Kenosha, WI Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- 11.149 (Rummage/Garage Sales)
- Annual day limit
- 6 calendar days, need not be consecutive
- Allowed hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Merchandise limit
- Personal property only
- Enforcing agencies
- City Inspections & Police Dept.
Summary
Kenosha caps rummage and garage sales at six calendar days per year under Section 11.149: sales must stick to personal property, cannot run more than six days in a calendar year whether consecutive or not, and cannot operate between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on any day.
B.Prohibition.1.It shall be unlawful for any person or party to sell other than personal property at a Rummage/Garage Sale.2.It shall be unlawful for any person or party to hold or permit to be held a Rummage/Garage Sale on more than six (6) calendar days, whether or not consecutive, within any calendar year.3.It shall be unlawful for any person or party to hold or permit to be held a Rummage/Garage Sale during the hours of 9:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. on any day.C.Enforcement. The City Departments of City Inspections and Police shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 11 Update 1 | Zoning Ordinance: Supplement 9).
Full Breakdown
149 defines a Rummage/Garage Sale broadly, covering any sale of personal property on residentially zoned property within the City, no matter what the seller calls the event, which closes off the loophole of labeling a sale something else to dodge the rule. Personal Property is limited to items acquired in the course of living in or maintaining a dwelling unit, so the ordinance's first prohibition bars selling anything else, such as merchandise bought or made specifically for resale, at a residential sale. The second prohibition is the frequency cap: a person or party cannot hold or permit a Rummage/Garage Sale on more than six calendar days within any calendar year, and those six days do not need to be consecutive, so a household could split its allotment across a spring sale and a fall sale as long as the combined total stays at six days or fewer.
on any day, which applies uniformly regardless of how many of the six annual days remain. 149, so either can respond to a complaint about an oversized, over-frequent, or after-hours sale on residential property.
Violations & Fines
Section 11.149 is enforced by both the Department of City Inspections and the Kenosha Police Department, and because it sits in Chapter XI, a conviction falls under the general Chapter XI penalty clause, Section 11.17.A: a forfeiture of up to $1,000 plus prosecution costs, assessments and surcharges, with nonpayment risking up to ninety days in the Kenosha County Jail or a license suspension of up to five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many garage sale days is a Kenosha resident allowed each year?
What hours can a Kenosha garage sale run?
Can I sell new merchandise at a garage sale in Kenosha?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenosha
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