Columbus, IN

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, no front yard area other than a driveway or parking area can be used to store or park vehicles, and a vehicle is legally parked only if all its wheels…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, no commercial vehicle can be stored on a city street, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or alley in an area zoned residential, including multifamily…

In designated residential areas of the City of Columbus, Indiana, parking is limited to two hours unless the abutting owner or tenant consents in writing. Signs mark each area, an…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, no vehicle can be parked on Washington Street between 1st and 8th Streets from three a.m. to six a.m., Monday through Friday. Vehicles found there are…

The City of Columbus, Indiana bars stopping, standing or parking on sidewalks, painted yellow curbs, in front of driveways, within fifteen feet of a fire hydrant, on crosswalks and in…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, residentially used property can store no more than two recreational vehicles, including boats and trailers, and they must sit behind or alongside the…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, curb loading zones are designated by the Board of Public Works and Safety with posted time limits. Vehicles in them must park parallel to the curb…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the Common Council declares abandoned, unlicensed and inoperable vehicles a public nuisance. Under § 10.48.095 an officer issues a warning with thirty…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the Mayor declares a snow emergency and the city traffic engineer marks snow emergency routes on California, Chestnut, Eleventh, Tenth, Sixteenth…

Indiana regulates nonconsensual towing through IC 24-14, the towing services article, backed by the abandoned vehicle rules in IC 9-22-1. If you reach your car while it is being hooked…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the Fire Chief can prohibit every type of outside burning whenever local conditions make a fire hazardous. Section 8.12.120 also bars anyone from…

Consumer fireworks may be used inside the corporate limits of the City of Columbus, Indiana only in set windows under section 8.12.190: evenings from June 29 through July 9 (except…

Every dwelling unit, dwelling, apartment house and lodging house in the City of Columbus, Indiana must contain an approved, properly functioning smoke detector installed under Chapter…

Recreational and cooking fires in the City of Columbus, Indiana need no prior approval from the Fire Chief, but section 8.12.125 sets firm conditions. Only natural wood or plant…

Indiana regulates propane through Chapter 61 of the 2014 Indiana Fire Code, adopted and amended statewide by the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission at 675 IAC 22-2.5-41…

Indiana bans nearly all open burning statewide; IC 13-17-9 carves out narrow exemptions for agricultural and land-clearing vegetation, and every legal fire must be attended…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.28.040(B) and (D) prohibit loud, unnecessary engine noise and grating or rattling vehicle noise, and require every vehicle…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.28.040(C) allows loud construction, demolition and repair noise only from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.28.040(A) declares it a violation to keep any animal that, by frequent or long continued noise, disturbs the comfort or…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.28.040(G) prohibits playing any radio, musical instrument, loudspeaker or sound amplifier so that sound is cast upon the…

The City of Columbus, Indiana has no single citywide quiet-hours clause, but its noise chapter attaches clock times to two kinds of noise. Loud and excessive yelling, shouting…

Aircraft noise in Indiana is governed primarily by federal law and the FAA, with the state regulating airport zoning and tall structures under IC 8-21. Local Indiana governments cannot…

The City of Columbus, Indiana lets residents compost at home under two printed conditions: food scraps need an area enclosed on all sides by a fence or walls to keep out animals, and…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, trees, shrubbery, hedges and other plants at every street corner must be cut and trimmed so drivers keep a clear view from three feet to seven feet…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, any vegetable matter taller than twelve inches counts as weeds and rank vegetation, and growing it on real property is a declared public nuisance…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Chapter 12.20 governs removal of public trees. The city removes unhealthy, unsafe or nuisance public trees, adjacent owners are permitted to remove…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, no pet shop can sell, offer for sale, barter, auction or give away cats, rabbits or dogs. Shops can host adoption showcases for Animal Care Services…

The City of Columbus, Indiana runs a trap, neuter and return community cat program. Free-roaming cats are sterilized, ear-tipped and vaccinated, then returned. Feeding or sheltering a…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, dangerous-animal status is decided by the Animal Care Services Commission on an animal's behavior or training, not on its breed. A declared animal…

The City of Columbus, Indiana allows a backyard chicken flock of no more than four hens, with no roosters, on owner-occupied property. The coop and run need four square feet per bird…

