Contra Costa County, CA Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

The Temporary Events Ordinance, Ordinance Code Chapter 82-44, generally requires a temporary event permit for organized gatherings on private property, but Section 82-44.404(j) specifically carves out garage sales, exempting them from the permit requirements of the chapter as long as sales occur no more than four times within a twelve-month period per residence, for a maximum of two consecutive days each. The county's Home Occupations chapter repeats an identical cap at Section 82-40.016, so the four-sales, two-day rule applies county-wide regardless of which chapter a resident or code enforcement officer references.

Exceeding either the four-sales-per-year limit or the two-day duration limit removes the exemption, which means the sale then falls under the general temporary event permit requirement in Section 82-44.402, application review under Section 82-44.408, and the chapter's noise restrictions under Section 82-44.406, including the 8 p.m. weekday and 10 p.m. weekend cutoff for amplified sound. The Department of Conservation and Development administers temporary event permits and enforces the exemption's limits alongside the Sheriff's Office under Section 82-44.418. Because the exemption is tied to "per residence," a homeowner cannot dodge the four-sale cap by rotating sales among different family members living at the same address; the limit runs with the property.