Amarillo, TX

Amarillo requires permits and inspections for all public and semi-public pools, spas, and interactive water features under the city's Public Recreational Pool Ordinance, enforced by…

Amarillo requires a building permit for any swimming pool barrier or enclosure, whether residential or commercial. The barrier must meet Texas Health & Safety Code Ch. 757 minimums, at…

Amarillo caps combined dogs and cats per household at four, and prohibits keeping animals in overcrowded or unsanitary conditions under Chapter 8-2. Animal Management and Welfare…

Amarillo does not require dog or cat owners to spay or neuter their pets. Instead, the Animal Management & Welfare Department uses impoundment fees as an incentive: an intact animal…

Amarillo's zoning code treats a 'Veterinarian's Office Only (No Hospital)' as a distinct land use from an animal hospital or kennel. Under Code of Ordinances Sec. 4-10-83(a)(81), that…

Amarillo makes it unlawful to keep, harbor or maintain any Wild Animal within the city limits, a category that by definition covers venomous reptiles, wolf hybrids and any non-domestic…

Amarillo will not release an impounded pet back to its owner, or transfer or adopt it out, without a working microchip. Section 8-2-54(b) requires any domestic or miniature animal over…

Amarillo's Parks Conduct ordinance makes it unlawful to hunt, molest, harm, kill, trap or possess any bird, its eggs or nest inside a city park, with a narrow carve-out for killing…

Amarillo caps backyard fowl at four Barnyard Fowl per quarter-acre, and only on lots of at least one-quarter acre. Roosters aren't banned, but they can't exceed 25 percent of the…

Amarillo regulates free-roaming cats through a Community Cat program rather than a blanket at-large ban. Owners of pet cats must feed, water, shelter, and never abandon their cats…

Amarillo requires all dogs to be restrained or confined when off the owner's property. Dogs at large are subject to impoundment by Amarillo Animal Management and Welfare. Owners must…

Amarillo does not impose breed-specific bans. Texas state law (HB 292, 2023) prohibits municipalities from banning specific dog breeds. Amarillo enforces behavior-based dangerous dog…

Amarillo allows beekeeping subject to zoning and nuisance regulations. Beekeepers should maintain hives with adequate setbacks and water sources. Texas is a bee-friendly state with an…

Texas lets hunters bait and feed game animals, including deer, on private property statewide. Baiting is unlawful on most public land, for wild turkey in the East Zone, and for all…

Amarillo has no municipal noise ordinance covering industrial or commercial operations. Noise complaints are handled under Texas state law, which prohibits unreasonable noise exceeding…

Amarillo designates two aircraft noise zones around the airport, a 65-69 Ldn zone and a 70-and-greater Ldn zone, under section 4-9-111. Any new building inside those zones must be…

It is unlawful in Amarillo to let an animal bark, whine, howl, crow or cackle in a way that annoys neighbors or interferes with their reasonable use of their property. Section…

Amarillo makes it a traffic offense to operate a vehicle on any city street or alley with sudden acceleration that produces noise, smoking tires, or that causes one or more tires to…

Amarillo does not have a city noise ordinance. The city relies on the Texas Penal Code, which treats unreasonable noise as disorderly conduct. Noise is presumed unreasonable if it…

Amarillo does not have a specific construction noise ordinance or restricted construction hours. Construction noise is subject only to the general Texas Penal Code disorderly conduct…

Amarillo's Zoning Ordinance Chapter 4-10 includes a landscaping article with a recommended plant list (§ 4-10-1003) emphasizing drought-tolerant and regionally appropriate species…

Amarillo requires property owners to keep tree limbs and shrubbery clear of public streets, alleys, and sidewalks. Section 4-6-185 sets a minimum clearance of fourteen and a half feet…

Amarillo's Drought Contingency Plan assigns every address an odd or even watering day: odd-numbered addresses may water Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, even-numbered addresses Monday…

Amarillo requires new multifamily and nonresidential developments to plant shade and ornamental trees: one per 40 feet of street frontage and one per 20 parking spaces. Existing…

Amarillo's landscaping ordinance (Chapter 4-10, Division 6) sets minimum live-vegetation coverage requirements for new development but does not expressly ban or restrict residential…

