Carroll County, MD Ordinances (2026)

Carroll County treats weeds or lawn at or above 12 inches as a public nuisance under Code of Ordinances § 3-106. The County Health Officer investigates complaints and can order…

Carroll County doesn't license a backyard rain barrel, but its stormwater code names rainwater harvesting as an approved way to meet development stormwater rules. Section 151.036 lists…

Before cutting, clearing, or grading forest on a covered Carroll County project, developers must get a Forest Conservation Plan approved. Section 150.05(C)(1) bars disturbance until…

Carroll County does not mandate spay/neuter for every pet owner, but § 90.13 requires any unclaimed dog or cat released for adoption to be sterilized first, or released only with a…

Carroll County bans hunting, harming, trapping, or feeding wild birds and animals on county park land under Code of Ordinances § 94.017. The rule covers reptiles and birds as well as…

A grooming shop is a "commercial animal establishment" under Carroll County's animal code and cannot open without a $175 annual permit from the Animal Care and Control Authority…

Carroll County requires every dog to be under restraint or effective control at all times, caps outdoor tethering at 12 hours a day, and sets minimum tether length and swivel…

Carroll County exempts cats from the leash/restraint and licensing rules that bind dogs, but its code still defines a "feral cat" and gives Animal Control discretion to euthanize…

Carroll County has no breed ban; instead it lets the Animal Care and Control Authority declare any animal "vicious" or a "public nuisance" based on its actions, then mandates…

Carroll County zoning caps backyard fowl by lot size and bans roosters at every tier under § 158.075.02(A)(8): six birds under one acre, 12 on one to two acres, 18 on two to three…

Carroll County doesn't cap ordinary pets outright, but keeping more than three adult dogs for sale purposes reclassifies the property as a "Dog Fancier's Kennel," requiring Zoning…

Carroll County's zoning use tables let veterinary facilities operate by-right in the Agricultural District and only by conditional-use approval in the Conservation District, but §…

Carroll County bans private citizens from possessing or harboring a potentially dangerous or vicious wild animal anywhere within the county. The single-sentence rule at § 90.10 is a…

Carroll County doesn't require microchips for every pet, but once the Animal Care and Control Authority declares an animal vicious and appeals run out, the owner must have it…

Carroll County gives the owner, tenant, or occupant of a property 12 hours to clear ice or an accumulation of snow off the public sidewalk in front of that lot once it stops falling or…

Under the Livability Code, Carroll County can condemn and placard any premises or building its officials find unsafe or unfit, order it closed and vacated, and eventually force…

Carroll County does not fix one countywide park curfew; instead § 94.110 requires the Recreation and Parks Manager to post opening and closing hours at each individual county park…

Carroll County lets water customers apply for a bill reduction after repairing a leak in their service line, but only within 30 days of the invoice and only with a completed plumbing…

Carroll County Code § 3-107 requires a building permit from the Supervisor of Assessments before any erection, construction, repair, alteration, or remodeling of a building or…

Carroll County requires an automatic fire sprinkler system in every new or rebuilt one- and two-family dwelling under its Residential Code amendments. Major renovations and large…

Carroll County requires anyone providing plumbing services to hold a Maryland plumbing license, but lets a resident homeowner pull a homeowner permit to install plumbing in the home…

Carroll County's Livability Code folds Maryland's lead-paint law into local rental standards: § 171.035(G) requires every premises to stay in compliance with the Environment Article…

Carroll County bars anyone from installing, repairing, or erecting electrical wiring or equipment on any premises without a Maryland state license or a County electrical registration…

Carroll County requires contractors to request each building inspection at least one business day ahead through the Bureau of Permits and Inspections, and bars moving to the next…

Carroll County requires working locks on every door into a rental dwelling unit: § 171.036(J)(5) of the Livability Code makes exterior door hardware a maintenance duty and requires…

Carroll County shields agricultural operations on agricultural land from nuisance lawsuits over normal farm impacts like noise, odor, dust, and flies. Complaints go through the county…

Carroll County bars anyone from excavating a county road or right-of-way, or leaving dirt, equipment, machinery or a parked vehicle that obstructs it, without a permit from the County…

In Carroll County the owner, tenant, or occupant of the property fronting a public sidewalk, not the county, is responsible for repairing, maintaining, and replacing that sidewalk and…

Carroll County bars playing a radio, television, amplified musical instrument, or any other audio device loudly enough to create an unreasonably loud noise heard in a residential area…

