Okaloosa County, FL Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Section 586.10, Florida Statutes, strips county and municipal governments of authority over managed honeybee colonies: the statute preempts to the state, through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, "the authority to regulate, inspect, and permit managed honeybee colonies and to adopt rules on the placement and location of registered inspected managed honeybee colonies," and it "supersedes any related ordinance adopted by a county, municipality, or political subdivision." Okaloosa County's Land Development Code recognizes that preemption directly: § 2.21.05.10.c states plainly that beekeeping "shall be allowed as authorized and regulated by the State of Florida," rather than setting a lot-size minimum, hive count, or setback the way the county does for backyard poultry in the same section.

That leaves the Department, not the county's Growth Management Department, running the actual regulatory program. The Department administers and enforces Chapter 586, adopts rules on standard honey grades and colony placement, and issues certificates of registration and inspection to beekeepers under § 586.10(3)(k). A registered keeper's colonies are subject to state inspection and quarantine, and the Department can order destruction of diseased colonies or an unwanted race of honeybee, but none of that runs through county code enforcement. Because the county code treats beekeeping as an accessory use permitted in every zoning district by deferring to the state, a homeowner does not need a county zoning permit or variance to keep hives; the practical requirement is registering the apiary with the state under Chapter 586, not applying to Growth Management.