How we chose
We started from the fifteen sign makers Google Maps shows across Telford. We checked trade membership on the industry association's member search, on each firm's own website and on the platforms, and none of the firms in this round shows any [4]. Each business must first meet our basic checks: it is who it says it is, it is trading today and can be reached, and anything it must hold by law is in place. Twelve firms met all three. What customers say counts most toward the score, then qualifications, then trading history and cover, then pricing clarity and website detail. All evidence is dated 4 September 2026.
How to hire
Start by matching the maker to the job. A shop fascia, a van wrap, an exhibition stand and a printed banner are different crafts, and Telford firms divide roughly along those lines: full-service sign makers survey, make and fit; print-led shops design and print with fitting arranged; fleet specialists wrap vehicles at volume. When you first enquire, send photos of the frontage or vehicle, rough measurements and the wording exactly as it should read, and say where the sign will live.
Sort out permission before you order the sign. Most illuminated signs, signs high on a building and large roadside boards need express advertisement consent from Telford and Wrekin Council, while small fascia signs often fall under deemed consent and need no application [1] [2]. The council judges applications on amenity and public safety only, and displaying a sign that needs consent without it is a criminal offence [1]. If your shop sits in a conservation area or a listed building, expect stricter rules and a separate listed building consent for anything fixed to the fabric [2]. Ask the council's pre-application advice service whether your sign needs consent before you pay a deposit [3].
Check standing before you book. Sign making has no mandatory register, so there is no licence number to look up, and trade membership can't be sourced for any firm in this round. The voluntary trade body runs a member search by company name that you can check yourself [4]. Instead, type the limited-company number from your quote into the Companies House search and check the name matches and the status reads active, and ask for public liability insurance details in writing. For an illuminated sign, ask who connects the power and what wiring paperwork you receive, since the sign maker and the electrician are often different firms.
Get two or three itemised written quotes on the same scope so you compare like with like. Each quote should name the exact size, materials and finish, the lettering style, illumination type and who wires it, fixings and access equipment such as scaffolding, the design fee and who owns the artwork file, the fitting date and how making-good is handled, payment stages and whether VAT is added [5]. A deposit for materials is normal, while full payment before fitting is not. Treat an outlier far above or below the rest as a question rather than a bargain, and ask what is included or excluded.
Insist on a site survey for any fascia or built-up sign, and sign off a scaled proof before anything is cut or printed. Check spelling, phone digits, colours against your brand, sizes against the frontage and fixings against the wall material. For vehicle work, ask which vinyl grade is quoted and how long it is warranted to last, since budget film fades and lifts years before premium cast vinyl [6]. Keep the proof with your order confirmation so any error is the maker's to fix.
At handover, collect the itemised invoice showing VAT, the written guarantee with its terms and exclusions, the advertisement consent reference where one was needed, and any wiring paperwork for illuminated signs. Photograph the finished sign in daylight and file everything with your lease and shop papers, since landlords and future buyers both ask for it. If anything is missing, hold back the final balance until it arrives.
Pricing
As of summer 2026, rough Telford ranges run like this: basic vinyl or foam-board fascia signs from around £150 to £300, and aluminium, acrylic or illuminated fascias from £400 to £2,500, with most durable shopfront jobs landing between £600 and £1,500 [5]. Vehicle lettering fitted to a van typically costs £150 to £500, a partial wrap £500 to £1,500 and a full wrap £1,500 to £3,500 [6]. These are guide prices from national cost surveys, and Telford usually sits below London and South East prices [5].
Height and access move the price most: ground-level fitting is quick work, while anything needing scaffolding or a cherry picker adds £200 to £1,200, and wiring an illuminated sign to the mains adds £80 to £400 for the electrical connection [5]. Size, material choice, illumination, artwork complexity and the number of sites all add or subtract, and multi-site rollouts often earn a lower rate per sign with repeat survey visits still charged [5].
Ask whether the quote includes VAT and whether advertisement consent is covered, since ranges exclude VAT and a business-premises consent application costs £174, or £610 for anything beyond the site [5] [2]. Firms in this round publish almost no example rates beyond one online store, so treat any single fixed price for a large job with no breakdown as a question, not an answer.
Get the scope in writing before work starts: exact sizes, materials, finish, illumination, fixings, access, artwork ownership, fitting date and what changes the price if the survey finds worse fixings than expected. Agree payment stages and keep every quote, proof, invoice and guarantee together.
Red flags
Quotes a shop fascia without visiting, measuring or asking for photos of the frontage.
Says no permission is ever needed, even for an illuminated sign or one high on the building [1] [2].
Starts cutting vinyl or printing before you have signed off a scaled proof of the artwork.
Cannot say who connects the power for an illuminated sign or what wiring paperwork you will get.
Asks for full payment in cash before starting, with no written quote or terms.
Gives one fixed price for a large job with no breakdown of materials, labour, access and VAT [5].
Has no fixed business address and no company detail you can check at Companies House.
Plans an internally lit box for a period shopfront without checking what the council will accept [3].
The bottom line
For most Telford businesses, start with Signature Signs Telford: bespoke signage designed, made and fitted by one local team, with store prices published up front. Its company record is young and it states no insurance detail, so ask for proof of cover and an itemised quote first. If you would rather have a national network behind the job, Signs Express Telford is the close alternative, the pick for range with local fitting.
Match the firm to the job: Industry Signage for a managed project with a written guarantee, The Sign Shop for a High Street fascia, CDP Printing for design, print and signs in one order, and Stripe Master for fleet livery. Then get two or three itemised quotes on the same written scope, and check the finished proof before anything is cut or printed: spelling, colours, sizes and fixings, plus who handles any permission the sign needs.
Corrections and business responses
Tell us what needs checking, or ask to claim a listing and reply to an assessment.