Burlington, WI Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Sales per year
- 3 per premises per calendar year
- Sale length
- 3 consecutive days maximum
- Hours
- 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- What may be sold
- Personal property only, not resale goods
- First violation
- Warning only (§ 254-4F)
Summary
Burlington caps rummage, garage and yard sales at three per calendar year per address under City Code § 254-4. Each sale runs no more than three consecutive days, only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and only personal property from the seller's own household may be sold.
Rummage sales shall be conducted only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. No more than three rummage sales in one calendar year may be conducted from any premises. Each sale may last no longer than three consecutive days and must be conducted on the seller's property.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4997580; v29 updated 2026-07-07; through 07-07-2026).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 254-4, added in 1993, regulates rummage sales, defined to include any general sale open to the public and conducted from a residential premises for the purpose of disposing of personal property, whatever it is titled: rummage, lawn, yard, porch, room, backyard, patio or garage sale. Personal property means property owned, used and acquired in the normal course of living in or maintaining a residence, and it excludes merchandise bought for resale or taken on consignment; § 254-4B makes it unlawful to sell anything else at a rummage sale.
, no more than three rummage sales may be conducted from any one premises in a calendar year, each sale can last no more than three consecutive days, and the sale must be conducted on the seller's own property. The section cross-references Chapter 315, Zoning, § 315-45E for the residential-premises definition used here. A first violation of § 254-4 draws only a warning under § 254-4F; a second offense escalates to the general Chapter 1, § 1-4 forfeiture schedule.
Violations & Fines
A first rummage-sale violation, such as running a fourth sale in a year or exceeding the three-day limit, draws a warning only under § 254-4F. A second offense carries the Chapter 1, § 1-4 forfeiture: $5 to $500 for a standalone first Code offense, rising to $10 to $1,000 if repeated within a year, plus prosecution costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many garage sales can I hold at my Burlington home each year?
Can I sell items I bought to resell at a Burlington rummage sale?
What is the penalty for holding too many garage sales in Burlington?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Burlington
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