Baltimore County, MD Ordinances (2026)

The Baltimore County Zoning Regulations (BCZR) permit a home occupation as an accessory use in residence zones. It must keep no stock in trade sold on the premises, employ no one other…

Maryland fixes home daycare capacity directly through COMAR, and Baltimore County zoning lets the business operate as of right. A registered family child care home may care for up to…

Baltimore County limits home-occupation signage in residence zones to a total of two square feet in area, not projecting more than one foot beyond the building, and not illuminated…

Cottage food is governed by the State, not Baltimore County. Under COMAR 10.15.03.27, a cottage food business may sell non-potentially hazardous homemade foods made in a private home…

Baltimore County has no ordinance named 'hoarding,' but Article 12's cruelty, care, and sanitation rules cover it. Owners must supply wholesome food and water, keep stables and…

Baltimore County Code 12-2-402 lets a person keep hens on an owner-occupied lot under one acre only with a license from Permits, Approvals and Inspections, consistent with Zoning…

Baltimore County allows backyard beehives but bans keeping one unless it is enclosed. Any hive within 200 feet of a neighboring property line needs a 4-foot fence, hedge or natural…

Baltimore County requires cats over four months to be licensed and vaccinated against rabies (12-5-102). Cats count toward the three-animal 'fancier' threshold. A female cat in heat…

Baltimore County designated a roughly 21-acre tract around the Doncaster Village Condominium in the Ninth Election District as a bird sanctuary. Inside that boundary, it is a…

Baltimore County Code § 12-3-110 flatly bars owners from letting any animal run at large. The code defines "at large" as off the owner's property and not on a leash, cord or chain…

Baltimore County has no breed-specific ban. Instead, the Health Officer can declare any individual animal "dangerous" for attacking someone, exhibiting aggression while unrestrained…

Hunting and trapping wildlife in Baltimore County parks is banned, but the Department of Recreation and Parks may authorize nighttime Deer Cooperator Program culls to reduce…

Baltimore County Zoning Regulations Section 421.3 lets a veterinarian's office or veterinarium locate in a residential zone only as a special exception, on a lot of at least two acres…

Baltimore County does not require microchipping, but the Animal Services Division may implant a chip free of charge when it vaccinates a dog or cat against rabies, and can microchip an…

BCZR § 421.6 requires animal grooming facilities to meet the same minimum care standards as holding facilities under County Code § 12-6-103, and § 421.7 bars a grooming facility from…

Baltimore County Code 12-7-101 bars keeping a wild animal on your premises for any purpose without the Health Officer's approval. A permit issued by Permits, Approvals and Inspections…

To register, a host submits the Director's application form and pays the fee. The form must list all owners and any agent, building type, number of bedrooms, hosted or un-hosted…

Short-term rentals owe Baltimore County's Transient Occupancy Tax of 9.5% of the room rate under Article 11, Subtitle 4, Title 4 of the County Code. The STR license application and…

Guest counts are capped by bedrooms, parking, and septic capacity, but never more than 8 guests in a single-family detached dwelling or 6 in an attached or semi-detached dwelling. A…

Baltimore County's code does not textually require the STR to be the host's primary residence, but it bars licensing accessory dwelling units and units already holding a long-term…

Baltimore County distinguishes hosted units, where the host resides on the property during the rental, from un-hosted units, where they do not. Un-hosted rentals are allowed, but for…

The STR ordinance requires hosts to ensure use of the rental abides by Article 13 of the County Code, which includes the noise controls. The host or a representative must be reachable…

Baltimore County requires every short-term rental host to carry an active liability insurance policy of at least $1,000,000, both to obtain a license and continuously for as long as it…

Baltimore County escalates penalties for repeat unruly-gathering violations at a rental property, from a warning notice on the first offense to potential suspension or revocation of…

A Baltimore County short-term rental must provide a minimum of one parking space for every two guests. The application must disclose the number and location of all guest parking…

Baltimore County sets no annual night cap on STR operation, but defines a short-term rental as occupancy of no more than 30 consecutive days, and a rental may not be rented for more…

Where a dwelling wall forms part of the pool barrier, Baltimore County requires doors with direct pool access to have a UL 2017-listed audible alarm. Pools must sit at least 10 feet…

Above-ground pools in Baltimore County need a building permit when over 250 square feet with water 24 inches or more deep. Where access is by ladder or steps, the ladder or steps must…

Baltimore County's Title 3 noise code sets no specific countywide construction-hour window. Construction noise is instead governed by Maryland's COMAR daytime dB limits (65 dBA…

Loud amplified music from a home or party is banned as domestic noise under Baltimore County Code § 17-3-103 when it 'unreasonably disturbs' neighbors. Maryland COMAR also caps…

