Brunswick County, NC Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance regulates temporary yard sale signage under Section 8.7.16, Yard Sales, in Article 8 (Signs). The standard is narrow but specific: a seller may place one on-premise sign at the sale address and up to three off-premises signs directing traffic toward it, for a maximum of four signs per sale. Each sign is capped at four square feet, smaller than the 32-square-foot allowance the same article gives temporary farm-product and holiday-event signs. Every sign, on-premise or off, must sit off the street right-of-way; the Zoning Administrator's office treats a sign staked in the road shoulder the same as any other right-of-way encroachment. Removal is mandatory within 24 hours after the sale ends, so a weekend sale that wraps up Sunday afternoon needs its signs gone by Monday afternoon at the latest.

This section governs only the unincorporated parts of the county: Bolivia, and the areas around Supply, Winnabow and Ash, among other pockets outside town limits. Residents of Leland, Southport, Oak Island, Shallotte, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach, Calabash or Boiling Spring Lakes are governed by that municipality's own sign code, not this UDO provision, even though Brunswick County administers many other services countywide.

Enforcement runs through the same Article 9 process as any other UDO sign violation: the Zoning Administrator can issue a written notice of violation, and an uncorrected violation carries a $100 civil penalty under Section 9.11.9.C, with each additional day of noncompliance treated as a separate violation. A knowing violation can also be prosecuted as a misdemeanor under G.S. 14-4, punishable by a fine of up to $500.