BOCSI and SCOTY 2026 Rules and Regulations

The Best of Canada’s Sign Industry (BOCSI) awards honour the top work of sign companies and related organizations across the country with winners selected by an expert panel of independent judges. The awards program is jointly managed by Sign Media Canada and the Sign Association of Canada (SAC-ACE).

Eligibility for project awards
Projects must be installed between April 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. Projects cannot have been entered in the 2026 BOCSIes.

Sign Company of the Year Award:
The Sign Company of the Year (SCOTY) award recognizes a company which has stood out over the year.

Eligibility
The competition is open to the Canadian sign industry. Only one submission per company is accepted. To apply for this award, you must also submit at least one sign project.

Judging Criteria*:
Company details 1-10 points
Community and industry involvement 1-10 points
Employee training 1-10 points

*A company’s total score is based on a combination of its highest scoring project entry and the SCOTY entry score.

 

Installation of the Year Award:

Installation of the Year honours the companies and crews who turn difficult scopes into successful outcomes. This category recognizes what great field work requires: detailed planning, technical expertise, creative problem-solving, strong safety practices, and precision execution.

And difficulty isn’t only about height or heavy equipment. We’re looking for projects where site constraints were the biggest challenge: no-second-chance overnight deadlines, complex multi-venue event coordination, large wayfinding rollouts, heritage conditions, or retrofit surprises. Tell us how you made it happen.

Judging focuses exclusively on installation execution. The sign’s design or fabrication quality is not evaluated.

Eligibility

Eligible projects must:

  • Have been installed by the submitting company
    (Recognizing that there are projects where sign manufacturers play a major project manager role, the installation company can include the sign manufacturer as part of the submission)
  • Have been completed within the competition period
  • Include documentation demonstrating scope, challenges, and execution
  • Minimum of:
    • 3–5 process photos
    • 1–2 completion photos
    • Project summary form

Judging Criteria*:

Installation Complexity & Difficulty 1-25 points
Problem Solving & Risk Management 1-25 points
Technical Execution & Expertise 1-20 points
Equipment & Resource Management 1-20 points
Documentation & Professionalism 1-10 points

 

Sign project winners will be honoured in the following categories, regardless of their specific manufacturing/fabrication method:

Categories

 

Building Signs

All building identification signs, including awnings and canopies.

Digital Signage

 

Categories of digital signage include 3D robotic and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light-emitting diode (LED), or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens, and dynamic projections.

Soft Signage

Banners, fabric graphics, and inflatables are all examples of soft signage.

Stand-alone Signs

Signs not attached to a building. For example, one placed on a highway exit or at the entrance to a business complex. Some types of stand-alone signs include, monuments, pylons, and posts.

Illuminated Signage

Signs that are neon, light-emitting diode (LED), or fluorescent.

Out-of-home Advertising

Signs and advertisements on billboards, posters, and transit.

Sign Systems*

Signs used for environmental, accessibility, safety, wayfinding, and commercial systems (comprising of at least three signs).

Unique Signs

Special projects outside the other categories, which are unusual or unique.

Vehicle Graphics

Projects involving vehicle wraps, decals, and pinstriping.

*Consider submitting multiple photos to demonstrate the functionality of how the sign system works.

How to enter your project

  1. Visit bocsi.ca/enter.
  2. Click the “new entry” button.
  3. Select a category and name your entry.
  4. Provide the required information.
  5. Upload two images.
  6. Click submit.

For each submission, you will need to complete an entry form and provide two or more photos of the sign project taken at different distances and angles. There is no charge and you may enter multiple projects in the competition. All materials submitted become the property of both Sign Media Canada and SAC-ACE, including rights for reproduction.

Photo requirements
Digital images must be a minimum of 300 dpi in resolution, large enough for layout (minimum 4 x 6 inches or 1200 x 1800 pixels) and formatted as .jpg or .png files. Vertically oriented photos that are at least 9 x 12 inches may be considered for cover use in Sign Media Canada. No low-resolution files will be accepted.

Judging and awards
Competition entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts jointly appointed by Sign Media Canada and SAC-ACE. They collectively determine first, second, and third place winners for all categories based on their respective merits. The highest score overall will win a special “Best in Show” award irrespective of category. The winners will be announced at the evening gala at Sign Experience Canada being held September 16-18, 2026 in Calgary, and be featured in the November 2026 issue of Sign Media Canada.

Judging Criteria includes:
Originality 1-10 points
Creativity 1-10 points
Materials 1-10 points
Appearance 1-10 points
Design Suitability 1-10 points

Maximum Score:
50 points

Deadline for entries: July 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).