Birmingham, AL Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)
Key Facts
- Max hives
- Up to 10 hives per lot
- Small-lot cap
- 2 hives under 10,000 sq ft
- Setback
- 20 feet from all property lines
- Flyway barrier
- 6 ft tall, 3 ft past opening
- Placement
- Rear yard only
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Planning, Engineering and Permits
Summary
Birmingham's Zoning Ordinance lets a homeowner keep up to ten beehives as an accessory use to a residential structure or community garden, but every apiary must sit in the rear yard, stay 20 feet from all property lines, and include a six-foot flyway barrier that forces bees to fly up and over neighboring yards instead of straight across the fence line.
17.Apiary provided that it is accessory to a residential structure or community garden, located in a rear yard, hives are set back from property lines by 20 feet, a continuous water source is available, a flyway barrier (fence or dense evergreen shrub) is provided that is six feet high and extends three feet either side of the hive opening, hive opening faces the flyway barrier, two hives are allowed on lots less than 10,000 square feet and one additional hive per 4,000 square feet is allowed on lots larger than 10,000 square feet with a maximum of ten hives per lot.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 3).
Full Breakdown
The E-1 Estate District's use table, which every single-family and two-family residential district in the city (R-1 through R-4A) adopts by reference through the clause permitting 'any use permitted in the E-1 Estate District,' lists Apiary as item 17 among the accessory uses a homeowner or community garden operator can add without a rezoning. The hive count scales with lot size: a lot under 10,000 square feet is capped at two hives, and every additional 4,000 square feet of lot area adds one more hive, up to a citywide ceiling of ten hives on any single lot.
Placement is fixed, not left to the beekeeper's judgment: hives must sit in the rear yard, 20 feet back from every property line, next to a continuous water source so bees do not congregate at a neighbor's pool or hose bib. A flyway barrier, either a solid fence or a dense evergreen hedge, has to stand six feet tall and extend three feet past each side of the hive opening, and the hive opening itself must face into that barrier so departing bees are pushed upward before they clear the yard.
Birmingham's separate A-1 and A-2 Agricultural Districts and its M-1/M-1A industrial districts carry their own, larger-scale apiary standards for outdoor urban farms (25-foot and 50-foot setbacks, up to 40 hives), but those apply only on land actually zoned for agriculture or industry, not on an ordinary residential lot. A homeowner who wants more hives than the residential table allows has to apply for a rezoning or a special exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment rather than simply exceeding the cap.
Violations & Fines
Birmingham enforces its Zoning Ordinance through the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits, whose director is charged under Article VII with reporting and acting on apparent violations. An apiary that skips the rear-yard placement, setback, water-source, or flyway-barrier conditions is a zoning violation subject to the Code's general penalty, Sec. 1-1-6: a fine up to $500.00 or up to six months in the city jail, workhouse, or hard labor, with each day of continued violation counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many beehives can I keep at my Birmingham home?
Where on my property can I put a beehive?
Do I need a permit to keep bees in Birmingham?
Can I keep more hives if I have a large lot?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Birmingham
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