Annapolis, MD

Annapolis caps outdoor sound by zoning district and time of day: 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential zones, with higher limits in mixed-use and commercial districts.

Annapolis adopts Maryland's COMAR 11.14.07.02 through .12 as the City's own Motor Vehicle Noise Standards, covering exhaust, muffler and general vehicle noise, enforced through the…

Annapolis has banned gas-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums citywide since December 30, 2024, making all handheld, backpack, and walk-behind combustion models illegal to use…

Annapolis caps outdoor sound, including amplified music, at 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential zones, with higher limits downtown and in commercial districts, enforced…

Annapolis applies its citywide decibel-based noise ordinance to construction equipment: work sites must stay within the same daytime/nighttime dBA limits set for the zoning district…

Annapolis cuts the legal decibel ceiling at 10 p.m. every night, dropping residential noise limits from 65 dBA to 55 dBA until 7 a.m.

Annapolis bans letting an animal disturb the quiet of a person or neighborhood, with a fine after one warning.

Anne Arundel County doesn't regulate aircraft noise directly, but it gives owner-occupied homes in the BWI Airport Noise Zone a real property tax credit.

Annapolis has no separate leash ordinance. City Code § 8.04.020 adopts Anne Arundel County's Animal Control Article 12, including its leash and at-large rules, and the County enforces…

Annapolis zoning permits animal hospitals and veterinarian offices outright only in the BCE Business Corridor Enhancement district, requires a special exception in the B3 and B3-CD…

Annapolis zoning bars overnight boarding at pet grooming facilities and requires operators to hold an Anne Arundel County grooming parlor license under City Code § 21.64.495, with…

Annapolis caps backyard flocks at five chickens per property, bars roosters and all other livestock, and requires neighbor notice plus a Planning and Zoning permit before any chickens…

Anne Arundel County's Department of Animal Services must microchip an impounded animal at the owner's expense before redemption if the owner had a qualifying animal-control violation…

Anne Arundel County bans owned cats from roaming at large but exempts eartipped community cats, and lets registered trap-neuter-return caregivers reclaim colony cats fee-free: with no…

Anne Arundel County has no breed-specific ban. Animal Control designates individual dogs potentially dangerous, dangerous, or vicious based on documented conduct under County Code §…

Anne Arundel County allows bird sanctuaries as a conditional zoning use, requiring at least three acres, 100-foot setbacks from residential property, and nonprofit accreditation for…

Anne Arundel County's zoning code caps how many pets, livestock, and fowl a household may keep, scaling the limit to lot size: no more than 9 cats, a rising dog schedule past 4, and…

Operating a wildlife or animal rescue facility anywhere in unincorporated Anne Arundel County requires a $25 annual county license: the operator must be a registered nonprofit, pass an…

Anne Arundel County does not ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats: retailers must meet care standards under Code § 12-4-805 and report every sale to Animal Services within two…

Anne Arundel County requires owners to have a dog or cat spayed or neutered at their own expense before redeeming it, once that animal has been impounded unaltered twice within 12…

Anne Arundel County prohibits keeping any wild, exotic, or vicious animal as a pet or for display, and separately makes keeping skunks, raccoons, and opossums illegal countywide…

Maryland law requires every beekeeper to register their apiary with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and authorizes statewide inspection, treatment, and quarantine of colonies…

Annapolis reserves marked plug-in electric vehicle charging spaces exclusively for plug-in electric vehicles; parking a non-charging vehicle there draws a $100 fine and the vehicle can…

Annapolis lets a commercial vehicle stand curbside beside a parked car only between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. to load or unload, and only where no loading zone or open space exists within 100…

Annapolis bans wrecked, junked, or dismantled vehicles on streets, public property, and private lots; owners may keep one unregistered or uninspected vehicle on their own property for…

Annapolis sets its own towing ceiling rather than leaving it to Anne Arundel County. Section 7.52.120.B states that a licensed towing company "shall charge only fees approved by the…

Annapolis bars parking next to any curb marked with a red line, carrying a $300 fine and towing under City Code § 12.20.020.