The City of Columbus, Indiana splits wild animals into two classes. Class 1 animals such as hedgehogs and sugar gliders need Indiana permits and a report to Animal Care Services. Class…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, every dog and cat must carry current identification outside the home. A registered microchip is one approved option, alongside a collar tag. The city…

Section 6.08.010 of the Columbus Municipal Code says all animals shall be restrained in the City of Columbus, Indiana, meaning under direct control of the owner or kept within the…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, an owner of an unaltered dog or cat found at large pays one hundred dollars for a first violation, or has the animal spayed or neutered within…

Unincorporated Bartholomew County sets no flat cap on dogs or cats per household, but keeping four or more animals turns a home into a KENNEL under § 92.01's definition, the same…

Indiana does not require statewide apiary registration, but IC 14-24-8-4 bars bringing bees or beekeeping equipment in from another state or country without a permit from the Division…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, an accessory structure to a residential dwelling carries a minimum building permit fee of $50 plus five cents per square foot of gross floor area…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a swimming pool permit covers in ground or above ground pools including the fence, with two inspections, for a minimum fee of $60. The same $60…

Indiana enforces uniform pool barrier rules through the Indiana Residential Code (675 IAC 14) for home pools and Indiana Department of Health rules (410 IAC 6-2.1) for public pools…

Indiana Code 32-26-9 governs partition fences between adjoining rural property owners, requiring shared cost and maintenance. The law applies statewide to fences where at least one…

Indiana's cottage food scheme is Ind. Code § 16-42-5.3, the home based vendor chapter added by P.L.49-2022. Section 16-42-5.3-3 exempts a home based vendor's production and sale of…

Indiana law under IC 12-17.2-5 establishes statewide licensing for family child care homes serving more than five unrelated children, with FSSA Bureau of Child Care administering…

Indiana never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit, so there is no license to apply for and no inspection to schedule before cooking for sale at home. The state went the other…

Indiana Code 36-1-24 prohibits local units from banning short-term rentals statewide. Cities and counties may impose reasonable regulations on permits, occupancy, noise, and safety…

Indiana imposes 7% state sales tax plus county innkeeper's tax on rentals under 30 days. Marketplace facilitators like Airbnb and Vrbo must collect and remit these taxes statewide…

Licensed food vendors in the City of Columbus, Indiana, must park flush with the curb and sell only from the curb or sidewalk side. No licensee can sell in one block of a public street…

The City of Columbus, Indiana, bars licensed food vendors from one-way streets on weekdays between six a.m. and six p.m., from any street within five hundred feet of a school, park or…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, anyone who sells food or beverages from a wagon, motor vehicle or push cart on a public street or sidewalk needs a food vendor license under Chapter…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, toters go to the curb no earlier than twenty-four hours before collection and come back within twenty-four hours after pickup. Between pickups they…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.24.280 bars throwing or depositing solid waste anywhere except a city-owned or city-approved container. After a 24-hour…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, grass and leaves go in a city-owned or city-approved container and are collected curbside only by composting crews, one day after the regular…

The City of Columbus, Indiana collects residential solid waste once per week, and it must be at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on the designated day. Containers go out no earlier than…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.24.030 puts city trash pickup at residential dwellings and mobile home parks one time per week, with containers out by…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a dumpster that sits in a marked public parking stall needs a continuous parking permit from the city engineer. A permit covers one stall within one…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, cardboard boxes must be flattened and stacked neatly, tree cuttings cannot exceed six feet in length, and newspapers must be bundled when they are…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, corrugated cardboard and office paper from apartment complexes and commercial establishments go in a city container of one and one-half to three cubic…

Indiana sets a statutory goal of recycling at least 50% of its municipal waste (IC 13-20-25-1) but does not require households or businesses to recycle. The enforceable duty falls on…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a tenant who asks the Code Enforcement Officer for help with deficiencies or code violations is protected by § 15.24.017: a landlord who sues or…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the chief code enforcement officer is authorized to inspect dwellings, dwelling units, rooming units and premises after a ten-day notice. Owners and…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, electrical work must be done by an electrician or contractor licensed by the Bartholomew County board of electrician examiners, and the city…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a permit must be obtained before beginning construction, alteration or repair of any building or structure whose cost exceeds $300. The forms come…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, after a permit issues the Department of Code Enforcement inspects the construction to ensure full compliance with the building code and the terms of…

