Cincinnati, OH Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Beekeeping is governed by Schedule 1422-05 of Chapter 1422, Cincinnati's Urban Agriculture code. Every apiary needs a minimum of 2,500 square feet of lot area, and hives are capped at two apiaries of 30 cubic feet per 10,000 square feet of land. A 6-foot flyway screen, a fence or hedge set within three feet of any hive entry, is required unless the apiary sits more than 150 feet from every property line, in which case the screen isn't needed. Apiaries can be located on the ground or on a rooftop: ground apiaries need a 10-foot setback from any property line and a 25-foot setback from the nearest inhabited structure when a flyway screen is in place, while rooftop apiaries need only a 6-foot setback from the edge of the roof.

Every apiary must post bee warning or notice signs at the property line, following the Ohio Department of Agriculture's rules and regulations. Beekeeping gets a specific carve-out from the chapter's general animal-density rule: § 1422-05(b)(1)(i) caps how many categories of animals a lot can keep before triggering a cumulative land-area requirement, but that provision 'does not apply to dogs, cats, common indoor household pets, and bees', so bees don't count against a property's other animal-keeping allowance. Keepers still have to meet the chapter's general maintenance duties under § 1422-07: a constant water supply, rodent-proof feed storage, odor and pest control, proper waste disposal, and keeping waste out of the stormwater system, all judged against Cincinnati Board of Health regulations.