Annapolis requires vehicles to park facing the direction of travel, within twelve inches of the curb, and clear of driveways; violations draw fines set by City Council resolution and…

Parking is banned on designated snow emergency routes once the Director of Public Works declares Phase II or Phase III of the City's snow emergency plan, with towing authorized for…

Annapolis bars parking any vehicle over 16,000 pounds GVWR, or wider than 80 inches, or longer than 276 inches, on streets in or around residential zoning districts.

Annapolis bans trailers, including boat trailers, from parking on any public street, lane or alley, and caps oversized motor homes at 48 consecutive hours in the same locations; boat…

Annapolis creates numbered Special Residential Parking Districts by City Council ordinance; only residents whose address is on a street listed inside that district may get a parking…

Anne Arundel County requires driveways at least 9 feet wide, paved in concrete, blacktop, or approved material, with two off-street parking pads for detached homes.

Annapolis limits home-based professional office or studio signs to one two-square-foot sign per lot (two on corner lots), capped at fifteen feet high and set back at least five feet…

Annapolis limits home-based businesses to 25% of a dwelling's floor area, one non-resident employee, and a fixed list of permitted occupations, banning retail resale of purchased goods…

Annapolis zoning allows family and large family child care homes as a residential use, but only if the provider actually lives in the house and the operation stays as quiet and…

Maryland lets you sell homemade food from a residential kitchen without any licence or inspection, provided the business stays under $50,000 a year in cottage food sales and the…

Maryland has no microenterprise home kitchen permit. The word microenterprise does not appear anywhere in COMAR 10.15.03, the chapter that governs food service facilities, and the four…

Annapolis regulates residential propane and LP-gas installations through NFPA 58 (2020 Edition), which the city has formally adopted by ordinance, plus local amendments requiring…

Annapolis requires owners of every rental dwelling unit to install smoke alarms outside sleeping areas, in bedrooms, and on every story under City Code § 17.40.440.

Consumer fireworks are banned statewide under Maryland Code, Public Safety §10-101. Annapolis Code reinforces the ban. Only sparklers not containing chlorates or perchlorates…

Recreational fires under one cubic yard, like fire pits and campfires, are allowed without a license as long as they don't create a nuisance or air pollution.

Anne Arundel County bans open fires without a Health Department license, though leaf and refuse burns, cooking fires, and small recreational campfires under one cubic yard are allowed…

When wildfire danger climbs, the Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources or the Governor may impose a burning ban under Natural Resources Article 5-720. Once that ban is in effect…

Annapolis caps non-owner-occupied short-term rentals at 10% of homes per blockface, with owner-occupied hosting fully exempt from the cap.

Annapolis revokes or denies a short-term rental license after three verified nuisance violations at the property, with the Director of Planning and Zoning acting as final arbiter of…

Excessive noise, traffic, or unruly behavior tied to a short-term rental is grounds for Annapolis to deny, suspend, or revoke the property's license, and three verified nuisance…

Annapolis bars listing a property on any short-term hosting platform before a license issues, requires the license number in every platform ad, and makes the Department notify all…

Annapolis requires short-term rental licensees to register with the state comptroller for sales and use tax and with Anne Arundel County for hotel occupancy tax before a license issues.

Annapolis short-term rental licenses require at least one occupant over age 21 for the entire stay, cap any single tenant's stay at 90 days, and tie the maximum overnight occupant…

Annapolis requires a short-term rental license before a property may be listed on any hosting platform, and the license holder must be the property owner.