Baltimore County has no leaf-blower-specific ban or hour restriction in its code. Gas leaf blowers must comply with Maryland's COMAR noise limits, which cap noise at 65 dBA daytime and…

Baltimore County uses Maryland's statewide COMAR 26.02.03 decibel limits, measured at the receiving property line: 65 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime for residential zones, 67/62 dBA…

Loud vehicles, revving engines, and modified exhaust in Baltimore County are governed by Maryland state motor-vehicle and COMAR noise law rather than a county ordinance. COMAR caps…

Baltimore County has no separate barking-dog statute; persistent barking is enforced under the county's domestic noise ban, which prohibits creating noise that unreasonably disturbs…

Baltimore County bans domestic noise, vocal, radio, instrument, or household-tool sound, that unreasonably disturbs neighbors' peace and quiet, with no fixed clock hours. A first…

Baltimore County Code Section 14-2-201 requires every building of three or fewer rental units to have a direct-wired smoke detector, verified by an electrician or the Fire Department…

Beyond state fireworks law, Baltimore County Code Section 14-2-203 caps private displays at three times a year, bars discharges after 11 p.m., and requires certified-mail notice to…

Baltimore County allows one commercial vehicle under 10,000 pounds per dwelling on a residential lot if the owner lives there, it's enclosed or in the side or rear yard, and shows no…

Baltimore County follows Maryland's statewide parking prohibitions. You may not stop, stand, or park on a sidewalk or crosswalk, and county rules under Article 18 also restrict…

Under Maryland law applied in Baltimore County, a vehicle left inoperable on public property over 48 hours, or on private property over 48 hours without consent, is abandoned and may…

Baltimore County requires any vehicle parked on residential property to sit on a concrete, asphalt, or other durable, dustless surface built for parking under BCZR § 431.2. The rule…

Under Maryland law applied in Baltimore County, only a plug-in electric drive vehicle that is plugged into charging equipment may park in a designated EV charging space. Violators face…

Baltimore County designates residential permit parking areas under Code Sections 18-2-402 and 18-2-403 when 65% of dwelling units petition and a traffic study shows on-street parking…

A Baltimore County business or apartment building that wins a Traffic Engineer permit for a no-parking loading zone must paint the curb, pavement, or roadway to mark the space's…

Baltimore County's zoning code bars parking a commercial vehicle over 10,000 pounds on a residential lot longer than the vehicle is actually being used. One lighter commercial vehicle…

BCZR §§ 415A.1-415A.3 let a residential lot store one recreational vehicle or boat, never lived in, set back 2½ feet from side or rear lines, plus a lot-line-based schedule capping how…

Baltimore County Code Section 18-3-102(e) lets the Director of Public Works and Transportation develop a snow emergency plan regulating vehicle standing, parking, and the movement of…

BCZR § 409.11 requires any commercial or industrial building to provide adequate off-street space for loading and unloading, sized to the building's use, in addition to required…

A residential fence may not be built in your rear or side yard where it adjoins a neighbor's front yard, and within 10 feet of that front-yard property line the fence may not exceed 42…

In unincorporated Baltimore County, residential fences may be up to 42 inches (3.5 feet) in a front yard and 6 feet in a side or rear yard. A fence may reach 10 feet if set back 2 feet…

Barbed wire is allowed only on top of fences more than 6 feet 9 inches high (or on farms for livestock). Electric fences are permitted only on farms to retain livestock. Fences may not…

Baltimore County caps residential fences at 42 inches in front yards and six feet in side and rear yards, but BCZR § 427.4 lets any owner apply to the building official for a waiver to…

Baltimore County requires a retaining wall built entirely on the property causing the change whenever a graded lot cannot meet a neighbor's existing ground level within a 1-to-3 slope…

In the county's Density Residential (D.R.) zones, single-family detached dwellings must meet minimum setbacks set in the BCZR tables, typically about 25 feet front and 30 feet rear in…

Baltimore County does not use a single flat lot-coverage percentage. In Density Residential (D.R.) zones, development is controlled mainly by maximum gross density (dwelling units per…

Baltimore County caps residential building height by D.R. zoning classification under BCZR Section 1B02.2.A: 50 feet in the D.R.1, D.R.2, D.R.3.5, D.R.5.5 and D.R.10.5 Zones, and 60…

Private-yard trees generally need no county trimming permit, but any tree in the public right-of-way ('roadside tree') may not be cut or trimmed without a permit from the Maryland DNR…

Baltimore County administers the Maryland Forest Conservation Act (Code Article 33, Title 6). Clearing forest during subdivision, grading, or sediment-control work on 40,000+ sq ft…

