Hillsboro, OR Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

The rule sits in Subchapter 5.24 of the Hillsboro Municipal Code, separate from the City's secondhand-dealer and business-license chapters. HMC 5.24.010 bars more than one household, yard or garage sale on the same property in any single calendar-year quarter, and bars any individual sale from running longer than four consecutive days. HMC 5.24.020 defines those quarters on the standard calendar: January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December, so a property can host at most four qualifying sales a year, one per quarter, each capped at four days.

Because the sale is exempt activity rather than a licensed business, HMC 5.24.050 requires no permit, permit fee or advance notice to the City to hold it, as long as the frequency and duration limits are met. That exemption tracks the secondhand-dealer chapter next door: HMC 5.20.030(D) separately exempts garage, yard and estate sales from secondhand-dealer permitting on the same 4-day, 4-sales-per-year terms, confirming the limits apply City-wide regardless of what is being sold.

Enforcement runs through HMC 5.24.040. A property presumed to be violating either the frequency and duration rule (5.24.010) or the advertising rule (5.24.030) is first served with a copy of the specific code section violated, and the City must wait at least 96 hours after service before starting enforcement. Once served, the owner or person in charge is presumed to know the rule, and any further violation can be enforced without additional notice. Because Subchapter 5.24 sets no penalty of its own, a violation falls back to the City's general penalty in HMC 1.08.010(B): a $500.00 civil penalty, with HMC 1.08.030 treating each day a violation continues as a separate offense.