Olympia, WA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

OMC 18.43.130.D.7 is the garage sale sign rule. It covers garage, yard, moving and patio sales and requires no sign permit or Temporary Sign Agreement. A sale is limited to one sign on the premises and three off-premises signs, and no sign can exceed four square feet in sign area. The signs can be displayed only during the sale and must be removed the day the sale ends. The person or persons for whom the signs are displayed are responsible for removal and are subject to the penalties provided in the code. OMC 18.43.130.D.1 classifies garage and yard sale signs as temporary and noncommercial signage in the Residential Sign Zone.

Signs in the right of way must also meet OMC 18.43.130.E for the planter strip, the landscaped area between the curb and sidewalk, or unimproved right-of-way. No more than three temporary signs are allowed in the right of way per street frontage, per lot. No temporary sign can be greater than four feet in height above grade, and each is subject to the clear view sight triangle standards in Chapter 4 of the Engineering Design and Development Standards. Right-of-way signs can contain only noncommercial messages. OMC 18.43.085.C also requires the sign to remain portable, outside the roadway, and clear of the forty-eight inch minimum pathway.

Several locations are off limits. OMC 18.43.050.L prohibits signs on medians, roundabouts, traffic circles, the clear view sight triangle of intersections, utility poles, lampposts, traffic poles and signals, and street trees. OMC 18.43.060.A.4 bars signs on City owned property such as City Hall and City parks unless the code allows them.

The sale itself is regulated by OMC Chapter 5.24. It is unlawful to conduct more than two garage sales per calendar year on a residential premises, to run a sale beyond four consecutive days, or to sell before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. No offsite signage is allowed for agricultural sales under OMC 5.24.020.G.