Baltimore County's Weed Ordinance bars an owner or occupant from allowing grass, weeds, or other rank vegetation to exceed 8 inches in height (County Code Section 13-7-401). After…

Baltimore County does not set fixed watering days; instead the Director of Public Works and Transportation can issue a binding order restricting water use, including lawn and garden…

In Baltimore County, vacant lots must be kept free of overgrown weeds and dumped material. The 8-inch weed limit and nuisance rules apply to vacant land, and accessory structures are…

In Baltimore County, an owner may not create or allow a nuisance on their property that is detrimental to public health, safety, welfare, or the environment. County Code Section…

Baltimore County trash and recycling must be set out the evening before collection, but set-outs before 6 p.m. the evening before are prohibited. Containers go at the curb in front of…

Baltimore County provides at least one bulk collection per year to each single-family home and town home, with a limit of three bulk items per collection. Residents may also self-haul…

Baltimore County collects mixed paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass together as single-stream recycling. Recyclables must not be set out in plastic bags of any type or color…

In Baltimore County's Service Employment (S-E) Zone, commercial dumpster pads must sit at least 75 feet from any residential or R-O zone line and be screened with a six-foot opaque…

Baltimore County requires residents in its recycling program to separate recyclables from trash at the curb under regulations tied to the county solid waste plan, and everything set…

Baltimore County prohibits open dumps on any land and bars depositing garbage, filth, or solid waste on any highway, alley, lot, or waterway (County Code Sections 13-4-104 and…

Baltimore County collects trash and recycling once a week each, on an address-specific day. Find yours at baltimorecountymd.gov/collectionschedule or by calling 410-887-2000. On seven…

Baltimore County allows a home owner or resident two private garage or yard sales per year as an accessory use in a residential zone, each no longer than a weekend, with no outside…

Baltimore County has no separate tiny-home zoning category. A tiny house on a permanent foundation can qualify only as an accessory apartment in a detached accessory building under…

A Baltimore County building permit is required for any shed, gazebo, or accessory structure larger than 120 square feet. The structure must sit in the rear yard, be set back at least…

A detached garage is an accessory structure subject to BCZR Section 400: it must be subordinate in area to the house, sit in the rear yard, and meet the 15-foot height and 2.5-foot…

Baltimore County allows an accessory apartment as a temporary use in an owner-occupied single-family home or accessory building. It requires a Use Permit, must house only family…

Baltimore County's zoning code still prints a rule requiring political campaign signs to go up no earlier than 45 days before a primary and come down within seven days of an election…

Baltimore County permits a homeowner two garage or yard sales per year as an accessory use, each no longer than a weekend. Sale signs may not be placed in the public right-of-way, and…

Baltimore County caps an interior enterprise window sign at 3 square feet and no more than three per front-facade window or door under the Table of Sign Regulations and BCZR §…

Baltimore County bans video and digital display on outdoor advertising signs outright under BCZR § 450.7.C.7. The only rotating-message billboard the county allows is the mechanical…

Baltimore County parks are open from sunrise to sunset. Being in a county park outside those hours is prohibited under Article 30 of the Baltimore County Code, which the Department of…

Baltimore County requires a Department-issued license, with a $200 non-refundable application fee and fingerprinting of owners, before anyone may operate an adult store or adult movie…

Baltimore County requires a license before anyone may tow a vehicle without the owner's consent from a private parking lot or garage. Trespass towers must post 24-by-30-inch signs at…

Baltimore County requires anyone doing business as a junk dealer or scrap metal processor to hold a license from the Director before buying or trading in junk or scrap metal. Licenses…

Baltimore County does not issue a separate retail tobacco license; instead Code Section 13-12-103 bars selling tobacco products or paraphernalia to anyone under 21 and Section…

Baltimore County limits pawnshops to 12 valid dealer licenses countywide and no more than two per councilmanic district. New shops need a special exception, a buffer wall near homes…

Baltimore County zones tattoo and body-piercing establishments into the M.H. Zone, keeping them at least 1,000 feet from schools, churches, parks, libraries, day cares and residential…

Baltimore County confines massage establishments to the M.H. Zone and requires 1,000 feet of separation from schools, churches, parks, libraries, licensed day cares and residential…

Before renting out a dwelling unit in Baltimore County, an owner must either self-certify (7+ unit buildings with a clean violation history) or hire a licensed home inspector to check…

A Baltimore County Code Official can enter a rental unit to inspect only with the tenant's permission, or under a court order if a licensing violation is suspected. Once a tenant's…

