Memphis, TN Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Removal deadline
- Within 24 hours after sale ends
- Max size (core residential districts)
- 5 ft tall, 7 sq ft
- Setback
- 10 ft from ROW, 15 ft from lot line
- Signs per lot cap
- 4 detached signs total
- Illumination
- Not permitted in single-family districts
- Governing law
- Joint Memphis/Shelby County UDC § 4.9.9
Summary
The joint Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code treats a garage-sale sign as a temporary residential sign. In most single-family districts it must be 5 feet tall and 7 square feet or smaller, sit back 10 feet from the right-of-way and 15 feet from any other lot line, and come down within 24 hours after the sale ends.
4. Limitations on Commercial Messages All such signs may bear any message that is not a commercial message. The only commercial messages permitted on such signs are messages related to commercial activity lawfully conducted on the premises, including the lawful, occasional sale of personal property (such as through a garage sale, yard sale, estate sale or auction) or the sale, rental or lease of the premises.
5. Limitations on Time of Display Signs related to the sale of personal property shall be removed within twenty-four hours after the end of the sale. Signs related to the sale, lease or rental of the premises shall be removed no later than the date on which the deed, lease or other document representing the transaction is completed.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
9, Temporary Sign Regulations. 4 treats a sign advertising the lawful, occasional sale of personal property, such as through a garage sale, yard sale, estate sale or auction, as one of the limited commercial messages a temporary residential sign may carry. c caps those signs at five feet in height and seven square feet in area; larger 8-foot, 16-square-foot signs apply only in the CA, RU-3, RU-4, RU-5 and RW districts. 4 bars placing a sign in a required parking space. 2 caps an occupied residential lot at four detached signs total, including any existing permanent detached sign.
5 gives homeowners a hard 24-hour clock to take the sign down; a sign advertising the sale, lease or rental of the property itself instead comes down once the deed, lease or transaction document is executed. 3, and if illuminated must meet the city/county electrical code and Underwriters Laboratories standards. Because the general Memphis Code of Ordinances contains no garage-sale-sign language of its own, this UDC section is the only local rule on the subject and controls the same way inside Memphis city limits as in the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
Leaving a garage sale sign up past the 24-hour deadline is a UDC violation under section 4.9.11: failing to remove a sign installed, created, erected or maintained in violation of the chapter is listed as a violation, and each additional day the sign remains is treated as a separate violation. The city or county can issue a stop-work order, seek an injunction requiring removal, and impose any penalty available under the joint zoning ordinance/resolution.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Memphis
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