Bessemer, AL Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Bessemer's garage sale ordinance sits in Chapter 22, Article IV (Garage and Yard Sales), Code of Ordinances §§ 22-115 through 22-118. Section 22-117 sets the operative limits: no person or organization may conduct a garage, rummage or yard sale more than once during any six consecutive months, and no sale may run longer than three consecutive days. The sale must be conducted by the permittee, who has to be one of the owners of the property where the goods are offered, and it must take place at the permittee's residence for garage or yard sales, or at the site of the religious, charitable, civic or service organization holding a rummage sale, unless the permit designates another location.

Before any sale starts, Section 22-116 requires a permit from the city's license department. The written application must include the fee set in the city license schedule and the names of every property owner participating in the sale. Section 22-118 layers on sign rules: yard signs cannot exceed six square feet, no illuminated or animated signs are allowed, signs cannot go up more than one day before the sale, and they must come down the day after the last sale day. Advertising a garage, rummage or yard sale on public property is barred outright.

The ordinance defines the three terms broadly: a garage sale is surplus or unwanted household property, a rummage sale is property sold by or for a religious, charitable, civic or service group, and a yard sale is treated as a synonym for either.