Anne Arundel County requires short-term rental hosts to submit proof of insurance with their registration application to the Department, alongside safety certification and other…

Anne Arundel County sets no minimum parking count for short-term rentals, but every host must disclose the number of on-site parking spaces on the registration application filed with…

Annapolis requires a rental license under Chapter 17.44 for any accessory dwelling unit, and the ADU and principal structure must stay in common ownership with the owner living in one…

Annapolis allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, caps standalone ADUs at 850 square feet, requires a Chapter 17.44 rental license, and requires the owner to live in the ADU or the…

Annapolis classifies carports and garages as accessory structures allowed by right, but its bulk regulations table sets numeric yard setbacks for them: in the R1 single-family…

Annapolis requires the property owner to live in either the accessory dwelling unit or the principal structure: an investor-owned ADU rented out while the owner lives elsewhere is not…

Anne Arundel County has adopted the International Residential Code's Appendix AQ, giving tiny houses their own construction standards separate from standard one- and two-family…

Anne Arundel County exempts accessory dwelling units from development impact fees, but only if the ADU isn't built alongside a new principal single-family house.

Converting a garage into living space counts as an accessory dwelling unit under Anne Arundel County Code § 18-10-124, capped at 800 square feet or 50% of the main house's floor area…

Annapolis caps street-facing fences at four feet in its Neighborhood Conservation districts, requires a Planning and Zoning permit for any fence citywide, and bars fences from blocking…

Annapolis lets you build a fence or wall right up to the property line but not over it. Placement responsibility falls entirely on the owner, and boundary disputes are strictly between…

Annapolis requires fence and wall materials to match the character of the surrounding neighborhood and bans barbed wire outright, except at correctional facilities and utility…

When the City orders supplemental inspections on a grading permit, retaining wall construction must be directed and certified adequate by a professional engineer before work is signed…

Annapolis requires a Department of Planning and Zoning permit before erecting, altering, replacing, or removing more than 400 feet of an existing fence or wall, with a scaled site…

Once the Mayor declares a water emergency, lawn and garden watering in Annapolis is limited to even/odd days matching your street's address number, and an extreme emergency bans it…

Annapolis requires developers who remove trees to replant them on a size-based ratio table, or pay a fee-in-lieu of $1,250 per tree outside the Critical Area when on-site planting…

Annapolis caps grass, weeds, and other rank vegetation at one foot on any lot within the city, with exceptions for agricultural land, natural wooded areas, and parcels over three acres…

Annapolis requires trees near public streets and sidewalks to be pruned for a 10-foot clearance over sidewalks and 12 feet over streets, rising to 15 feet on truck routes, enforced by…

Anne Arundel County bans weeds or grass over 12 inches on most properties, but the Director of Public Works may modify that limit for natural wooded areas, covenanted open space, and…

Maryland law requires large food waste generators statewide to divert organics from landfills through reduction, donation, or composting when an organics recycling facility exists…

Annapolis treats backyard hot tubs and spas as swimming pools under Chapter 10.28: a private, family-only hot tub needs a protective enclosure -- a 4-foot fence with a self-latching…

Annapolis strikes the standard code exemption for small pools: § 17.12.021 replaces the adopted Swimming Pool and Spa Code's permit-exempt-work section, so above-ground and portable…

Medical cannabis dispensaries are a permitted-subject-to-standards use in nearly every commercial and industrial zoning district in Annapolis, but City Code bars any dispensary from…

Annapolis requires medical cannabis dispensaries to sit at least one mile from any other licensed dispensary premises: a spacing rule between shops, not a buffer from schools or parks…

The Cannabis Reform Act, codified in Title 36 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, allows adults 21 and older to cultivate up to two cannabis plants per household and…

Annapolis requires approved refuse containers at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on collection day, out no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the evening before, and removed by midnight after pickup.

Annapolis runs a weekly curbside yard trimmings program: bagged clippings and leaves under 50 lbs, brush bundled to 2x4 feet, never mixed into trash.

Annapolis sets exact curbside windows for refuse containers: out by 6:00 a.m. on collection day, no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the prior evening, and removed by midnight after pickup.