A master general or restricted electrician must pull a permit from the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections before making any electrical installation, alteration or repair…

Baltimore County requires all water and sewer connections and plumbing work to follow the county's own formulated Plumbing Code, enforced under § 20-2-113, with violations treated as…

Baltimore County's Livability Code bans locking hardware that traps occupants: § 35-5-213(a)(3)(iii) requires every door in a required means of egress to open easily from the inside…

Baltimore County has no mandatory green building code, but it rewards certified LEED or NGBS construction with a real property tax credit. Commercial buildings certified Silver, Gold…

Baltimore County's Fire Department must inspect every family child care home and group child care center annually under Code Section 14-1-104, and those same buildings must meet the…

Construction in Baltimore County's Special Flood Hazard Areas goes through five distinct county inspections: stake-out, foundation, below-floor enclosures, utility, and final. The…

Baltimore County ties lead paint to two remedies: under Code § 35-4-301, a tenant whose landlord fails Maryland's lead risk reduction standard can escrow rent through the state…

Baltimore County bars erecting, constructing, repairing, altering, remodeling, removing, or demolishing any building or structure without first getting a written permit signed by the…

Baltimore County allows cannabis dispensaries by right in the B.R., B.M., B.L., B.L.R., M.L. and O-3 Zones, but only by special exception inside a Commercial Revitalization District…

A licensed cannabis dispensary in Baltimore County may not sit within 500 feet of a school or day care center, or within 1,000 feet of another dispensary, with distances measured in a…

Baltimore County's Landmarks Preservation Commission can place a structure on the preliminary county landmarks list only after finding it contributes substantially to the county's…

A parade permit from the Director of Permits, Approvals and Inspections is required before anyone may organize, join, or start a parade on a Baltimore County street, per Code §…

Baltimore County requires a Department of Recreation and Parks permit for any exclusive group use of a park or part of a park. Permits go on a Department form, cost a fee set by the…

Any nonprofit group that wants to hold a public entertainment event, picnic, or gathering in Baltimore County needs a free permit from the Director of Permits, Approvals and…

Baltimore County's zoning regulations let a restaurant or tavern in a B.L.R. Zone inside the Urban-Rural Demarcation Line, and on the county's final landmarks list, operate outdoor…

Baltimore County requires a Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections permit for carnivals, circuses, lawn fetes, and similar outdoor entertainment, generally issued only to…

Baltimore County runs no red-light camera program; its photo enforcement is limited to speed monitoring systems in school zones and separate school bus stop-arm cameras, both…

Baltimore County Code Section 18-2-216 bars a tractor, trailer, or combination tractor-trailer from parking or standing so that any part of the rig fully or partially obstructs a…

Baltimore County Code Section 18-2-605 makes it unlawful to operate a motorized scooter, including go-peds and other stand-up platform models, on any public road, highway, or sidewalk…

Baltimore County bars developing or redeveloping any site without stormwater management measures that control runoff, using environmental site design to the maximum extent practicable…

Baltimore County requires a permit before any pier, dock, bulkhead, or mooring pile is built beyond mean low tide under BCZR Section 417. The Department of Permits, Approvals and…

Baltimore County requires new and substantially improved buildings in flood hazard areas to raise their lowest floor to the flood protection elevation, defined as the base flood…

Baltimore County bans grading, filling, new construction, substantial improvement, and manufactured-home placement inside any Special Flood Hazard Area shown on the county's FEMA flood…

Baltimore County requires a grading permit before anyone changes natural ground level in a way that could redirect stormwater onto a neighbor's land, and a separate erosion and…

Baltimore County's Right to Farm rule shields agricultural operations in R.C.2 Zones from nuisance liability for noise, odors, dust and machinery use, provided the farm follows the…

Baltimore County's R.C.2 Agricultural Zone regulations protect working farms from nuisance complaints. Under BCZR Section 1A01.5, noise, odors, dust and machinery operation from a…

Baltimore County makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate on a public street, alley, sidewalk or in a public building outside a designated restroom, carrying up to a $100 fine or…

Baltimore County bars loitering within 50 feet of a business during operating hours once the owner has asked a person to leave and police have already ordered them off within 48 hours…

Baltimore County makes it a misdemeanor to possess an open alcoholic beverage container on public property, property used by the public, or a highway, or inside a vehicle parked there…

Baltimore County Code Section 18-2-603 makes it unlawful to ride a skateboard on any public highway, or on public or commercial property that has been conspicuously posted against…

A party of four or more people that generates excessive noise, drugs, fights, public urination or spillover crowds onto the street is an unruly social gathering under Baltimore County…

Standing on a highway shoulder, lane divider, or roadway to solicit donations in Baltimore County requires a permit from the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections under Code…

