Provo, UT Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Provo City Code 14.35.020(2) exempts a garage sale from the City's temporary use permit process, which otherwise governs carnivals, circuses, fireworks stands, farmers' markets and similar short-term activities under Chapter 14.35. The exemption comes with three conditions written directly into the ordinance: the sale cannot run more than a total of five days in any calendar year, it must be conducted by bona fide residents of the premises being sold from (not a business or outside vendor using the address), and the goods offered must consist of the residents' personal belongings rather than merchandise brought in for resale.

Because the five-day cap applies per calendar year rather than per sale, a household that holds a three-day sale in the spring only has two more exempt days available before December 31 of that same year; running a sixth day, or a second sale that pushes the yearly total past five days, takes the event outside the exemption in 14.35.020(2). At that point the activity falls back under the general temporary use rules in Chapter 14.35, which require prior approval from the Planning Commission (Section 14.35.030), restrict most temporary uses to specific commercial and industrial zones, and cap standard temporary use permits at thirty days with cash bonds of $300 to $1,000 depending on the use (Section 14.35.040).

Residents planning a longer sale, an estate sale spanning multiple weekends, or a sale advertised as a recurring business should count their cumulative sale days for the year before assuming the permit-free exemption still applies.