Annapolis requires restaurants, delis, and other food-and-beverage businesses to keep trash inside the building or in a properly screened, maintained dumpster on the same property, and…

Annapolis requires every resident whose solid waste the City collects to also participate in mandatory weekly curbside recycling, sorting materials into a City-approved container under…

Annapolis Code Section 10.16.005.C spells out exactly which large household items count as bulk trash, furniture, appliances, and metal objects over 3.5 feet or 35 pounds, while…

Annapolis runs a mandatory weekly curbside recycling program for every residence on City solid waste collection, with materials placed in a City-approved container at the curb.

Dumping litter on public or private property without an approved disposal site is a municipal infraction in Annapolis, punishable by a $250 daily fine under City Code § 11.36.030.

Annapolis requires refuse containers curbside by 6:00 a.m. on collection day, out no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the night before, and removed by midnight after pickup.

Annapolis requires an electrical permit before installing a solar photovoltaic system, issued by the Department of Planning and Zoning and signed by a licensed electrician, with a…

Maryland Real Property §2-119 bars HOAs from prohibiting rooftop solar. HOAs may impose reasonable aesthetic rules that do not significantly increase cost or decrease output. The law…

Annapolis requires a rental operator's license from the Department before any dwelling, dwelling unit, bed and breakfast home, hotel, motel or inn can be rented for occupancy. Renting…

Annapolis landlords must supply working heat to every habitable room and hot water at a minimum 120°F, with central heating required to run October 1 through April 30 under City Code §…

Annapolis has no year-round rent control; increases are capped only during a declared local state of emergency, plus 30 days after.

Anne Arundel County has no just-cause eviction ordinance. Tenancies follow Maryland Real Property Code §8-401 et seq., which allows tenancy-at-will terminations with 60 days' written…

For failure to pay rent, Maryland now requires a 10-day written cure notice before filing summary ejectment (Real Property § 8-401). To evict for a lease breach, the landlord must give…

Maryland adopted a statewide landlord-entry statute effective October 1, 2025. Under Real Property § 8-221, landlords must give at least 24 hours' written notice and may enter only…

Maryland caps late-rent penalties at 5% of the delinquent rent. Under Real Property § 8-208, a lease may not impose a late fee greater than 5% of the overdue rent for the rental…

To end a month-to-month tenancy in Maryland, either party must give 60 days' written notice before the period expires under Real Property § 8-402. Weekly tenancies require 7 days'…

Maryland caps most security deposits at one month's rent for leases entered on or after October 1, 2024, down from the old two-month limit. Landlords must return the deposit with…

Maryland requires 20 years of adverse possession before a squatter can claim land. Under Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-103, an owner must file to recover possession or enter the…

Annapolis's R1 single-family zoning district requires a 25-foot front yard, 8-foot interior side yards, 20-foot corner side yard, and 30-foot rear yard for single-family detached…

Single-family homes in Annapolis's R1 zoning district are capped at 2.5 stories and 35 feet, but a block-face averaging rule can pull the real limit lower than that table maximum.

Within Annapolis's Critical Area Overlay, impervious lot coverage is capped by underlying zoning district: from 50% for residential lots up to 95% for I1 industrial, with tighter…

Annapolis requires a permit for any plumbing or drainage work, signed by a licensed master plumber, before installing, altering, or removing fixtures, piping, or connections under the…

Building a deck or patio in Annapolis requires a permit under City Code § 17.05.010 because a 'platform deck' is expressly defined as a structure in § 17.04.870; exterior work in the…

Child care centers in Annapolis must meet Maryland's Education Article § 9.5 and COMAR licensing standards, plus a city-specific requirement: a Planning and Zoning Director-approved…

New residential construction and major renovations in Annapolis exceeding 50% of gross floor area must install an automatic fire sprinkler system before a building permit issues, per…

