Chapel Hill, NC Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Chapel Hill's sign code is in LUMO (Appendix A) Sec. 5.14. The Town's Business and Event Permits page expressly states that yard sale signs are among the temporary signs exempt from a sign permit under LUMO 5.14.3 (the same exemption list that covers temporary real estate, construction, political, public event, and grand opening signs). That means a homeowner holding a yard sale does not need a Town sign permit and is not subject to LUMO 5.14's permit-driven design standards for the yard sign placed on the host's own property. The exemption is narrower than it first appears, however: (1) Off-premise signs (signs not on the property where the yard sale is being held) are not covered by the LUMO 5.14.3 yard-sale exemption and fall under the general LUMO 5.14 prohibitions on snipe and off-premise signs. (2) Signs placed in the Town-maintained public right-of-way (the strip between the sidewalk and the curb, utility poles, traffic-sign poles, telephone poles, trees in the ROW) violate LUMO 5.14 and may be removed without notice by Town staff. (3) Signs in state-maintained highway ROW (Franklin Street west of downtown / NC 86, NC 54, US 15-501, MLK Jr. Blvd. / NC 86) are governed by NCGS 136-32, which only authorizes political signs in the right-of-way during the election window and does not authorize yard-sale signs. (4) Signs at intersections that obstruct the sight triangle violate LUMO traffic-safety standards regardless of permit exemption. (5) The Town's published 'Rules for Political Signs' confirms the same content-neutral framework: traffic safety, ROW restrictions, and removal deadlines. Code Enforcement: codeenforcement@townofchapelhill.org or 919-969-5043. HOAs may impose tighter sign rules under private covenants enforced under NCGS Chapter 47F (NC Planned Community Act).