Amarillo caps grasses, weeds, and uncultivated brush at eight inches. The Building Official issues written notice; the owner gets ten calendar days to mow before the city cuts it…

Texas Property Code 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning rainwater harvesting systems, and Health & Safety Code 341.042 sets statewide standards for harvested rainwater used as a…

Amarillo enforces smoke-alarm requirements through its adopted 2021 International Residential Code (Ordinance 7101) and the statewide Texas Health & Safety Code Ch. 766. Alarms are…

Amarillo clears hazardous weed and brush loads at the edge of the city through its Rural/Urban Interface Hazard Mitigation Program, using City-run authorized burns rather than…

Amarillo's Fire Code amendments prohibit recreational fires anywhere inside the city limits. Backyard fire pits, bonfires, and similar open burning aren't permitted within Amarillo…

Amarillo regulates fireworks use within city limits. Consumer fireworks may be used during designated periods around July 4th and New Year's, subject to fire conditions. The city may…

Amarillo strictly regulates outdoor burning due to the high fire risk in the Texas Panhandle. Open burning of trash and debris is generally prohibited within city limits. Burn bans are…

Selling, transporting, dispensing, or storing propane (LP-gas) in Texas requires a license from the Railroad Commission of Texas under Natural Resources Code Chapter 113. Only the…

Amarillo restricts street parking in certain zones and limits how long vehicles may remain parked. Designated parking areas and time-limited zones are posted by traffic schedule…

Amarillo's freight loading zones run from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily except Sundays, marked by upright signs and optional yellow curb paint under Sec. 16-3-242. Vehicles may stop…

Placing a sign, cone, chair, or other marker on a public sidewalk, curb, or street to save a parking space, whether for yourself or paying customers, is unlawful in Amarillo under Sec…

Any commercial motor vehicle rated over one ton, along with semi-trailers, buses, and truck tractors, cannot be left on a public street, alley, or parkway within or next to a…

An Amarillo homeowner, occupant, or their invited guest may leave their own motor home, travel trailer, or boat trailer parked on the street directly abutting their residence for up to…

Amarillo makes it an offense to stop, stand, or park beside any curb painted red or in a fire lane anywhere in the city, per Sec. 16-3-180(a)(2). Because fire lane parking is carved…

Amarillo prohibits junked or inoperable vehicles from being stored on public or private property visible from a public street. Chapter 8-4 authorizes notice, hearing, and removal by…

Amarillo regulates on-street parking through its traffic code. Vehicles must not be parked for more than 48–72 hours in one location. Parking restrictions are posted by signage in…

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

A retaining wall in Amarillo skips the building permit only while it stays at 4 feet or under, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. Go taller, or build a…

Amarillo caps fence height by location relative to the required front yard: up to eight feet behind the front yard line, four feet inside it, and up to twelve feet for electrical…

Barbed wire and razor wire are off-limits on Amarillo fences except in three settings: agricultural or grazing land, security fencing for nonresidential uses in commercial and…

An Amarillo fence needs no building permit as long as it stays at 8 feet or under, the same ceiling the zoning code sets for a fence behind the required front yard line. Push a fence…

Under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 143, Subchapter F, you cannot tear out a fence you jointly own with a neighbor, or one attached to a neighbor's fence, without mutual consent. To…

Amarillo requires a short-term rental permit from the Planning Department and caps occupancy at 2 guests per bedroom plus 2 additional guests. A hotel occupancy tax of 15% applies to…

Amarillo does not impose an annual night cap on short-term rentals. The City defines an STR as a stay under 30 consecutive days for tax purposes but does not limit how many nights per…

Amarillo has no STR-specific noise rules because the city has no general noise ordinance. STR guests are subject only to the Texas Penal Code disorderly conduct provisions regarding…

Amarillo STR operators must collect and remit the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) of 7% plus the state HOT of 6% on all short-term rental bookings of less than 30 consecutive days.