New construction and major modifications to commercial buildings over 7,500 square feet, all public buildings, and single-family homes over 3,250 square feet must meet LEED…

Before Annapolis issues a use and occupancy permit, Public Works, Planning and Zoning, the Fire Department, and the Health Department must inspect the site and verify it meets City…

Annapolis requires a permit from the Department of Planning and Zoning before any electrical installation or work begins, and the application must be signed by a licensed master…

Annapolis's Residential Property Maintenance Code bars toxic paint and materials anywhere a child can reach them, and every rental unit must pass this standard before the City issues…

Annapolis rental units with fuel-fired appliances must have a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector, not just a smoke alarm.

Pawnbrokers must file a sworn application with the City Clerk, pass a Chief of Police background investigation, and post a $3,000 bond before Annapolis will issue a license.

Annapolis confines adult bookstores to a Board of Appeals special exception in just three commercial districts, B3, B3-CD, and BCE, with accessory video sales allowed only as part of…

Annapolis requires a City license or signed agency contract before any company may tow disabled, illegally parked, or scofflaw vehicles from city streets, with police vetting and a…

Annapolis requires a City license to operate a massage parlor, with a background investigation by police and health officials and set business hours before an owner can legally open…

Anne Arundel County requires a Second-Hand Dealer License from the Department of Inspections and Permits before buying and reselling used goods, with a background-based fitness…

Anne Arundel County's zoning code limits home occupations to an exhaustive list of allowed trades, and running a car-repair business isn't one of them, not in a house, garage, or…

Anne Arundel County zones tattoo parlors and body piercing salons as a distinct use, permitted outright in C3 and C4 commercial districts, mixed-use districts, and heavy industrial…

Maryland retailers selling electronic smoking devices need a tobacco/ESD retail license overseen by the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission. The 2024 Tobacco Retail Modernization…

Annapolis requires new street trees to sit at least 30 feet from intersections, 15 feet from driveways and alleys, and 10 feet from utility poles or fire hydrants, following the city's…

Anne Arundel County classifies champion trees, historic-site trees, and trees 30+ inches in diameter as priority retention areas that developers must leave undisturbed during land…

Annapolis exempts political signs from permits as temporary signs, capped at 32 square feet, displayed no more than 60 days, and removed within 7 days after the event ends.

Annapolis prohibits billboards outright, along with animated and flashing signs, closing off any path to a digital or electronic billboard display in every zoning district citywide.

In Annapolis, window signs displaying merchandise, services, or matters of public interest inside a structure are exempt from the city's sign permit requirement, provided they aren't…

Garage and yard sale signs need no City permit in Annapolis, but they can't be illuminated or project past the property line into the street, sidewalk, or other public right-of-way.

Annapolis bars any audible security alarm from sounding more than fifteen minutes. An unattended car alarm becomes a public nuisance at that point, and police may disconnect it or have…

Annapolis can order sound testing of installed exterior mechanical equipment, done by a certified sound testing professional, and requires that equipment meet or exceed Maryland's…

Annapolis has no generator-specific rule: a running generator is judged under the citywide noise ordinance's decibel table: 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential zones…

Annapolis alcoholic beverage licensees must cut all music inside a bar or nightclub within 15 minutes of closing and keep sound suppressed so it isn't audible outside the building.

Annapolis levies a special ad valorem tax on real and personal property within a downtown special parking tax district to fund parking garage development; one- and two-unit residential…

Annapolis condemns dwellings as unfit for human habitation when they're hazardously damaged, unsanitary, or lack adequate light, ventilation, or sanitation, triggering vacate and…

Annapolis property owners must clear sidewalk snow, sleet, or ice within three hours of it stopping, or by 11 a.m. the next morning for overnight snowfall, clearing at least four feet…

Anne Arundel County bans rank vegetation and noxious weeds over 12 inches tall on most vacant and improved property, with a 7-day notice-to-cut before the County abates and bills the…

