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

Under City Code § 8:24-2, nobody may hold a garage, attic, estate, rummage or yard sale in Newark without first filing an application with the Manager of the Division of Tax Abatements/Special Taxes and paying a $10 license fee. Section 8:24-3 then locks in the frequency limit: a license issues to any one person only once within a twelve-month period, and to any one premises only once in that same twelve months, and no license covers more than four consecutive calendar days. If bad weather forces a cancellation, the licensee can move the sale to the same day the following week after presenting the license for a date change, rather than losing the slot outright.

The license itself must stay prominently displayed on the property for the entire licensed run. Applicants have to disclose, on the application required by § 8:24-4, the dates and nature of any sale held on the same property or by the same person in the prior twelve months, which is how the Division catches repeat filers trying to dodge the once-a-year rule. per § 8:24-6, and § 8:24-9 exempts court-ordered sales, sales of five or fewer named items, and sales by bona fide charitable or governmental groups from the whole chapter. The Division of Tax Abatements/Special Taxes enforces the chapter and refers violations for prosecution in Municipal Court.