Madera County, CA Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

For unincorporated Madera County, there is no separately published countywide backyard-beekeeping ordinance in the Animals and Agriculture title. Whether and where hives may be kept is governed by the parcel's zoning under Title 18, with agricultural and rural-residential parcels in this heavily agricultural county generally well-suited to apiaries. The key legal obligation comes from California state law rather than a unique county rule. Under the California Food and Agricultural Code (Article 4, beginning at Section 29040), every person who owns or possesses an apiary located in the state must, as of January 1 each year, register the number of colonies in each apiary and the location of each apiary. That registration is filed with the agricultural commissioner of the county in which the apiary is located—so Madera County beekeepers register with the Madera County Agricultural Commissioner. Beekeepers also report apiary locations so they can receive pesticide-application notifications, which is especially important amid Madera's orchards and row crops. Beyond registration, beekeepers should site hives to avoid creating a nuisance for neighbors (for example, by managing flight paths, providing a water source, and maintaining setbacks appropriate to the lot). Because the binding rules are largely state-level, the safest approach is to register annually with the County Agricultural Commissioner and confirm any zoning limits with County Planning before placing hives.