Annapolis bars food trucks from the Historic District except at city-organized special events, and requires written property-owner permission on private land or a permit on public…

Food trucks must hold a City of Annapolis mobile food service vendor license under the Peddlers and Itinerant Merchants chapter, and the application must include a copy of the…

Peddlers, hawkers, itinerant merchants, and mobile vendors need a City-issued license before operating on public property in Annapolis; the Department of Planning and Zoning can…

Annapolis requires new construction and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor to the flood protection elevation, base flood elevation plus…

Any development or construction in a special flood hazard area within Annapolis requires a floodplain permit from the Department of Planning and Zoning before work begins.

Building a pier, dock, mooring pile or other permanent waterway structure in Annapolis requires a City building permit from the Department of Planning and Zoning before any work…

Annapolis requires a grading permit before disturbing land, plus an erosion and sediment control plan approved by the Anne Arundel Soil Conservation District; projects disturbing under…

Any residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional development in Annapolis must include a Department of Public Works-approved stormwater management plan before a grading or…

Annapolis makes aggressive panhandling a misdemeanor, covering threats, harassing language, and demands that make a reasonable person fear for safety.

Annapolis bans urinating or defecating on any public street, sidewalk, beach, dock, lot or building, or anywhere visible from public property, unless using a designated public restroom.

Annapolis bars loitering that blocks streets, sidewalks or public places, but only after police order the person to move on and disperse; refusing that order is the actual violation…

Annapolis bans consuming alcohol or carrying an open or unsealed container on city streets, sidewalks, parking areas, vehicles, and public parks and facilities, with narrow…

Riding a skateboard on a public roadway is illegal in Anne Arundel County wherever the posted speed limit is 30 mph or higher.

Anne Arundel County's Parks Director can prohibit or limit smoking in county parks whenever a potential fire hazard exists, alongside the county's outdoor-fire rules.

Annapolis requires customers to fix broken water or sewer lines after City notice, or forfeit a high-bill leak adjustment on their water charges.

Amos Garrett Park and Chambers Park close at 9 p.m. nightly; Truxtun Park closes at 9 p.m. in winter and 11 p.m. in summer, all three reopening at 6 a.m.

Annapolis, not the abutting owner, repairs and reconstructs sidewalks on the right-of-way once the Director of Public Works finds repair necessary for public safety, funded by an…

Annapolis bars steps, porches, bay windows and similar building parts from projecting more than one-quarter of the sidewalk's width, unless the City Council waives it by resolution for…

Annapolis bars obstructing any public street, alley, sidewalk or footway without a permit from the Director of Public Works, who sets the conditions and time limit for each permit…

Annapolis requires every rental property to pass a Department of Planning and Zoning inspection before the City issues or renews a rental operator's license, making compliance checks…

Annapolis tenants who lose heat, water, or another essential service can force repairs: give the landlord actual notice, and if nothing happens within 48 hours, sue for damages or ask…

Annapolis lets restaurants convert City-owned on-street parking spaces into outdoor dining under a Department of Public Works street café permit, valid up to nine months a year and…

Any street fair, festival, or gathering of more than twenty-five people on Annapolis streets, alleys, or other public property needs a special event permit from the Special Events…

Annapolis exempts block parties from its special event permit requirement, but only if the gathering closes no more than two blocks or one cul-de-sac and serves no alcohol on public…

Events held in parks the City of Annapolis owns or administers do not need a Chapter 14.18 special event permit, except events held in Susan Campbell Park, which still require one.

Annapolis requires a special event permit from the Special Events Coordinator before any parade, assembly, show, or exhibition uses public streets, alleys, rights-of-way, or City…

Annapolis requires a City permit or lease for all outdoor dining, sidewalk cafés, street cafés, and seasonal parking lot dining, under the permanent Chapter 7.35 ordinance adopted in…

Annapolis grants a 15% density bonus for for-sale MPDU projects and 10% for rental MPDU projects above the zone's maximum, plus discretionary code tolerances up to 20% outside the…

Any exterior change to a building in Annapolis's downtown Historic District requires a Certificate of Approval from the Historic Preservation Commission before a building permit can…

Annapolis requires anyone soliciting or canvassing door-to-door or on public ways for donations to register with the Office of Law and get the Mayor's written approval first.