Amarillo's zoning code treats a home day care as its own land use with hard numeric limits. Sec. 4-10-83(a)(42) caps a Family Day Care Home at six children at a time, excluding the…

Amarillo lets residents run a business from home only if it stays within tight bounds. Code of Ordinances Sec. 4-10-83(a)(14) requires the occupation be run by a household family…

Amarillo allows a small identifying sign for a home-based business, but not much more. Sec. 4-2-7(G) exempts residential nameplate signs up to two square feet from the sign-permit…

Texas does not license cottage food at all. Health and Safety Code Section 437.0191(a) declares that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment, and…

A detached, one-story tool or storage shed on an Amarillo residential lot needs no building permit as long as its floor area stays at or under 200 square feet, per the city's amended…

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to…

Amarillo requires all construction sites to implement erosion and sediment controls to prevent soil and contaminants from entering the city's stormwater system. Sites disturbing one or…

New and substantially improved residential structures in Amarillo's FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to at least one foot…

Amarillo's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System ordinance bans discharging any pollutant, including oily sheens, corrosive stormwater below pH 5.5, and noxious substances, into city…

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work…

Texas Water Code Section 16.3145 orders the governing body of every Texas city and county to adopt the floodplain-management ordinances or orders needed to qualify for the National…

Amarillo has no local ordinance banning flavored tobacco products or menthol cigarettes. Texas has not enacted a statewide flavor ban; proposed SB 1182 failed to advance. Tobacco sales…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 sets the minimum age for purchasing or possessing tobacco and e-cigarette products at 21 statewide, aligned with federal Tobacco 21. Active…

Amarillo requires owners of vacant lots to keep grass and weeds below 8 inches and free of accumulated trash or debris. The city may abate violations after notice and bill the cost…

Amarillo property owners must clear sidewalk snow and ice fast: two business hours in business districts, and the same day or the first two daylight hours elsewhere, whichever is…

Amarillo prohibits property blight including excessive vegetation, junk accumulations, and unlawful debris. Chapter 8-3 and § 4-3-2 authorize the city to issue notices and abate…

Amarillo limits residential properties to no more than two garage (yard) sales within any 12-month period. Exceeding this limit is a code violation enforced by the Amarillo City…

Amarillo has NO local just-cause eviction ordinance. Texas is a no-cause termination state under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001: a month-to-month tenancy may be ended by either party on 30…

Amarillo declares any structure unfit for human habitation, structurally unsafe, without adequate egress, or an unsecured fire hazard to be a 'Dangerous Structure' and public nuisance…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction)…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is…

Texas law forbids cities from adopting rent control. A municipality may not establish rent control unless its governing body finds a housing emergency caused by a disaster and the…

Texas places no statutory limit on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. However, the landlord must refund the deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the…

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with…

Amarillo provides free residential bulk-item pickup on request under Chapter 8-3. Standard residential garbage collection runs twice per week. Residents may schedule bulky items…

Commercial dumpsters, roll-off boxes, and compactor containers in Amarillo require a Commercial Collection Service permit, and the hauler that services them pays the City an annual fee…

Dumping garbage or trash on Amarillo streets, alleys, private property, or in an unauthorized City container is a civil and criminal offense under Sec. 8-3-3. Civil penalties start at…

Amarillo requires bagged trash and Refuse Storage Carts to sit within three feet of the curbline, placed no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the evening before pickup and no later than 7:00 a.m…

Amarillo residents cannot bag ordinary tree, hedge, shrub, or yard trimmings for automatic pickup: Sec. 8-3-31(4) requires piling them at the front curb and calling the Solid Waste…

Amarillo collects residential cart trash twice a week under the Curbside Cart Collection Program, starting at 7 a.m. Confirm your days with Solid Waste at 806-378-6813; holiday weeks…

Amarillo offers voluntary curbside recycling through Chapter 8-3, §8-3-92 and private haulers. There is no mandatory recycling ordinance. Residents may use city-affiliated or private…

Where Amarillo has built a bicycle lane, cyclists must ride in it rather than the roadway, with narrow exceptions for turns, obstructions, or safety. Drivers may not enter a designated…

Amarillo prohibits any shared mobility service, meaning dockless GPS-equipped scooters, e-bikes, or bicycles offered for rent from public property, from operating on public sidewalks…