Unincorporated Bartholomew County requires a permit before plumbing work that costs more than $300, and the county's Building Code adopts the Indiana Plumbing Code, Article 16 of 675…

Chapter 9.30 of the Columbus Municipal Code bars any sexually oriented business in the City of Columbus, Indiana from operating without a permit from the Board of Public Works and…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, an authorized towing service cannot charge more than $100 to tow or remove a vehicle under Chapter 10.30, unless special equipment is required…

Massage businesses in the City of Columbus, Indiana need a city permit approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety: two hundred fifty dollars per year for each location, and…

Tattoo artists and body piercers in Bartholomew County need a separate artist license and facility permit from the Health Department under Chapter 112, which also bans extreme…

Indiana requires retailers to hold an Electronic Cigarette Retailer Certificate to sell vapor products, complying with age verification, packaging, and Tobacco 21 sales rules.

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a stormwater management permit is required before land disturbance starts. Chapter 13.26 sorts projects into green permits (0.25 acre up to 0.5 acre)…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, everyone engaged in land disturbing activity must comply with the stormwater management permit, and the city can inspect any regulated construction…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the Department of Code Enforcement reviews every permit application for new construction or extensions to decide whether the site is reasonably safe…

Building a permanent structure in, or removing water or material from, Lake Michigan or any Indiana navigable waterway requires a permit from the Department of Natural Resources under…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Columbus Municipal Code § 8.28.040(F) prohibits loud and excessive noise in loading or unloading any vehicle or opening bales, boxes, crates or…

Columbus Municipal Code § 9.14.010 bans pedestrians in the City of Columbus, Indiana from soliciting or distributing materials to motorists from public streets, alleys, roadways and…

The City of Columbus, Indiana makes it unlawful to loiter or remain in a public place in a manner manifesting the purpose of soliciting sexual activity. An officer must first ask the…

Chapter 5.30 of the Columbus Municipal Code creates the Downtown Columbus Social District, where a person can drink alcohol bought from a designated permittee or vendor while walking…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, infectious waste is not collected by city services, and sharps get picked up by sanitation crews only when they sit in a leak proof, labeled, rigid…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, § 15.24.170 puts extermination of insects, rodents and other pests on the occupant of a single-unit dwelling or a lone infested unit, and on the owner…

Every food service establishment in Bartholomew County must keep at least one certified food-sanitation employee on duty each shift. Section 110.03(B) requires the certificate, issued…

Columbus Municipal Code § 9.16.050 makes it unlawful in the City of Columbus, Indiana to be found begging, or to lie or sleep on any public street, alley, park or other public place…

Columbus Municipal Code § 9.20.010 sets a two-tier curfew in the City of Columbus, Indiana. Children under fifteen must be off the streets after eleven p.m. and before five a.m. on any…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, every playground, park and recreational center is open to the public from sunrise to eleven p.m. unless otherwise posted. Cemeteries run on a shorter…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the owner of real estate must repair a defective sidewalk, curb or gutter adjoining the property within thirty days of written notice, to the approval…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, any special use or closing of the public right-of-way, including sidewalks, alleys, parking stalls and traffic lanes, needs approval from the Board of…

Working in a county road, street, sidewalk, roadside ditch or right-of-way in unincorporated Bartholomew County requires a permit from the County Highway Engineer under the county's…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, every residential rental unit must be registered with the City, annually by the notice deadline, within thirty days of a change of ownership and…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, no one can occupy or rent a dwelling unit that fails § 15.24.090: windows equal to seven percent of room floor area, safe water heating, and heating…

For nonpayment of rent, IC 32-31-1-6 lets a landlord terminate the lease with 'not less than ten (10) days notice,' and no eviction follows if the tenant pays in full before the period…

Indiana follows state landlord-tenant law under IC 32-31, which permits eviction on lease expiration or breach without requiring just cause. The state framework preempts attempts by…

Under IC 32-31-5-6, an Indiana landlord must give the tenant 'reasonable written or oral notice' before entering and may enter only at reasonable times, and may not abuse entry to…

Indiana's landlord-tenant statutes contain no late-fee cap, no required grace period, and no dedicated late-fee provision for residential rent. A late fee is enforceable only if the…