Anne Arundel County licenses peddlers and solicitors under Article 11, but there's no county "no-knock" registry: a posted "No Soliciting" sign rests on Maryland's trespass law…

Annapolis lets residents hold a yard, garage, or estate sale at home without a City license, capped at six days within any twelve-month period; sales beyond that limit require a…

Annapolis City Code § 17.40.760 puts extermination on the occupant of a single-family dwelling or, in a two-family or multifamily building, on each occupant within their own unit…

Annapolis requires a mechanical permit from the Director of Planning and Zoning before installing, altering, or replacing any barbecue, fireplace, or gas-fired appliance covered by…

Anne Arundel County's Fire Prevention Code requires hibachis, gas-fired grills, and charcoal grills (which cover charcoal smokers) to be kept at least 15 feet from combustible…

Annapolis caps site-plan parking lot lighting at three foot-candles at the lot line and requires fixtures to point away from homes and streets so illumination doesn't spill onto…

New development in Annapolis must aim parking lot lighting away from homes and public streets and keep it under three foot-candles at the lot line under the city's site design…

Annapolis lets the City Council designate landmarks of exceptional historic, cultural, archaeological or architectural significance, and any exterior work on one needs a Historic…

Annapolis authorizes stationary and mobile speed monitoring cameras under state law, mainly in school zones, but the City Code contains no red-light camera (traffic-signal monitoring)…

Cyclists may ride on public sidewalks countywide unless the Department of Public Works posts signage prohibiting it, and must yield to pedestrians when they do.

Maryland runs two separate schemes. A golf cart may be driven unregistered, but only on a county or municipal highway the governing body has actually designated for carts, only where…

Filming that requires exclusive use or blocking of a public street in Anne Arundel County counts as a special event and needs a County permit filed at least 90 days ahead.

Anne Arundel County has no separate film permit. Commercial filming that needs exclusive use of public streets, rights-of-way, county waters, or other public property counts as a…

Anne Arundel County agricultural operations have a defense against private nuisance lawsuits if they use accepted practices and comply with law, or began before the neighboring use…

County Code § 17-10-301 shields farms from private nuisance suits, and the RA – Rural Agricultural zoning district caps density at one dwelling per 20 acres to keep unincorporated…

Anne Arundel County bans loitering that blocks a public sidewalk or street once police give notice and ask the person to move, with fines up to $200 and possible jail for repeat…

Anne Arundel County levies an 8% occupancy tax on rent paid for hotels, motels, and short-term rentals countywide, collected by the owner, operator, or booking platform.

Data storage centers in the BWI/Fort Meade Growth Area need 25+ acres and must meet setbacks up to 100 feet from freeways under § 18-10-123.

Maryland reserves exclusive authority over commercial UAS operations under Courts 14-301, requiring operators to follow FAA Part 107 certification, registration, and operational limits…

Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 14-301 expressly preempts local drone regulation, reserving exclusive authority over unmanned aircraft systems to the state and federal…

Maryland requires earned sick and safe leave statewide and is implementing the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program for paid family leave.

Maryland issues Wear and Carry Permits through the State Police and prohibits concealed carry in many sensitive locations across the state.

