Salem, OR Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)

Salem Revised Code Sec. 165(b) states plainly: it is unlawful to conduct more than three garage sales within the City in any calendar year, with each sale lasting no more than three days. Subsection (a) defines a "garage sale" broadly as the public sale of new or used goods by an individual or group from private property, including garages, porches, carports and yards, when the seller is not in the business of selling such goods, is not a licensed secondhand or junk dealer, and the property is not zoned for commercial business.

The ordinance carves out two exemptions from the definition itself: selling a single item on public display with a price-tagged sign attached to the item, and sales by religious, educational, philanthropic, benevolent, fraternal or charitable organizations not run for members' pecuniary profit. Because those transactions fall outside the definition of "garage sale," they are not counted against the three-sale annual limit. The rule dates to Ordinance No. 159-84 under the Prior Code. Like most Chapter 95 offenses, it carries no stated penalty of its own, so the citywide general penalty at Sec. 070 applies, and Salem Police and Municipal Court are responsible for enforcement and prosecution.