For a month-to-month or other tenancy at will, IC 32-31-1-1 requires a 'one (1) month notice in writing, delivered to the tenant' to terminate. A year-to-year tenancy needs at least…

Indiana prohibits local rent control. Indiana Code 32-31-1-20 bars any unit of local government from regulating rental rates for privately owned real property unless authorized by an…

Indiana sets no statutory limit on the security deposit amount. Under Indiana Code 32-31-3, a landlord must return the deposit, minus itemized lawful deductions, within 45 days after…

Indiana requires 10 years of possession to claim title by adverse possession (IC 34-11-2-11), and IC 32-21-7-1 adds that the possessor must have paid 'all taxes and special…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, anyone can report a noise violation by written, oral, or telephone complaint to the police department or the code enforcement office. Section 8.28.050…

The City of Columbus, Indiana has no separate vacant-lot ordinance. Chapter 8.32 applies to all real property in the city, so a vacant lot owner gets a written notice with five…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Chapter 15.20 (the Unsafe Building Ordinance) adopts Indiana Code 36-7-9 and defines unsafe buildings by structural, fire, sanitation and abandonment…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a person who owns, occupies or controls property beside a street right-of-way can plant street and median trees, but only at their own expense and…

Anyone selling or raising funds door to door in the City of Columbus, Indiana needs a non-transferable license from the Columbus Police Department. The fee is fifteen dollars for a…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, licensed door-to-door vendors can solicit only from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. A vendor who rings the bell or knocks at a home…

A street fair, carnival or circus on property the City of Columbus, Indiana owns or controls, and that the city does not sponsor, cannot be held without a license under Chapter 5.04…

Selling goods, services or entertainment inside a Bartholomew County park, playground or recreational center is unlawful unless the County Park Board first consents. Section 99.20…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, Chapter 10.56 puts bicycle riders as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable, bars riding more than two abreast, and requires riders to…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, renting, offering to rent, using or operating rental electric low-speed scooters on any sidewalk, bicycle path, public right-of-way, street or highway…

Indiana bans golf carts from public roads by default and hands the switch to local government. Ind. Code § 9-21-8-57 says a golf cart may not be operated on a highway except in…

Section 6.08.025 of the Columbus Municipal Code prohibits harboring farm animals within the City of Columbus, Indiana unless they are in a keeper's possession, but exempts property…

Indiana prohibits marijuana dispensaries entirely under IC 35-48-4. Because no licensed retail framework exists, cities cannot zone for or permit dispensaries. The statewide…

Indiana prohibits all marijuana cultivation, possession, and use under IC 35-48-4. No medical or recreational program exists, and home cultivation is a felony statewide. Local…

Indiana law preempts cities and counties from setting a local minimum wage above the state and federal floor of $7.25, with limited exceptions for public contracts.

Indiana has no statewide paid sick leave law for private employers, and no Indiana city has enacted a local paid sick leave ordinance. State law does not require private employers to…

Indiana law preempts local firearm regulation, barring cities and counties from passing or enforcing ordinances on firearms, ammunition, or accessories beyond state law.

Indiana permits open carry of handguns by lawful adults without a permit, subject to location-based restrictions and the state's preemption of local firearm regulation.

Indiana allows lawful adults at least 18 to carry a handgun in a vehicle without a permit, consistent with the state's permitless carry framework and firearms preemption.

Indiana's state design criteria table gives every county a wind speed of 115 mph, a weathering classification of Severe and required ice shield underlayment, while seismic design…

Indiana sets footing depth county by county in a single state table: 24 inches across much of the south, 30 inches through the middle of the state, and 36 inches along the northern…

Indiana accepts four ways to protect a foundation from frost, so digging below the county frost depth is only one option: a shallow foundation built to Section R403.3 or ASCE 32 is…

Indiana assigns each of its 92 counties a ground snow load of either 20 or 30 pounds per square foot, with the higher figure reserved for the northern counties along Lake Michigan and…

Indiana law names the only places a casino may ever operate: eleven owner's licenses total, allocated by statute to Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, one Lake Michigan-county city, five…

Indiana requires any charity, civic, fraternal, or veterans group to hold a license from the Indiana Gaming Commission before running bingo, raffles, pull tabs, punchboards, tip…

