Burke County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Anyone in unincorporated Burke County who wants to report a suspected code violation must file a written, signed, and dated complaint with the code enforcement supervisor before the…

Once the code enforcement supervisor determines a violation exists in unincorporated Burke County, the county must send written notice to the responsible party within five working…

Unincorporated Burke County bars any unreasonably loud or excessive noise at any hour, and treats loud noise made between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., or noise continued after actual…

Unincorporated Burke County singles out amplified sound equipment, from stereos and radios to outdoor concert speakers and advertising loudspeakers, as unreasonably loud noise…

In unincorporated Burke County, loud construction noise, including excavation, demolition, alteration, or repair of a building in a residential or business district, is barred outside…

Unincorporated Burke County bans unnecessary or unreasonably loud horn use and treats any automobile, motorcycle, or vehicle so out of repair, modified, loaded, or operated that it…

Burke County Animal Services can cite a dog owner in unincorporated Burke County whose dog habitually or repeatedly barks: three or more barks a minute for at least 15 minutes counts…

Burke County does not license cats, but it does regulate cat colonies in unincorporated Burke County. A colony of two or more free-roaming cats fed by a caregiver should be registered…

Burke County does not require every pet to be fixed, but it makes spay/neuter mandatory for any animal adopted from its animal services center, and it fines the owners of unaltered…

Burke County lets pet shops outside city limits sell animals for retail but holds them to detailed care standards, a state permit requirement, and yearly state inspections. Puppy…

In unincorporated Burke County, an animal off its owner's property and not under restraint is legally "at large," and any animal found not under restraint in violation of the chapter…

Unincorporated Burke County bans keeping any inherently dangerous exotic mammal or reptile outright. That covers wolves and wolf hybrids, big cats over 30 pounds, bears, primates over…

Burke County has no breed-specific ban; instead it regulates individual dogs declared dangerous or potentially dangerous based on their own conduct. A declared dog must be confined or…

Burke County's code does not regulate feeding wild deer or geese; its feeding rule targets stray and abandoned domestic animals. Feeding or harboring one without the owner's consent is…

Burke County requires dogs to wear a collar or harness with a current rabies tag at all times, but cats and ferrets get a choice: a collar with tag, or a microchip. Owners who…

Inside any county-owned park in unincorporated Burke County, it is unlawful to hunt, trap, shoot, injure, kill or molest any bird or animal, or to possess a wild bird or animal, under…

In unincorporated Burke County, no structure or land in a special flood hazard area can be located, extended, converted, or structurally altered without a development permit from the…

In unincorporated Burke County, North Carolina, new construction and substantial improvements inside a mapped special flood hazard area must have the lowest floor elevated no lower…

Before a subdivider in unincorporated Burke County can disturb an acre or more of land, section 62-117 requires an erosion and sedimentation control plan approved by the state's…

Burke County's subdivision ordinance sets engineering standards for surface drainage in new subdivisions. Section 62-122(2) requires drainage courses to have side slopes of at least…

Under the housing code that applies to every dwelling and dwelling unit in unincorporated Burke County, a smoke detector must be installed outside each sleeping area, in the immediate…

Setting off fireworks in a Burke County park is banned outright unless the display is part of an authorized public exhibition approved in advance by the county fire marshal and the…

Burke County's housing code requires every yard and all exterior property connected to a dwelling to be kept free of noxious weeds or plant growth that is detrimental to health. The…

Burke County's housing code requires basement and cellar openings that could let rodents in to be screened, makes owners responsible for extermination when their own neglect causes an…

No one may work as a massagist or operate a massage parlor in unincorporated Burke County without a license issued by the sheriff. The sheriff's office runs the application, background…

Burke County makes it unlawful to establish, operate or conduct business as a pawnbroker without first obtaining a county license through the sheriff's department. Applicants must be…

Burke County requires a county license before anyone may operate an adult establishment such as an adult bookstore, cabaret, arcade or motion picture theater, or work as an adult live…

Burke County does not license secondhand metal dealers separately, but its recycle-centers-and-scrap-yards article regulates every scrap metal company or individual doing business as a…

Burke County bars leaving an abandoned, nuisance or junked motor vehicle on public or private property in the unincorporated county. A single junked vehicle may be kept only if…

Consuming or displaying beer, wine or any other alcoholic beverage on county park or recreation property in unincorporated Burke County is unlawful unless a permit or other specific…

Smoking, vaping and any other tobacco use are banned everywhere the county owns, leases or operates, indoors and out, under Code § 56-2. That includes county-owned buildings and…

In unincorporated Burke County, loitering itself isn't a general offense, but county code bars it at a specific place: the county's solid waste container sites, the green-box dumpster…

Unincorporated Burke County shields working farms from nuisance friction and non-farm development pressure through a voluntary agricultural district program. Landowners who enroll…

A tenant, neighbor or the public can start Burke County's unfit-dwelling process without owning the property: § 10-36(a) lets at least five county residents, a licensed realtor, or the…

Anyone wanting to reserve county park land in unincorporated Burke County for a gathering, vendor sale or event applies for a permit through the parks and recreation department under…

Burke County requires every rental dwelling in the unincorporated county to meet minimum fitness standards before it can be let to a tenant: Code § 10-56 bars an owner from letting any…

Corrugated cardboard counts as solid waste subject to a surcharge at the Burke County waste management facility under Code § 58-31, but the county provides a place for citizens and…

Burke County doesn't run curbside trash pickup for the unincorporated county; residents either contract with a franchised private hauler or haul waste themselves to a county bulk…

Section 58-127 of the county code tells Burke County residents and businesses how to store solid waste before it's collected. Containers must be built to properly control the waste…

Furniture and major appliances can't go in Burke County's solid waste containers. Section 58-69 bars chairs, sofas, tables, mattresses and other furniture longer than three feet, plus…

Burke County's code spells out exactly how to prepare leaves, tree limbs and shrubbery trimmings before they go to the landfill or a collection agency. Section 58-128 requires leaves…

Section 58-129 of the county code makes it unlawful to throw, sweep or dispose of solid waste from any household, yard or business into a drainage ditch, roadway, roadway median or…

In unincorporated Burke County, all building activity, from new construction to enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, converting or demolishing a structure, is governed by the North…

In unincorporated Burke County, the building code administrator, housed in the county building inspection department, is the officer who investigates and inspects dwellings to…

Burke County's housing code lets the building code administrator order the owner of an unfit dwelling in unincorporated Burke County to repair it or tear it down; ignoring that order…