Sonoma County, CA Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- By-right limit
- 2 sales days per calendar year
- Zones covered
- AR and RR only
- 3-4 days/year
- Requires a use permit
- Notice required
- Prior notice to California Highway Patrol
- Enforcing agency
- Permit and Resource Management Dept.
Summary
Unincorporated Sonoma County caps garage and craft sales at two days per calendar year in the AR and RR zones without a use permit. Three or four sales days in a year require a discretionary use permit from the county.
In the AR and RR zones, craft sales and garage sales not exceeding two (2) sales days per calendar year provided that prior notification is given to the California Highway Patrol and that adequate off-street parking is provided. Craft sales and garage sales involving three (3) or four (4) sales days per year require a use permit.D.Unlisted Land Uses.1.For a proposed nonresidential use not listed in the allowed land use table, the Director may determine that the proposed use is equivalent to a permitted or conditionally permitted use if the Director finds that the proposed use is similar to and compatible with a listed permitted or conditionally permitted use.2.When the Director determines that a proposed nonresidential use is equivalent to a listed use, the proposed use shall be treated in the same manner as the listed use with respect to development standards, permits required, and all applicable requirements of the Zoning Code. (Ord. No. 6532, § III(Exh. A), 10-7-2025; Ord. No. 6458, § IV, 12-5-2023; Ord. No. 6444, § VI, 8-22-2023; Ord. No. 6405, § V(Exh. B), 3-14-2023; Ord. No. 6403, 3-7-2023; Ord. No. 6386, § IV, 8-2-2022; Ord. No. 6335, § III(Exh. A), 2-9-2021)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Zoning Code § 26-08-030(C) allows craft sales and garage sales in the AR (Agriculture and Residential) and RR (Rural Residential) zones only, capped at two sales days per calendar year by right, so long as the California Highway Patrol gets prior notification and adequate off-street parking is provided. Running the sale a third or fourth day in the same year converts it into a use-permit-level land use reviewed by the county's Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD). The provision does not set clock hours for the sale itself and does not apply in the R1, R2, or R3 residential zones, nor inside the nine incorporated cities that sit within the county and run their own codes, including the City of Sonoma.
Violations & Fines
Holding a fourth-plus sales event without first obtaining a use permit is an unpermitted land use under Chapter 26, enforceable by PRMD as a zoning code violation subject to county abatement action.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many garage sale days are allowed per year in unincorporated Sonoma County?
Does this rule apply inside the City of Sonoma?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sonoma County
California rules heatmap·Compare Sonoma County to another location·View the California garage & yard sales overview
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