Indiana's gambling statute makes no exception for private social games. IC 35-45-5-2 criminalizes anyone who 'knowingly or intentionally engages in gambling,' a Class B misdemeanor…

Indiana Gaming Commission certificates of authority under IC 4-38 have let licensed casino owners, racino operating agents, and satellite off-track betting permit holders run sports…

Unpaid assessments become a homeowners association lien under Ind. Code § 32-28-14 once a notice of lien is recorded with the county recorder. The association may foreclose by court…

Indiana's HOA Act mandates transparency. Under Ind. Code § 32-25.5-3-3, the annual budget must be approved by a majority of members at a meeting, members may attend board meetings, and…

Covenant and architectural enforcement in Indiana flows from the recorded declaration, not the HOA Act. The Act (Ind. Code § 32-25.5) does not script architectural review, violation…

Indiana has no statute giving a homeowner the right to install an electric vehicle charging station in a deeded, assigned or exclusive use parking space, and nothing in the Indiana…

Since P.L.26-2026 added IC 32-21-13.5, an Indiana property owners association may not adopt or enforce any governing document provision that prohibits or restricts, or has the effect…

Indiana has no statute granting HOAs fining power or capping fine amounts. Authority to fine must come from the recorded declaration, bylaws, or rules; if the governing documents do…

Indiana runs two different association liens. A condominium association's unpaid assessments become a lien on the unit at the time of assessment under Ind. Code § 32-25-6-3(a), with…

Indiana lets an association ban or cap leasing, and the statutes contain no rental cap percentage, no minimum lease term and no grandfathering for owners already renting. The limits…

Indiana runs sobriety checkpoints but has never passed a law authorizing them. The word "checkpoint" appears in exactly one section of the Indiana Code, Ind. Code § 9-19-10-3.1, and…

No Indiana statute prohibits photographing or filming police, and Indiana's wiretap law is a one party consent law, so recording your own encounter with an officer is not an unlawful…

Indiana has no general stop and identify statute. The one provision that compels you to give your name, Ind. Code § 34-28-5-3.5, applies only after an officer has stopped you for an…

Indiana has no cannabis legalisation statute and therefore none of the "lawful possession is not grounds for a search" language that California, New York and Michigan drivers rely on…

Indiana Code 32-21-13 prohibits homeowners associations and restrictive covenants from banning political yard signs during a protected window. HOAs may impose only reasonable size…

Indiana Code 36-1-3-8.6 (2016) preempts local governments from banning, taxing, or regulating auxiliary containers, including plastic and paper bags. City or county single-use bag bans…

Indiana does not void covenants that ban rooftop solar. Instead IC 32-25.5-3.5 hands the homeowner a workaround the board cannot veto: gather signatures equal to either the number…

Indiana Code 8-1-40 governs distributed generation interconnection statewide. While solar permitting remains primarily local, IC 36-7-2-8 limits municipal authority to unreasonably…

Indiana sets the minimum legal age at 21 for purchasing tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products, with penalties for both retailers and underage buyers.

Indiana does not impose a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vape products, leaving sales of menthol and flavored e-liquid permitted under federal labeling and Indiana licensing laws.

Indiana licenses extra lamps by name and by count. Ind. Code §§ 9-19-6-13 through 9-19-6-16 allow a motor vehicle not more than two spot lamps, not more than two fog lamps mounted 12…

Indiana has no statute that names a dash camera, so a camera is governed by the general windshield rule and by an old television provision. Ind. Code § 9-19-19-3(b) prohibits driving…

Indiana has never written a lane splitting rule. The phrases lane splitting, lane filtering and between lanes return zero hits anywhere in the Indiana Code. What Indiana does say, at…

Indiana never uses the phrase license plate cover in its code, but Ind. Code § 9-18.1-4-4(b) reaches covers anyway. A plate must be maintained free from foreign materials and in a…

Indiana has never enacted a radar detector prohibition. A full text search of the 2026 Indiana Code, all 36 title files published by the General Assembly, returns the word radar nine…

Indiana lets any vehicle run metal tire studs from October 1 to the following May 1 and bans them for the rest of the year. Ind. Code § 9-19-18-3(d) caps the projection at three…

Indiana applies a single figure to the whole car. Ind. Code § 9-19-19-4(c) makes it an infraction to drive a vehicle whose windshield, side wing, front-door side window or rear back…