New Brunswick, NJ Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Section 5.52.020 of the New Brunswick Municipal Code requires a garage sale license from the city clerk before anyone conducts a sale. The fee is fixed at ten dollars ($10.00). The frequency limit is in subsection B: a license is issued to any one person only once within a twelve (12) month period, and no license is issued for more than four days in any one month. The license must be prominently displayed on the premises throughout the entire licensed sale. The applicant files the name of the person or group running the sale, the property owner's name and consent if the applicant is not the owner, the location, the number of days, the date and nature of any past sale, any connection to others conducting the sale, whether any other vendor's license has been issued by a local, state or federal agency, and a sworn statement that the information is true.

The chapter covers sales called garage sale, yard sale, lawn sale, attic sale, rummage sale or flea market, and any similar casual sale advertised so the public at large is or can be made aware of it. Section 5.52.030 confines sales to the hours between nine a.m. and six p.m. Section 5.52.050 exempts court-ordered sales, public officials, a person selling five or fewer specifically named items, businesses selling from properly zoned premises, and bona fide charitable, educational, cultural or governmental institutions, which carry the burden of proving the exemption. The chief of police enforces the chapter.