Medford, MA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Section 94-6.2.14, item 6 of the Medford zoning ordinance sets the rule for garage and yard sale signs as part of the chapter's broader temporary-sign scheme. As a temporary sign, no permit is required, per the section's opening sentence that 'a temporary sign shall not require a permit, but is subject to all applicable regulations in this section.' The sign itself is limited to one per sale and cannot exceed five square feet, smaller than the 12-square-foot allowance given to political and noncommercial temporary signs under the same section.

It must be removed by the owner or the person who posted it within 24 hours of the last date of the sale; unlike other temporary signs in the chapter, which get up to 30 days with one 30-day extension, a garage sale sign has no multi-week display window. A temporary sign generally cannot be internally illuminated or use neon, per the section's general provisions, and a sign bearing the same or similar message cannot be reposted once its display period has run without a new sale.

The building commissioner enforces the sign chapter under section 94-6.2.7, though a permit-free sign like this is more commonly addressed through a direct order to remove rather than permit revocation.