National City, CA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Chapter 7.21 of the National City Municipal Code regulates garage, yard and rummage sales, and § 7.21.060 is its sign rule. The limits are specific: one sign, unlighted, six square feet or smaller, located on the premises of the sale. The sign has to be temporary. Posting starts no more than one week ahead of the sale, and the sign must be removed once the sale concludes. Signs in the public right-of-way are prohibited outright, so a sign staked on a street corner, parkway or sidewalk is a violation even when the sale itself is permitted.

The sign rule sits inside a permit system run by the finance department. A resident must obtain a permit before the sale, applications are due at least forty-eight hours ahead, and the permit fee comes from the National City fee schedule. Each sale is capped at four consecutive days, and a single-family address is limited to two garage sales in a calendar year (§ 7.21.040). The finance officer also issues a distinctive permit sign, which has to be posted in a conspicuous spot so it is visible from the abutting public right-of-way or access point (§ 7.21.080). That permit sign is separate from the one advertising sign allowed by § 7.21.060, and failing to post it is its own violation.

Enforcement comes from an authorized officer of the city. Under § 7.21.040(G), a person selling in violation must cease and desist and remove all goods from display when directed, and an enforcement official is authorized to impound goods displayed or sold in violation as evidence pending citation. Sales that comply with Chapter 7.21 are exempt from business taxes under Chapter 6.04.