Howard County, MD Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

The Howard County sign code, Title 3, Subtitle 5, does not create a garage-sale or yard-sale sign allowance. Under Section 3.505, prohibited signs include those placed on a County right-of-way (except signs specifically permitted under Section 3.505A) and signs posted or attached to utility poles or trees. That means the common practice of stapling garage-sale signs to poles or planting them on median strips is not allowed, and the county may remove and discard them. A sign advertising a sale on the homeowner's own private property is treated under the residential sign standards, which generally limit small on-premises residential signs. Off-premises directional signs in the public right-of-way are permitted only in the narrow categories listed in Section 3.505A.