Durham, NC Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Durham regulates yard sale signs in UDO § 11.4.2.R, which sits in Section 11.4, Signs Allowed in All Districts without a Permit. The code defines a yard sale sign as a sign advertising a yard or garage sale. Under § 11.4.1.A the signs in that section are allowed in all zoning districts, and under § 11.4.1.B no sign permit is required.

Three standards apply to the sign itself. First, a yard sale sign cannot exceed four feet in height and six square feet in area per sign. Second, the sign is limited to one per lot, so a seller cannot plant a cluster of arrows on a single property. Third, timing is fixed: the sign can be erected up to five days prior to the event and must be removed within two days after the event. That window is the whole legal display period.

The general rules in § 11.4.1 apply on top of those standards. The consent of the property owner, defined in the UDO as the person having charge of the real property according to the records held by the Register of Deeds, must be obtained before the sign goes up. A sign staked on a vacant lot or a neighbor's yard needs that person's agreement first. Under § 11.4.1.C the sign cannot be illuminated, which rules out lit or backlit boards. Under § 11.4.1.D every sign must be located outside the public right-of-way, defined as land intended to be occupied by a street, trail, rail corridor or public utility, and outside any required sight distance triangle. The only exception to that location rule is for directional signs for sale, lease or rental of residential property under § 11.4.2.D, and a sign for a yard sale is not in that category.

The six square foot ceiling is well below the 36 square feet a banner can reach under § 11.4.2.A, so a sale promoted on a large banner is a different sign type with its own standards. The UDO text Durham publishes shows a last-amended stamp of June 22, 2026 for Durham County and June 15, 2026 for the City of Durham, and its disclaimer directs users to the Durham City-County Planning Department for the official version.