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Washington County, UT Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Light Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Annual limit
4 garage sales per lot or parcel
Governing exception
Special event permit not required within limit
Over the limit
Treated as a special event needing a permit
Unpermitted penalty
$1,000 civil fine, possible misdemeanor

Summary

Unincorporated Washington County caps garage sales at four per year per lot or parcel. Stay within that limit and no special event permit is needed; go beyond it and the sale becomes a regulated special event.

City-specific rules exist: St. George has its own frequency, duration & permits rules that differ from Washington County's county-level regulations. If you live in St. George, check the city-specific page instead.

Community block parties are limited to four (4) per year per subdivision or neighborhood area as determined by county. Garage sales are limited to four (4) per year per lot or parcel.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-17: Code current through: Ord. 2026-1329-O, passed 8-18-2026).

Full Breakdown

Section 3-3-4 lists the exceptions to the county's special event permit requirement, and subsection D states that garage sales are limited to four (4) per year per lot or parcel. Because this appears inside the exceptions chapter rather than a standalone garage-sale ordinance, the practical effect is that a homeowner running four or fewer sales a year on the same parcel never has to file the section 3-3-5 special event application, pay the $100 or $200 permit fee, or meet the section 3-3-6 conditions (potable water, sanitation, insurance, and the like) that apply to concerts, fairs, and other covered gatherings.

The four-sale cap is per lot or parcel, not per household, so a property with multiple owners or renters over the course of a year still only gets four sale events total at that address. The code does not set a maximum duration for an individual sale under this exception; it only caps how many times per year the exception can be used before a sale converts into an event requiring a permit under section 3-3-3.

Violations & Fines

A fifth or later garage sale at the same parcel in the same year falls outside the section 3-3-4(D) exception and becomes a special event requiring a permit under section 3-3-3(A). Holding it without that permit exposes the seller to the section 3-3-12 penalties that apply to any unpermitted special event: a $1,000 civil fine, a two-year denial of future permit applications, and, depending on turnout, a class B or class C misdemeanor charge, plus the sheriff's authority to shut the sale down.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many garage sales can I hold each year in unincorporated Washington County?
Section 3-3-4(D) limits garage sales to four per year per lot or parcel; sales within that number do not require a special event permit under the county's special events chapter.
Does the four-sale limit apply per household or per property?
The code ties the limit to the lot or parcel, not the household, so the count resets only per property address regardless of how many people live there or hold the sale.
What happens if I hold a fifth sale in the same year?
A fifth sale no longer qualifies for the section 3-3-4(D) exception and must instead be permitted as a special event under section 3-3-3, with the fees and conditions that come with that process.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Washington County

All Washington County rules

Compare Washington County to another location·View the Utah garage & yard sales overview

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