Maryland preempts local firearms regulation under Criminal Law § 4-209, which reserves to the State the purchase, sale, transfer, ownership, possession, and transportation of handguns…

Maryland law names the only places a casino may ever legally operate: one site each in Anne Arundel, Cecil, Allegany, and Worcester counties, in Baltimore City, and in Prince George's…

Maryland regulates charitable bingo and raffles county by county, not through one statewide code. Criminal Law Title 13, "Gaming, Local Provisions," gives each jurisdiction its own…

Maryland exempts small-stakes social play from its gambling ban through the "home game" law at State Government § 9-1C-01. Adults 21 and older may host mah jong or card games with…

Maryland legalized sports wagering in 2021 under State Government § 9-1E-01 et seq., requiring anyone who operates or facilitates sports betting to hold a license from the Lottery and…

A Maryland HOA collects delinquent assessments through a contract lien under the Maryland Contract Lien Act (Real Prop. §§ 14-201 to 14-206), and that lien can be foreclosed like a…

The Maryland Homeowners Association Act requires open meetings (Real Prop. § 11B-111) and owner access to association books and records (Real Prop. § 11B-112). Elections follow the…

Maryland overrides HOA covenants on several fronts: Real Prop. § 2-119 bars unreasonable limits on solar collectors, § 14-128 protects the U.S. flag, § 11B-111.2 protects…

Maryland Real Property § 14-130 makes clothesline bans unenforceable on single-family property: no covenant, declaration, bylaw, rule, lease, or rental agreement may prohibit a…

Maryland Real Property § 2-125 stops a covenant, declaration, contract, security instrument, or condominium or homeowners association bylaw from imposing unreasonable limitations on…

Maryland Real Property § 11B-111.8 voids any homeowners association covenant, declaration provision, bylaw, or rule that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts installing or…

Maryland Real Property § 14-128 guarantees every homeowner and tenant the right to display one portable, removable flag of the United States at the home they live in, and it voids any…

Maryland Real Property § 11B-111.10 bars a homeowners association board from imposing a fine, suspending voting, or infringing any other right of a lot owner or occupant for a rules…

A Maryland homeowners association has no lien of its own. Real Property § 11B-117(b) sends it out to the Maryland Contract Lien Act at Real Property Title 14, Subtitle 2, and…

Maryland runs sobriety checkpoints and the General Assembly has legislated about them exactly once. Transportation section 25-114 defines a "checkpoint" as a predetermined fixed…

Maryland has no statute granting a right to record the police. What governs instead is the Maryland Wiretap Act at Courts and Judicial Proceedings sections 10-401 through 10-410, which…

Maryland has never enacted a general stop-and-identify statute. A full-text search of the Annotated Code returns nothing for "stop and identify," "produce identification," or "refuses…

Maryland wrote its search rule into the code when it legalized adult cannabis use. Criminal Procedure section 1-211 forbids a law enforcement officer from initiating a stop or a search…

Maryland was among the first states to ban expanded polystyrene foam food service products statewide, prohibiting their sale and use at restaurants, schools, and food packagers under a…

Maryland prohibits the sale of any tobacco or electronic smoking device to anyone under age 21 under Health-General Article 16.7A.

Maryland lets you add auxiliary lighting, but it counts the lamps and measures the mounting height. Transportation Article § 22-217 allows one spot lamp, no more than two fog lamps…

Maryland has no dash camera statute at all, so a dash cam is governed by the general windshield-obstruction rule at Md. Transp. § 21-1104. Subsection (c)(1) makes it an offense to…

Lane splitting is expressly illegal in Maryland. Transportation Article § 21-1303(d) says a person may not operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or…

Maryland attacks registration plate covers from three directions. Transportation Article § 13-411.1 defines a plate cover by what it is designed to do, then bans selling one, offering…

A radar or laser detector is lawful in a private vehicle in Maryland. The Transportation Article devotes an entire title to vehicle equipment, Title 22, and across its sections from §…

Maryland bans studded tires on its highways as a baseline rule, then carves out five counties. Under Transportation Article § 22-405.2(c), owners of vehicles registered in Allegany…

Maryland caps aftermarket window tint at 35% light transmittance, and on a Class A passenger car that limit applies to every window on the vehicle, rear glass included. Light trucks…