Rockingham County, VA Sign Regulations: Garage Sale Signs (2026)

Sec. 03 of the Zoning Ordinance lists signs that may be erected in any zoning district without a permit and without counting toward a parcel's cumulative sign area. Subsection (g) covers yard-sale advertising directly: non-illuminated signs and posters of less than four square feet in area that advertise or give directions to a residential, civic, or community yard sale, or an estate sale or auction, are exempt, but only if they are located on private property with the permission of the property owner and are removed promptly at the end of the event.

That four-square-foot cap and the illumination ban are strict; a larger sign, an illuminated sign, or one placed in the public right-of-way falls outside the exemption and is treated as an unpermitted sign under the general sign standards in Sec. 01, which bars any sign from a public right-of-way unless installed by VDOT. Because these signs are directional and temporary rather than permanent freestanding signs, they are not subject to the one-freestanding-sign-per-parcel limit in Sec. 01(i) or the sign permit fee schedule in article XI.

The 'promptly removed' requirement in subsection (g) is a continuing obligation, not tied to the fixed 30-day or 14-day windows that apply to other temporary signs and banners under Sec. 02.