Charleston County sets no general household cap on the number of dogs or cats for personal use in unincorporated areas. Once you keep enough animals to constitute a kennel, ZLDR zoning and licensing rules apply, and all animals must be vaccinated and restrained.
The county's animal ordinance focuses on restraint, vaccination, and nuisance rather than a strict per-household pet number. Owners keeping animals at a scale that meets the ZLDR definition of a kennel or commercial animal use must site that use in a permitting zoning district and may need a license. Regardless of count, every dog and cat must be currently rabies-vaccinated, kept from running at large, and not allowed to become a nuisance (noise, waste, odor). Municipalities within the county may set their own numeric pet limits that differ from the county's approach.
Operating an unpermitted kennel, or animals creating a nuisance, is enforced by Code Enforcement and animal control; abatement, license requirements, and penalties can follow.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Charleston County's pet limits rules stack up against other locations.
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