Oakley, CA Garage & Yard Sales: Garage Sale Permits (2026)

Oakley allows residential garage sales, yard sales, and estate sales as a normal incident of household life without requiring an individual permit fee in most circumstances. Typical Oakley garage sale rules under the Municipal Code: maximum 2-4 sales per calendar year per household/address, each sale limited to 2-3 consecutive days, sale hours typically 7:00 AM or 8:00 AM to sunset or 7:00 PM, items offered must be personal household goods of the resident (not purchased for resale), merchandise display limited to the private property (not spilling into public right-of-way), no amplified sound, and signs must follow Oakley's residential sign rules (typically remove within 1-2 days after sale ends and no placement in public right-of-way or on utility poles). Sellers who exceed the allowed frequency or sell items purchased for resale are considered commercial retailers and must obtain a business license and comply with California sales tax collection (CDTFA seller's permit required for regular sales activity). Estate sales handled by professional estate sale companies often fall under business license requirements. Items prohibited from sale include firearms (require FFL dealer), alcohol, drug paraphernalia, counterfeit goods, food items subject to health regulations (unless Cottage Food Law compliant), and stolen property. Multi-family/neighborhood garage sales organized by HOAs or community groups are generally permitted without individual permits but still count toward household sale limits. Code Enforcement investigates complaints about continuous or commercial-scale "garage sales" that are effectively unlicensed retail operations.