Waukegan, IL Garage & Yard Sales: Frequency, Duration & Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Duration
- 3 consecutive days per sale
- Frequency
- Up to 3 times per calendar year
- Hours
- 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Eligibility
- Residential properties only
- Merchandise
- Household goods sold at resale only
- Exception
- City-wide sales don't count toward cap
- Fine range
- $25-$750 per day (Sec. 1-13)
Summary
Waukegan limits garage and yard sales to three consecutive days, up to three times per calendar year, running only from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Only residential properties qualify, and merchandise is limited to household goods sold at resale, not retail overstock.
3.Garage or Yard Sale.a.Eligibility. Only residential properties may hold garage or yard sales.b.Merchandise. Merchandise for sale may only be household goods sold at resale. Offering retail overstock goods in large quantities is not permitted at garage or yard sales.c.Frequency. Garage and yard sales may be held for three consecutive days up to three times per year. City-wide garage and yard sales do not count toward this total.d.Hours of Operation. Garage and yard sales may operate from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 113).
Full Breakdown
3 of the Unified Development Ordinance, and the section spells out four separate limits. Eligibility restricts the use to residential properties only; a commercial or industrial lot cannot host a garage sale under this provision. The frequency limit in subsection c allows a sale to run for three consecutive days, and the same property may repeat that three-day sale up to three times over a calendar year, though City-wide garage sale events are expressly excluded from that three-per-year count, so a resident who joins a City-wide sale weekend still has three individual sales left to use.
, closing the sale well before dark. Subsection b limits what can be sold: only household goods offered at resale qualify, and the ordinance specifically bars offering retail overstock goods in large quantities, which keeps a garage sale from functioning as an unlicensed retail outlet. N, which caps a yard sign at eight square feet in residential districts. 04, an oversized, overly frequent, or non-residential sale can be treated the same as any other unauthorized temporary use and is subject to the Zoning Administrator's enforcement authority.
Violations & Fines
The Zoning Administrator enforces the three-day, three-times-a-year limit under UDO Section 1.03.F, and can direct a resident to shut down a sale that runs a fourth day, repeats a fourth time in the same year, or continues past 7:00 p.m. Section 9.04 sets no standalone fine, so violations default to the Code's general penalty under Sec. 1-13(a): $25.00 to $750.00, with every additional day of an overrunning sale counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many garage sales can I hold per year in Waukegan?
What time can I start and end my Waukegan garage sale?
Can I sell brand-new merchandise at a Waukegan garage sale?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Waukegan
Compare Waukegan to another location·View the Illinois garage & yard sales overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.