A sign warranty looks simple on a quote: a number of years and a promise. In practice a lit sign carries several warranties stacked together. The LED modules have one, the power supplies another, the sign company covers its own workmanship and installation, and each one has conditions that decide whether a claim is paid and who pays for the lift.
Gogi Signs builds and installs lit signs for businesses across New Jersey and New York City, and we offer scheduled maintenance service for the signs we install. This guide explains each warranty layer with the real terms the manufacturers publish, the exclusions that catch owners out, what a failure costs when there’s no plan, and what a maintenance plan adds.
In this guide
The Layers of a Sign Warranty
| Layer | Who stands behind it | What it usually covers | Typical catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| LED modules | Component manufacturer | Defective modules replaced | Parts only, labor capped or excluded |
| Power supplies | Component manufacturer | Defective drivers replaced | Often shorter or prorated after a few years |
| Sign workmanship | Sign company | Fabrication defects, water entry, finish failures | Usually shorter than the LED terms |
| Installation | Sign company or installer | Fixings, alignment, connections made on site | Damage from later work is excluded |
| Materials and finishes | Material manufacturers | Vinyl, paint and face materials against early failure | Rated for specific conditions and methods |
LED Modules
Five years is the common baseline. SloanLED describes a five year LED warranty as the industry standard for most commercial LED makers, and it set itself apart by offering ten years on product and labor. Other major brands have moved to ten years on parts: US LED covers modules for ten years from the date of manufacture, Principal LED moved to a ten year limited product warranty, and Current’s Tetra modules carry a ten year term. The word that matters is product. Many ten year terms are parts only, or cover labor for fewer years than parts.
Power Supplies
Drivers fail more often than modules, and their terms are usually shorter or prorated. US LED’s published terms replace drivers in full for five years, then prorate years six through ten, with the buyer paying 50 percent of the replacement in year six rising to 90 percent in year ten. Current’s Tetra Ti 10 was the first power supply in signage with a ten year warranty. On a quote, ask for the module term and the driver term separately.
Labor Caps
This is the line that decides who pays for the bucket truck. US LED’s terms cap labor at 500 dollars per location for modules and 150 dollars per location for drivers, regardless of sign size. A lift and a technician for an afternoon can cost more than that, so the balance of the labor comes from the sign company’s own warranty or from you.
Workmanship and Installation
The sign company’s own warranty covers the things it made and did: seams, paint, faces, water entry, fixings and the connections made on site. Across the industry these terms are typically one to a few years, shorter than the LED terms, and they’re the part that varies most between shops. Ask what the term is and what it covers in writing. Our guide on comparing sign quotes includes warranty terms as one of the nine lines to check.
Materials and Finishes
Vinyl films, paints and face materials carry their own ratings. 3M’s performance warranty table warrants its IJ180 print film for four to seven years on vertical exterior signs in the Northeast’s climate zone depending on the overlaminate and ink system, and ORACAL 970RA cast film is rated up to ten years vertical for most colors but only three years for reds, golds and bronzes. These terms assume a matched system and correct installation. Pixel Wraps, our sister graphics shop, explains the film side in its guide to vehicle wrap warranties. For the face materials, our guide to best outdoor sign materials compares lifespans.
What Sign Warranties Usually Exclude
The exclusions are where most claims fail
- Storm, impact and vandalism. Those are insurance claims, not warranty claims.
- Power surges and bad supply. Damage from the building’s electrical system is on the building.
- Work by others. An electrician or a roofer who disturbs the sign usually voids the installation warranty for that work.
- Unregistered signs. Some manufacturers require registration. Everbrite’s electronic message center warranty states that failing to register the sign voids it.
- Mismatched parts. US LED’s terms require its modules and drivers to be used together as a system. Mixing brands can void both.
- Solvent cleaning and pressure washing. Faces and vinyl are rated for mild soap and water.
- Normal fading. Films and paints are warranted against early failure, not against aging.
What a Failure Costs Without a Plan
A dark letter on a Friday night is a labor problem as much as a parts problem. ChannelLetter.com’s lifespan and repair cost guide puts a service call minimum at 150 to 300 dollars, plus 100 to 300 more when a lift is needed, LED module replacement at 150 to 400 dollars per letter including the call, a power supply at 200 to 500 dollars, and a full LED refresh of a sign at 800 to 2,500 dollars. Midwest Signs puts a bucket truck dispatch at 350 to 500 dollars per call. With a parts only warranty, the parts are free and everything else is not.
A scheduled visit costs less than an emergency one
Averaged over the years, the same ChannelLetter.com guide puts upkeep of a single lit storefront sign at 150 to 300 dollars a year. That’s the number a maintenance plan is built around.