Amarillo does not sort electric bicycles into Texas's Class 1-3 tiers in its own code; instead it regulates 'motor-assisted devices' capped at a 1,000-watt electric motor, banning them…

Amarillo cannot run red-light cameras. Texas Transportation Code 707.020, enacted by House Bill 1631 in 2019, prohibits every local authority from implementing or operating a…

Rideshare drivers picking up or dropping off at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport pay a $1.00 per-trip ground transportation fee and must use the airport's designated…

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic…

Sec. 10-3-45 makes it a Class C misdemeanor to camp on a municipal facility or public right-of-way between midnight and 5 a.m. without permission, and lets the city summarily remove…

Amarillo Code Sec. 4-5-2 makes it unlawful to install, alter, repair or replace water, sewer, gas, drainage or water-heating plumbing without a permit from the Department of Building…

Amarillo's amended building code bars manually operated flush or surface bolts on doors required for a means of egress under amended Section 1010.2.5, closing a hardware gap that can…

Amarillo's amended Building Code requires the building official to inspect construction at each of twelve staged checkpoints set out in Section 110.3, from site survey through final…

Amarillo requires a building permit before starting any construction covered by the City's adopted codes. Beginning work without the permit is a punishable offense and triggers a $298…

Amarillo's amended Residential Code requires a carbon monoxide alarm outside every separate sleeping area, and inside the bedroom itself if a fuel-burning appliance sits in that…

Amarillo adopts the 2020 edition of NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code, with local amendments under Code of Ordinances Sec. 4-4-46, enforced by the Electrical Inspector under the…

Amarillo Code Sec. 10-3-42 makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate within public view or in any public place other than a bathroom or enclosure built for that purpose. Police cite…

Amarillo bans drinking near a parked vehicle in public under Sec. 10-3-43 and bans open containers outright inside a defined Central Business District zone under Sec. 10-3-44. Both…

Amarillo does not ban smoking across its parks generally, but its Parks Conduct ordinance bars tobacco and alcohol at specific times and places: during youth sport league games or…

Amarillo pedestrians must use a marked crosswalk when crossing between two traffic-signal-controlled intersections, and the same crosswalk-only rule applies anywhere inside the…

Amarillo makes it an offense to stand on or near a roadway to solicit a ride, money, employment, or business from people inside passing vehicles. The rule targets roadside panhandling…

Amarillo traffic code keeps anyone on rollerskates, a coaster, or similar toy vehicle off city roadways except while crossing at a crosswalk, and the Amarillo Skate Park sets separate…

Amarillo caps non-consent tow fees at $210-$459 by vehicle weight under Sec. 10-3-111, bars kickbacks between property owners and towing companies, and requires 24 hours of posted…

Any Amarillo secondhand dealer holding a state sales tax permit must keep a daily record book naming each item received and the seller's identifying details, open to police inspection…

In Amarillo, an adult business must sit at least 1,000 feet from homes, churches, schools, hospitals, child-care facilities, parks, hotels, and any other adult business, and it needs a…

Amarillo has no independent local vape-retail licensing ordinance. E-cigarette retailers in Amarillo must comply with Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 147, which requires a…

Amarillo's curfew ordinance bars anyone under 17 from public places or businesses between 12:01 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Parents, guardians, and business operators who knowingly let a minor…

Amarillo parks and playgrounds, including their streets and parking areas, are off-limits without a permit between midnight and 5 a.m., and the Amarillo Skate Park additionally closes…

Amarillo's Code of Ordinances bans storing structures, vehicles, fences, merchandise displays, or debris on any public sidewalk, street, alley, or right-of-way. Section 4-6-182 lists…

Private use of Amarillo's public right-of-way, from an awning over a sidewalk to a fence encroachment, requires a license from the City under section 4-6-189. Applicants pay a $276…

Amarillo puts sidewalk repair squarely on the abutting property owner. Section 4-6-187 requires owners to keep the sidewalk and driveway approach apron in good repair, and makes them…

Any new construction or exterior remodel inside Amarillo's Downtown Urban Design District needs a certificate of appropriateness before the Building Safety Department will issue a…

Newly annexed land in Amarillo starts out zoned 'A' Agricultural District under section 4-10-64, and stays that way until the City Council adopts different zoning. While in that…

