Apple Valley, MN Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

The accessory use list for the R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts in § 155.053 of the Apple Valley Code of Ordinances closes with division (J): garage sales limited to three consecutive days and not to exceed three per calendar year, per residence. The cap attaches to the residence, not the person, so the count runs by address across the calendar year.

The zoning definition in § 155.003 explains what counts. A garage sale is any display of goods and/or salesperson's samples and sale of the goods on a property customarily used as a residence. The person or persons conducting the sale have to be residents of the immediate neighborhood, which keeps out sellers who bring stock in from elsewhere.

Signage has its own rule in Chapter 154. Section 154.03(M) lists garage sale signs among the signs allowed without a permit and says signs advertising garage sales shall be limited to a maximum of three days for each sale. It repeats that there shall be no more than three sales each calendar year for a household, and signs shall not exceed three square feet in area.

Where the signs go matters as much as how big they are. Section 154.05(F) says open house, garage sale and for sale signs shall not be placed on street rights-of-way, easements, roadway surface, sidewalks, medians and decorative surfaces. A sign placed there is determined to be in violation of the sign regulations, a nuisance and a traffic hazard.

No peddler license is involved. Section 114.02(B) exempts persons conducting the type of sales commonly known as garage sales, rummage sales or estate sales from the definitions of peddlers, solicitors and transient merchants, though the exemption does not excuse compliance with any other applicable provision.