners. They will also help you identify where there are available street poles that you can utilize.

All banners are subject to the City’s strict ordinance.

One final note, although these steps are fairly straight forward, this process can actually be quite time consuming. Allow appropriate timing for dealing with bureaucratic delays that can occur.