Baltimore County bans smoking, including e-cigarettes, in the outdoor areas of specific park facilities: playgrounds, tot lots, dog parks, sponsored athletic events, and within 30 feet…

Before any public service corporation, company, or individual can build a main, conduit, pipe, or other structure in a street, road, alley, or public highway in the county's…

Baltimore County Code Section 18-2-501 bars a driver from entering an intersection, driving across a marked crosswalk, or crossing a sidewalk to enter or exit a garage or parking lot…

Under Baltimore County Code Section 18-3-304, the Director of Public Works and Transportation can order the owner of property abutting a sidewalk, curb, gutter, or footway to repair or…

Baltimore County lets the Recreation and Parks Director set unmanned aircraft system policies for county parks, so long as those rules do not conflict with federal or state drone law.

Every building in Baltimore County must be free of rats and kept rat-proof under Code Section 13-7-302, and once the Code Official notifies an owner of infestation, eradication…

Baltimore County won't license a food truck unless the application names a certified food service manager Level I who is on duty every time the truck operates. Code § 21-8-104(a)(4)…

Baltimore County requires a Department-issued license before anyone can operate a food truck within its limits. Applicants must submit insurance proof, a Health Department food service…

Baltimore County bars a licensed peddler from setting up a sidewalk stand at all: § 21-11-104 requires hawkers to keep continuously moving. The only exception is a legally blind or…

Baltimore County licenses every food truck through the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections and bars them from parking within 200 feet of an open restaurant's front…

Anyone who wants to hawk, sell, or peddle goods door-to-door or on county streets needs a license from the Clerk of the Court under Baltimore County Code § 21-11-101, with exceptions…

Baltimore County's Downtown Towson (D.T.) District carries design guidelines under BCZR § 259.16.A.6 covering eight categories, from sustainability to signage, that the Design Review…

Baltimore County levies a 9.5% transient occupancy tax on the room rental paid by any transient for sleeping accommodations, covering hotels, motels and short-term rentals alike…

Effective July 1, 2025, Baltimore County can tax a vacant structure at $10 per $100 of assessed value once it has been formally cited as vacant and unfit for habitation. The tax funds…

Baltimore County Code § 35-4-201 protects a tenant who has filed a dangerous-conditions escrow case: for six months after the court rules on the merits, the landlord cannot raise rent…

A property owner in Baltimore County can't rent out a dwelling unit, boarding house room, or apartment without a rental housing license from the Director of Permits, Approvals and…

Baltimore County's Livability Code sets the minimum habitability floor for every leased residential structure countywide, including vacant units. Under § 35-5-102, the Code protects…

Baltimore County requires landlords of three or more rental units to give 60 days' written notice before any rent increase takes effect, but only during a declared eviction moratorium…

Baltimore County does not require homeowners to register security cameras. Code Section 13-11-301 sets up an entirely voluntary program letting owners list camera locations and contact…

Baltimore County lets a data center or energy storage device locate in the R.C.5 Zone, including inside the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, under a dedicated set of bulk standards in…

A data center or energy storage device built under BCZR § 443.1 must comply with all state and local noise rules, including Maryland's COMAR 26.02.03.02 environmental noise standards…

The Livability Code's most commonly cited standards cover the building envelope and plumbing: § 35-5-208 requires the exterior, including the roof, foundation, and structural members…

Baltimore County's Code Official investigates a rental complaint under § 35-5-103(c)(3) for three specific problems: an unauthorized rooming or boarding house, a failure to maintain…

Once Baltimore County's Code Official orders a repair, § 35-5-103(d)(4) gives the property owner 48 hours to fix an emergency violation and 30 days for a non-emergency one. A contested…

Baltimore County requires a special exception for any ground-mounted solar facility over one megawatt of capacity, caps facilities at ten per councilmanic district, and mandates…

Baltimore County's Forest Conservation law requires developers disturbing 40,000 square feet or more to leave rare, threatened, or endangered trees and champion trees undisturbed…

The only Baltimore County zoning provision that uses the phrase 'light trespass' verbatim is BCZR § 411.4.B.7, a narrow rule for public utility service centers and storage yards in the…

Baltimore County has no single countywide dark-sky ordinance. Its closest general standard, BCZR § 409.8.A.3, requires every off-street parking facility's lighting to be arranged so…

Commercial film production is allowed in every Baltimore County zone, but BCZR § 435.1 requires a use permit once the same lot is used by any producer for more than three days in a…

Baltimore County law bars its employees, departments and agents from enforcing federal immigration law or asking anyone about citizenship, nationality or immigration status. Bill No…