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

SMC section 20.50.610, Exempt signs, lists categories the City lets residents post without going through the sign permit process that governs most signage in Chapter 20.50. The introductory sentence sets a condition on every category that follows: exempt signs "must comply with SMC section 20.50.540(A), Sight Distance, and SMC section 20.50.540(B), Private Signs on City Right-of-Way." Subsection O then addresses garage sales directly: "Garage sale signs not exceeding four square feet per sign face and not advertising for a period longer than 48 hours." Four square feet is a modest sign, roughly two feet by two feet, and the 48-hour clock runs from when the sign goes up, so a sign advertising a weekend sale has to come down well before the next weekend if the sale is not repeated.

Because the exemption sits inside the sight-distance and right-of-way conditions, a sign taped to a stop sign, planted in a landscaped median, or set up within the street's clear-view triangle loses the exemption even if it is within the four-square-foot limit. Shoreline residents typically post these signs at the edge of their own yard or, with permission, at a nearby corner, and Planning and Community Development or the Shoreline Police Department can direct removal of a sign that violates the size, duration or placement conditions.