Keeping honey bees is legal across Sarpy County, but Nebraska's Apiary Act requires every beekeeper to register hives with the state Department of Agriculture. Cities like Bellevue add their own placement and hive rules on residential lots.
Beekeeping is lawful throughout Sarpy County, and Nebraska treats bees as livestock. Under the Nebraska Apiary Act, sections 81-2,165 to 81-2,180, every beekeeper must register their colonies with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, which inspects for disease and pests; hives must use removable frames so they can be examined. On the county's acreages and agricultural land, hives are routine. In the cities, local code adds conditions: Bellevue regulates residential beekeeping by ordinance, typically capping hive counts, setting setbacks from property lines, and expecting a water source and flyway barrier so bees rise over neighbors. Confirm the rules with your city before placing hives.
Keeping unregistered hives violates the Apiary Act, and state inspectors may order treatment or destruction of a diseased colony. Hives placed against city setbacks, or a colony that becomes a documented nuisance, draw a local correction order.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Sarpy County, NE
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Sarpy County, NE
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See how Sarpy County's beekeeping rules stack up against other locations.
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