The Texas Right to Farm Act, Agriculture Code Chapter 251, protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits and local regulations after one year of operation. HB…

Any one- or two-family home built in a designated flood zone in Amarillo must carry a finish floor elevation certificate sealed by a Texas-licensed engineer under amended Section R322…

Amarillo's amended Residential Code bars re-covering a roof over deteriorated decking, more than one existing layer, or asphalt shingles in the city's mapped moderate-to-severe hail…

Amarillo caps how much of a lot a structure can cover by zoning district under City Code Sec. 4-10-173, with the actual percentage set in Table 1, Summary of Development Standards. R-1…

Amarillo limits building height by zoning district under City Code Sec. 4-10-194, tying the ceiling to Table 1, Summary of Development Standards. R-1, R-2 and R-3 homes top out at two…

Amarillo fixes minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks by zoning district in Table 1 of the Summary of Development Standards, referenced from City Code Secs. 4-10-170 through…

Amarillo's zoning ordinance controls where a mobile food unit can operate, separate from its state health permit. Section 4-10-295(e) requires written property owner approval on…

Amarillo mobile food units must hold a Food Establishment permit from the Amarillo Area Public Health District, with a central preparation facility/commissary unless the Environmental…

Under Texas Health & Safety Code Section 437.0045, a county, city, or public health district may require a food truck permit only if the Department of State Health Services would…

Amarillo's industrial performance standards bar glare that crosses onto neighboring property. Under City Code Sec. 4-10-292(g) and Sec. 4-10-293(h), no use in the I-1, PD or I-2…

Amarillo treats adding lights to a dark, legally nonconforming billboard, or brightening an already-lit one, as a prohibited 'upgrade' rather than routine maintenance. Section…

Amarillo designates buildings, sites and districts of cultural, historical or architectural significance as protected Landmarks or Historic Districts under Chapter 4-11. The City…

Amarillo levies a 7% occupancy tax on any hotel room costing $2.00 or more per day, dedicated to tourism and convention promotion, with hotel operators required to enroll, collect, and…

Amarillo exempts window signs from its sign permit only when they are temporary and cover no more than half of the total window area. Go over 50 percent, or leave a sign up as a…

Amarillo bans new off-premise (billboard) signs citywide except along five named freeway corridors: Interstate 40, Interstate 27, State Highway 60, and Highways 87 and 287, where…

A garage sale sign in Amarillo is exempt from the city's sign permit only if it stays at four square feet or smaller, sits on private property, and comes down within one day after the…

Amarillo's sign code lets an on-premises electronic message center display a static image or scroll text across the face, but bans dissolve, fade, and animation effects unless each…

Amarillo Code Chapter 4-2 (Signs) exempts seasonal and holiday decorations at residential properties from sign permit requirements. Displays such as Christmas lights, wreaths, and…

In Amarillo, Texas Election Code §259.003 bars the city from requiring a permit, charging a fee, or capping the size of a political sign on private property posted with the owner's…

Amarillo requires a Certified Food Manager on-site during every hour a food establishment operates, under Code Sec. 8-5-18(a). Restaurants ranked low-risk (Level 1 or 2) can skip that…

Amarillo scores every food establishment after each inspection and converts the number into a letter grade under Code Sec. 8-5-20. A 90-or-above sanitation score earns an 'A,' while a…

Amarillo's Fire Code bars open-flame cooking and heating devices, including smokers, grills, and outdoor fireplaces, from combustible balconies and decks, and requires 10 feet of…

Amarillo requires a permit before any parade, race, block party, or festival closes a public street, alley, or sidewalk. The Traffic Engineer and Police Chief jointly review…

A block party in Amarillo is defined as a gathering of 200 or fewer people that closes a residential street, and it needs an Event permit under Sec. 16-3-275. The application, filed…

Amarillo festivals of more than 200 people that close a Central Business District or commercial street need a permit from the Traffic Engineer. Only nonprofit organizations may apply…

Groups of 50 or more, or anyone wanting extended park hours, must get a Parks and Recreation Director permit; Amarillo charges Special Event fees from $1,000 for a small one-day…

