Noblesville, IN Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)

Indiana enacted explicit statewide beekeeping preemption in 2019 with Public Law 193-2019 (originating as Senate Enrolled Act 529), codified at Indiana Code 36-1-28-1. The statute provides that a unit (city, county, town, or township) may NOT adopt or continue in effect any ordinance, rule, regulation, or resolution that prohibits a person from beekeeping on property that the person owns, rents, or leases. Municipalities retain authority to adopt an ordinance, rule, regulation, or resolution that regulates beekeeping in two specific ways: (1) concerning the number of active bee hives a person may operate and the location of bee hives on the property, AND (2) only if those regulations conform to standards established by the Apiary Inspectors of America. Effective July 1, 2019, the law immediately invalidated any Indiana municipal ordinance that had outright banned beekeeping inside city limits. Noblesville Code Section 90.27 specifically lists 'hogs, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep or cows' as the prohibited species - bees are not on that list, and Chapter 90 does not contain a separate beekeeping provision, so backyard hives are permitted in Noblesville without a city permit or numeric cap. The state-level apiary regulator is the Indiana State Apiarist within the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology (DEPP), based at 402 W. Washington Street, Indianapolis. The DEPP's Apiary Inspection Program operates under IC 14-24-9 (which authorizes inspection of apiaries and enforcement of disease quarantine for American foulbrood and other regulated bee diseases). Indiana also offers a voluntary state apiary registration program through DEPP - registration is recommended so the State Apiarist can notify beekeepers of pesticide spray applications and disease outbreaks. The Beekeepers of Indiana (statewide association) and Purdue Extension provide training; the Hamilton County Beekeepers Association is the local affiliate serving Noblesville. Best practices recommended by Purdue Extension and consistent with Apiary Inspectors of America standards include: provide a clean water source within 25 feet of the hives so foragers do not visit neighbor swimming pools; install a flyway barrier at least 6 feet high if hives are within 25 feet of a property line; orient hive entrances away from neighbor foot traffic; use gentle European honey-bee strains; inspect annually for American foulbrood.