Beaufort County, SC Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Use classification
- Personal Services (grooming, no boarding)
- Boarding triggers
- Reclassified as Animal Services: Kennel
- By-right zones
- T2RNO, T2RC, T3NO, T4 zones, C4, C5
- Kennel review
- Conditional Use in only 6 zones
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 30 days jail per day
Summary
Beaufort County's Community Development Code classifies stand-alone pet grooming as a Personal Service under the size-tiered General Offices & Services use, permitted by right in several rural-center and T4 zones. Grooming that comes with boarding is reclassified as Animal Services: Kennel, with its own narrower, conditional-use-only zone list.
4. Personal Services. Establishments providing non-medical services to individuals, including, but not limited to: barber and beauty shops, dry cleaners, small appliance repair, laundromats, massage therapists, pet grooming with no boarding, shoe repair shops, tanning salons, funeral homes. These uses may include incidental retails sales related to the services they provide.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 55 Update 1 | Community Development Code: Supplement 16).
Full Breakdown
60 marks the 3,500-square-foot-or-less tier 'P,' Permitted By Right, in T2 Rural Neighborhood Open, T2 Rural Center, T3 Neighborhood Open, all four T4 subzones, and C4 and C5; the same tier is 'C,' Permitted with Conditions, in C3 Neighborhood Mixed Use and SI Special Industrial, and not permitted at all in T1 Natural, T2 Rural, T2 Rural Lot, T2 Rural Neighborhood, T3 Edge, T3 Hamlet Neighborhood or T3 Neighborhood. 60 marks Kennel 'C,' requiring Conditional Use approval, only in T2 Rural, T2 Rural Center, T4 Hamlet Center Open, T4 Neighborhood Center, C4 and C5, and not permitted anywhere else, including C3.
Violations & Fines
Operating a grooming business, with or without boarding, in a zone where its use classification is marked not permitted, or without the Conditional Use approval a Kennel requires, is a Development Code violation under Section 9.2.30. The Code Enforcement Department can issue a stop order under Section 9.5.20; conviction is a misdemeanor of up to $500 or 30 days' imprisonment under Section 9.5.10, with each day of continued operation a separate offense under Section 9.4.70.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a pet grooming shop with no boarding allowed in Beaufort County?
Does boarding animals overnight change the zoning rules for a groomer?
What if my grooming business is in the wrong zone?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Beaufort County
Compare Beaufort County to another location·View the South Carolina animal ordinances overview
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