Amarillo Code Sec. 4-5-36 lets landscape irrigation systems use reclaimed water only with purple-coded piping, an approved backflow device isolating it from the potable line, no spray…

Amarillo requires door-to-door solicitors, peddlers, and canvassers to obtain a permit from the Amarillo Police Department before conducting solicitation activities within city limits…

Amarillo Municipal Code §§ 14-6-55 through 14-6-62 require commercial door-to-door solicitors to obtain a permit from the Amarillo Police Department before canvassing. Texas law also…

Amarillo requires a building permit and electrical permit for all rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV installations. Permits cost $50–$500, take about 2 weeks to approve, and must…

Section 202.010 of the Texas Property Code voids any homeowners association rule that bans or restricts installing a solar energy device, a term that under Tax Code Section 171.107…

Amarillo's own subdivision ordinance stays out of private homeowners association rules. Section 4-6-1(e) says the City's platting chapter does not repeal, impair or interfere with…

Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, unpaid assessments become a lien (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0094), but a Texas HOA may not foreclose that lien without first…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs residential subdivision homeowners associations, not condominium associations and not associations that are themselves subject to the Public…

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown…

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a…

A Texas property owners' association cannot sell your home at a trustee's sale the way a mortgage lender can. Tex. Prop. Code Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a…

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 sets no cap on how much of a subdivision an association can rent out, no minimum lease term, and no grandfather clause: a declaration can still ban…

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 487 limits cannabis dispensing to state-licensed Compassionate Use Program providers: expanded to as many as 15 organizations by HB 46 (2025). There…

Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 makes it a crime to possess or grow marijuana anywhere in the state. Home cultivation is illegal in every Texas city and county regardless of plant…

Texas Government Code Chapter 423 occupies the field of unmanned aircraft regulation. Cities and counties cannot adopt their own recreational drone ordinances, though limited municipal…

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 expressly preempts municipal and county minimum wage ordinances. The state minimum wage equals the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, and political…

Texas appellate courts have struck down municipal paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio as preempted under the Texas Minimum Wage Act. HB 2127 (2023) further…

Texas authorizes License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry concealed handguns statewide under Government Code Chapter 411. Since 2021, permitless constitutional carry under HB 1927 also…

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances…

Texas authorizes open carry of holstered handguns statewide for adults 21 and older under Penal Code 46.02 and HB 910 (2015). Long guns may be openly carried subject to disorderly…

Texas Penal Code 46.02(a-1) lets any non-prohibited adult carry a handgun inside a personally-owned or leased motor vehicle or watercraft without a License to Carry. Since HB 1927…

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 234, Subchapter E lets any county's commissioners court license, zone, and inspect "game rooms": for-profit businesses with six or more skill or…

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place…

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code §…

The Texas Legislature has authorized exactly one vehicle checkpoint program, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. Government Code Section 411.0095 lets the Department of Public…

Texas has never enacted an express statutory right to film police, so the legal boundary for a bystander with a phone is set by the offense of Interference with Public Duties, Texas…

Texas Penal Code Section 38.02 makes it a crime to refuse your name, residence address, or date of birth only after a peace officer has already lawfully arrested you. Being detained on…

No Texas statute obliges a driver to consent to a vehicle search, and none requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What Texas law does require is a paper trail: Article…

The Texas Supreme Court in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) held that Health and Safety Code Section 361.0961 preempts municipal plastic bag bans. Cities and…

Texas regulates extra lighting by color, count, height and aim rather than by naming underglow. Transportation Code Section 547.305 bars any lamp showing red from directly in front of…

Texas grants no square inches of windshield to a camera. Transportation Code Section 547.613(a)(1) makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material placed on or…

Texas banned motorcycle lane splitting in plain words on September 1, 2023. Transportation Code Section 545.0605(a)(3)(B), added by House Bill 4122 of the 88th Legislature, says the…

Texas outlaws license plate covers in Transportation Code Section 504.945(a)(7), which makes it an offense to display a plate carrying a coating, covering, protective substance or…

Texas does not prohibit owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. The one radar offense in the vehicle equipment chapter, Transportation Code Section…

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block…

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets…