Mount Prospect, IL Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Section 23.1902 of the Mount Prospect Village Code caps both how long and how often a household can hold a garage sale. A sale is permitted for three (3) consecutive days, and selling is confined to the hours between nine o'clock (9:00) A.M. and sunset of each day. Not more than three (3) garage sales can be conducted on the same premises within any calendar year, and there must be a minimum of thirty (30) days between each sale.

The rain rule is specific. If rain occurs during the hours of sale on any day within a three (3) day sale period, the sale period is extended an additional day for each such day of rain. The extension has a ceiling: no garage sale can exceed a total of three (3) dry days.

The article defines what counts. A garage sale is an occasional sale of used or surplus household goods, wares and other items of personal property owned by the occupier of the residence premises or owned collectively by a group that includes the occupier. The definition covers basement sales, house sales, yard sales, attic sales, rummage sales and estate sales conducted on an infrequent and unscheduled basis from residentially zoned premises. It excludes bulk sales, the sale of multiple new items of the same description, the sale of consigned merchandise, and the sale of junk or antique items as a business activity by a junk or antique dealer. The definition of person leaves out charitable or religious organizations.

Location is governed by § 23.1903. The sale is conducted from the residence premises of the person obtaining a permit, and it is unlawful to display for sale or conduct a sale of household goods or other merchandise on any public sidewalk or public right-of-way. The limits in § 23.1902 apply to the premises, so the count of three per calendar year follows the address and not the individual seller.