Santa Rosa County cannot regulate registered honeybee colonies. Florida law (FS 586.10) preempts beekeeping regulation to the state Department of Agriculture (FDACS). Register your colonies with FDACS and follow state Best Management Practices.
Beekeeping in Florida is governed by the state, not the county. FS 586.10 preempts the authority to regulate, inspect, and permit managed honeybee colonies and to set rules on their placement to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, superseding any county or city ordinance. That means Santa Rosa County cannot ban hives or impose its own setbacks on registered, inspected colonies. Beekeepers must register their colonies with FDACS (renewed annually) and comply with the state's adopted Best Management Requirements, which set colony-density and maintenance standards by lot size. Contact FDACS's Apiary Inspection program to register.
Enforcement is by FDACS, not the county. Keeping unregistered colonies or non-compliant hives can lead to state inspection, quarantine, or destruction orders under Ch. 586.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Santa Rosa County, FL
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Santa Rosa County, FL
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Santa Rosa County, FL
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Santa Rosa County, FL
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Santa Rosa County, FL
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Santa Rosa County, FL
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