Guilford County Code Chapter 5 does not license or cap backyard beehives. Beekeeping is treated as an agricultural/accessory use under county zoning, and North Carolina encourages it statewide; keep hives from becoming a nuisance to neighbors.
There is no county-wide beekeeping permit or hive-count limit in Chapter 5. In unincorporated Guilford County, hives are governed by the zoning district (agricultural and rural residential districts readily allow them) and by general nuisance standards. North Carolina's Bee and Honey Act (NC Gen. Stat. Chapter 106, Article 55) supports apiaries and provides for state registration/inspection, but does not require a county permit. Incorporated cities such as Greensboro have their own hive-setback ordinances that do not apply to unincorporated county land. Site hives with adequate water and flyway barriers to avoid nuisance complaints.
No specific beekeeping penalty exists in the county code; a hive that creates a documented nuisance can be abated under the county nuisance ordinance or zoning enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Guilford County's beekeeping rules stack up against other locations.
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