San Antonio, TX Animal Ordinances: Beekeeping (2026)
Key Facts
- Local hive limit
- None: no city ordinance
- Permit / setback
- None required
- Governing law
- Texas Agriculture Code Ch. 131
- State registration
- Voluntary (Sec. 131.045)
- Home apiary marking
- Exempt (Sec. 131.061(b))
Summary
San Antonio sets no hive count, no setback, and no permit for backyard beekeeping. Honeybees fall outside both the city animal code and the Unified Development Code, so residential keepers answer only to Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 131, under which state registration is voluntary.
Sec. 131.045. BEEKEEPER REGISTRATION. (a) Each beekeeper in this state may register on an annual basis with the chief apiary inspector. A registration under this section expires August 31 following the date the registration is issued. ... Sec. 131.061. IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED. ... (b) An apiary at the principal residence of a beekeeper is exempt from the requirements of Subsection (a).
Full Breakdown
San Antonio's animal code, Chapter 5, regulates dogs, cats and livestock, swine, bovines, equines, sheep and goats, but names no bees. The Unified Development Code use matrix (Sec. 35-311) and its supplemental use regulations, Sec. 35-370 through 35-399, list no apiary or beekeeping use. So no city ordinance caps hive numbers, requires a permit, or sets a setback for backyard bees. Honeybees are governed solely by Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 131: registering with the state chief apiary inspector is voluntary, and a home-residence apiary is exempt from the hive-marking rule. Disease-control and branding offenses under that chapter are Class C misdemeanors.
Violations & Fines
Keeping bees is not a San Antonio code violation: there is no local hive, permit, or setback rule to break. Under state law, shipping diseased bees or an interstate move without a permit is a Class C misdemeanor enforced by the chief apiary inspector.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to keep bees in San Antonio?
Is there a limit on how many backyard hives I can have?
Are there any rules at all on beekeeping?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Antonio
Texas rules heatmap·Compare San Antonio to another location·View the Texas animal ordinances overview
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Beekeeping in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Bexar County handle beekeeping.