Sumner County, TN Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Max days per sale
- 3 days within any 90-day period
- Max sales per year
- 4 times per year
- Permit required
- None, accessory use by right
- What may be sold
- Personal/household items or lot-grown produce
- Applies to
- Residential districts, unincorporated county only
Summary
Sumner County's Zoning Resolution treats a yard sale as a permitted accessory use of a residence, but only within strict limits: a sale of personal or household items, or of produce grown on the same lot, cannot run more than three days within any 90-day window, and a property is capped at four such sales per calendar year.
Yard sale of personal/household items from a residence or produce grown on the same zone lot as the dwelling unit but only if;
i. Sale occurs no more than three (3) days in a ninety
(90) day period of time, and;
ii. No more than four (4) times a year.
h. A parents’ day out or child care for pre-teenage children for not more than twelve (12) hours in any one week and which does not require licensure by the State of Tennessee shall be permitted on any property approved as a Community Assembly use.
i. Private residential homes that provide childcare for four (4) or
less children and requires no licensure from the State of
Tennessee.
j. Child Care Centers accessory to legally established
Community Assembly Uses by special exception, subject to
provisions Chapter 11 and Chapter 14 and to any applicable
state requirements.
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k. Operation of a playfield or other recreational facility including but not limited to clubhouses, pools and tennis courts for employees, members, residents, patrons or others participating in the principal activity on the same zone lot.
B. Special Exceptions Special exceptions permitted for consideration by the Board of Zoning
Full Breakdown
2 lists the accessory uses that automatically come with a residential principal use in Sumner County's AR, RP, RR, SR and MHC districts, without a separate permit, and subsection g covers yard sales directly. ' Both limits apply together, so a household running three-day sales back to back would still be capped at four total events in a calendar year, and a fifth sale, or any sale stretching past three consecutive days, falls outside the accessory-use allowance. Because the yard sale exemption sits inside the accessory-use list rather than the principal-use table, it rides on whatever residential use is already established on the lot; a vacant lot without an existing dwelling unit doesn't qualify.
The same Section 403 also permits other common accessory activities on the same terms, including home-based businesses, accessory dwelling units, and signage complying with Chapter 12, each subject to its own separate standards elsewhere in the resolution. C makes the flip side explicit: any use not specifically listed as permitted, by right or by special exception, in the Appendix B Land Use Activity Table or in this accessory-use list is prohibited outright.
Violations & Fines
A sale that runs longer than three days, or a household that exceeds four sales in a calendar year, loses its accessory-use exemption and becomes a zoning violation. Under Section 1413.D that's a misdemeanor punishable by up to $50 for each offense, with every additional day of the oversized sale counted separately; the Director of Building & Codes investigates complaints describing an active violation no more than 30 days old.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days can a Sumner County yard sale last?
How many yard sales can I hold per year?
Do I need a permit for a yard sale?
Can I sell produce I grew instead of household items?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sumner County
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