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

Section 9:9-12 of the Plainfield Municipal Code makes it unlawful to conduct a garage sale in the City of Plainfield without a permit from the City Clerk. The definition is broad: a garage sale is any general sale open to the public to dispose of personal property by sale or barter, including sales called lawn, house, estate, bazaar, yard, attic, porch, patio, flea market or rummage sales. The permit fee per sale is nonrefundable, and the Schedule of Fees in § 9:17-1 lists $10 per vendor and $10 per person for flea markets and garage sales.

The frequency limits are the core of the section. No sale is permitted for more than 3 days, and those days must be consecutive. No person conducts more than 2 garage sales in any one calendar year, and no premises is the subject of more than 2 garage sales in any one calendar year, so a second seller at the same address does not reset the count. The application goes to the City Clerk at least 2 weeks before the sale, with the location, the dates and times, the names of the premises owners, and the names of any other persons conducting the sale. The Clerk numbers applications and permits in chronological order.

Other conditions apply once the permit issues. Sales run between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. only. Advertising or directing signs go only on the premises where the sale is held, cannot exceed 6 square feet, cannot go up earlier than 1 week before the sale, and come down within 24 hours after it ends. The permit cannot be transferred, and moving the sale to another location requires cancelling the permit and paying the fee for a new one. The City Code Enforcement Officer enforces the section, and the permittee is responsible for good order, with no loud or boisterous conduct and no vehicles impeding traffic. Court-ordered sales and sales by public officials are exempt, and bona fide charitable and religious organizations applying all proceeds to their purposes are exempt from the fee.