Harrisburg, PA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Harrisburg Codified Ordinances § 7-325.8 lists the signs that Harrisburg City Council permits by right in every zoning district without a zoning permit, and the garage/yard sale sign is item (5). The criteria are fixed numbers: two signs per lot, installation no sooner than two days prior to the sale, and removal no later than one day after the sale. The section also states that no exceptions are permitted to the criteria, so a seller in the City of Harrisburg has no printed route to a third sign or an earlier setup day under this section.

The garage sale entry prints no square-foot cap, while the Christmas tree, charitable event, contractor, political and real estate entries in the same section each print 10 square feet. Lighting is covered by the section's opening paragraph: no sign permitted by § 7-325.8 shall be internally illuminated, except a time and temperature sign, so a lit garage sale sign is out.

Where the sign goes is governed by § 7-325.10. No sign shall be posted on any property or sign pole or public utility pole unless permission has been received from the owner, and no sign shall be stapled or nailed to a utility pole except by an authorized utility or the City. The list of signs allowed in the public right-of-way in § 7-325.10(A) names official, nameplate, public service and directional signs, projecting signs, permitted awnings and canopies, temporary banners for public celebrations or charitable events, and wall signs, and it does not name garage sale signs. A sign also cannot be placed so that it interferes with safe sight distances for streets or driveways.

The two-signs-per-lot count applies to the lot where the sale is held, so a seller with a corner lot still works from the same printed limit of two.