What a Maintenance Plan Adds
A scheduled visit finds the problem before the sign goes dark
We offer scheduled maintenance service for the signs we install. A plan turns an emergency call into a planned visit, and a planned visit costs less because the crew, the truck and the parts are scheduled together. A typical visit covers:
- Inspection. Every module lit, every driver running, no flicker or dim sections.
- Cleaning. Faces, returns and the sign band, with the right cleaner for the material.
- Fixings. Brackets, bolts and raceway mounts checked and tightened.
- Sealant and drainage. Weep holes clear, seams sealed, no water inside the letters.
- Records. A note of what was checked and replaced, which is what makes a warranty claim easy.
Twice a year suits most storefront signs in our climate, once after winter and once before the holiday season. Our guide to outdoor sign maintenance covers what you can check yourself between visits, and our sign repair page covers service calls. In New York City our sister shop handles sign repair and maintenance the same way.
Older neon and fluorescent signs are candidates for an LED retrofit
Repair, Retrofit or Replace
Older neon and fluorescent signs can often be retrofitted with LEDs rather than replaced. Midwest Signs puts a channel letter LED retrofit at 450 to 850 dollars per sign and a neon to LED conversion at 600 to 1,200, with the energy saving paying it back in 18 to 36 months. A retrofit also resets the lighting warranty. Our guide on when to replace a business sign helps decide which route makes sense, and our guide on how long commercial signs last sets expectations by sign type.
Warranty vs Insurance
A warranty covers defects in the parts and the work. Insurance covers everything the warranty excludes: a storm that peels a face, a truck that clips a blade sign, a surge that cooks the drivers. Exterior signs are usually covered under a business property policy, but the sign has to be on the schedule. After installation, send your broker the invoice and a photo so the sign’s value is on file. If a claim happens, the sign company that installed it can write the repair estimate, and the maintenance log shows the sign was in good condition before the damage.
What a Claim Looks Like
- Call the installer. Describe what’s dark or dim and send a photo of the sign lit, or not lit, at night.
- Diagnosis visit. A technician opens the sign, tests modules and drivers, and identifies the failed part. This is the visit a labor cap is meant to cover.
- Manufacturer claim. The installer files with the module or driver maker using the model, the purchase date and the installation date.
- Replacement. The part arrives and the technician fits it. If the part is in warranty but the labor cap is spent, the labor is quoted before the second visit.
- Record. The replaced part, the date and the photos go into the sign’s file for the next time.
Keep the Records That Make Claims Easy
Most warranty claims fail on paperwork, not on parts. Keep the invoice, the module and driver brand and model, the installation date, any registration confirmation, and the maintenance log. Photograph the sign lit on the day it’s installed. If a module fails in year four, that file is the difference between a free part and an argument.
Six Questions to Ask Before You Sign
- What brand of modules and drivers are in the sign, and what are their separate terms?
- Does the warranty cover labor, and is there a cap per visit or per location?
- What is the sign company’s own workmanship term, and what does it cover?
- Does the sign need to be registered, and who does it?
- What voids the warranty?
- Is a scheduled maintenance plan available, and what does a visit include?
Our guide on questions to ask before ordering custom signs covers the rest of the conversation, and our illuminated vs non illuminated signs guide explains why the lighting system is worth asking about.
Common Questions About Sign Warranties
How long should an LED sign warranty be?
Five years on modules is the published industry baseline, and several major brands now offer ten years on parts. Ask for the module term, the driver term and the labor term separately, because they are rarely the same.
Does a sign warranty cover labor?
Does a sign warranty cover storm damage?
What voids a sign warranty?
Work by others on the sign, mixing module and driver brands, failing to register where required, solvent cleaning or pressure washing, and modifications after installation are the common ones.
What does a sign maintenance plan include?
Who do I call when a warranted sign fails?
The sign company that installed it. It holds the records, knows the parts, and files the manufacturer claim. Calling the component maker directly usually gets you a part in the mail and no one to install it.
Keep Your Sign Lit
If your sign is dark, dim or flickering, request service and we’ll diagnose it on the first visit. If you’d rather not wait for a failure, ask about our scheduled maintenance service when you request a quote, and we’ll build the visits into the project from the start.
Sources and further reading
- SloanLED: 10 year product and labor warranty announcement
- US LED: sign lighting warranty terms
- Sign Builder Illustrated: Principal LED 10 year warranty
- Current Lighting: Tetra Ti 10 power supply with 10 year warranty
- 3M: performance warranty table for graphic films
- ORAFOL: ORACAL 970RA technical data sheet
- Everbrite: electronic message center warranty
- ChannelLetter.com: channel letter lifespan, maintenance and repair costs
- Midwest Signs: LED retrofit cost and payback
