Goodyear, AZ Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Casual garage sale cap
- 14 days per year
- Over the cap
- treated as a licensed business
- First unlicensed-business fine
- $300 minimum
- Repeat unlicensed-business fine
- $1,000-$2,500
- Governing section
- Goodyear City Code § 8-7-1
Summary
Goodyear lets a garage sale run as a tax-free casual sale for up to 14 days a year before it counts as a business needing a City license. Cross the 14-day mark in a calendar year and the City treats the ongoing sales activity as a business subject to Chapter 8-7's licensing and inspection rules.
CASUAL ACTIVITY OR SALE. A transaction of an isolated nature made by a person who neither represents themself to be, nor is engaged in, a business that is subject to a business license imposed by this chapter. Casual Activity or Sale includes but is not limited to; (i) sales which are infrequent, singular and private in nature, such as selling a personal automobile, handmade good or personally owned item: and (ii) an ongoing sales event of an isolated nature, such as a garage sale, when such person is not regularly engaged in the business of selling the items sold and the sales event occurs for 14 days or less in length annually.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-1648, passed April 27, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Section 8-7-1 of the Goodyear City Code defines CASUAL ACTIVITY OR SALE as a transaction of an isolated nature by someone who is not engaged in, and does not represent themselves as engaged in, a business subject to the chapter's license requirement. The definition specifically names an ongoing sales event of an isolated nature, such as a garage sale, as a casual activity, but only when the seller is not regularly engaged in the business of selling the items and the sales event occurs for 14 days or less in length annually.
That 14-day annual cap is what keeps an occasional garage sale out of Chapter 8-7's business license system entirely: a casual seller does not need to register, display a license, or submit to the City's business inspections. Run sales events beyond 14 days total in a calendar year, though, and the activity stops qualifying as casual and instead falls under Section 8-7-2's general rule that it is unlawful for any person to practice, transact or carry on any business within the municipal limits of the City without first having procured a license.
At that point the seller is subject to the same application, display, and inspection requirements as any other Goodyear business, and to Section 8-7-9's licensing penalties for operating without one.
Violations & Fines
A seller who exceeds the 14-day annual limit and operates without a business license faces a $300 minimum fine for a first offense and a mandatory $1,000 to $2,500 fine for a second or later offense under Section 8-7-9(C). The City can also issue a notice of violation with 30 days to correct it before further enforcement under Section 8-7-10(A).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days a year can I hold a garage sale in Goodyear without a license?
What happens if my garage sale runs longer than 14 days a year?
Does a single one-day yard sale need a permit in Goodyear?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Goodyear
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