Between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Carroll County bars anyone from running a musical instrument, machine, tool, equipment, amplified sound system, or similar device that produces an…

Carroll County bars pet owners from letting an animal vocalize unreasonably enough to disturb neighbors day or night, or to interfere with a neighbor's use and enjoyment of property…

Carroll County does not regulate ordinary car stereos, mufflers, or engine brakes countywide, but it does limit off-road recreational vehicles. Under § 93.01(C)(3), a dirt bike, ATV…

Carroll County requires a District-approved erosion and sediment control plan and a county grading permit before any clearing, grading, or filling, with narrow exemptions for small…

Carroll County regulates stormwater runoff from new development under Chapter 151, adopted pursuant to Maryland's Environment Article, Title 4, Subtitle 2. Section 151.001 requires…

Carroll County prohibits new fill, grading for buildable lots, and new residential, commercial, institutional, or accessory structures anywhere inside a mapped floodplain in the…

Carroll County requires the lowest floor of every new or substantially improved building in the floodplain to sit three feet above the base flood elevation, the freeboard standard set…

Carroll County bans sleeping, prolonged lounging, and loud, boisterous, threatening, abusive, insulting, or indecent language in any county park under § 94.078. The rule also forbids…

Carroll County bans drinking in its parks outside areas the Recreation and Parks Manager designates. Section 94.070 forbids possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages in undesignated…

Carroll County confines skateboarding and roller-skating in county parks to areas the Department of Recreation and Parks specifically designates, under Code of Ordinances § 94.056. The…

Carroll County bans smoking, vaping, and any tobacco or cannabis product use on park property outright under Code of Ordinances § 94.071. The rule, updated by Ord. 2026-03 in March…

Carroll County requires that lighting installed for off street parking facilities and access ways be shaded or shielded so light, glare, and reflection do not spill onto adjoining…

Carroll County does not run a single county-wide light trespass ordinance; instead it mandates shielded, downcast lighting use by use. Self-service storage facilities must shield and…

Carroll County bans parking wherever a traffic control device forbids it, in fire lanes on property open to the public, in handicapped spaces without a permit, and along reservoir or…

Carroll County caps how many commercial vehicles, defined as 10,000+ pound trucks or trailers, can park at a home under Zoning § 158.056. One is allowed on lots of one acre or less…

Carroll County Code § 7-101 lets any county law enforcement officer impound, remove, and sell a motor vehicle abandoned on a public road, alley, parking lot, public property, or…

Carroll County requires at least one off street loading space for any building of 10,000 square feet or more, with an additional space for every 20,000 square feet beyond that. Each…

Carroll County treats recreational vehicles and campers as an accessory use allowed in any zoning district under § 158.150(E), as long as they are not lived in or used for business…

Flying a drone or launching a model rocket in a Carroll County park requires advance approval from the Recreation and Parks Manager under Code of Ordinances § 94.060, which also lets…

Carroll County limits electric bicycles in county parks to Class 1 pedal-assisted models under Code of Ordinances § 94.036, which confines regular bicycles to paved roads and paths and…

Carroll County zoning allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in the Residential Districts, attached or detached, under § 158.075.02(A)(2) and (6). An attached ADU is capped at 800…

Carroll County exempts small detached sheds from a building permit only if they meet strict limits: no more than 150 square feet, built on skids so they remain movable, and kept at…

Carroll County's Residential Districts run four dimensional tiers under § 158.075.03(B)(1): the R-40,000 District requires 40-foot front, 20-foot side, and 50-foot rear yards, tapering…

Carroll County caps principal residential structures at 35 feet in the R-40,000, R-20,000, and R-10,000 Districts, and 40 feet in the R-7,500 District, under § 158.075.03(D). Accessory…

A home business in unincorporated Carroll County may post a sign up to three square feet naming the occupation without needing a zoning certificate, under Zoning Code § 158.111(A)…

Carroll County allows a home occupation as an accessory use in residential and agricultural zoning districts only after the Zoning Administrator approves a signed affidavit. The…

Carroll County zones family day care as an accessory use in its Residence Districts under § 158.075.02(A)(7), requiring only a signed affidavit to the Zoning Administrator confirming…

Carroll County lets residents run a home occupation as an accessory use in Residence and Agricultural Districts, but only after filing a signed affidavit promising the use 'involves no…

Signs placed on the inside of store windows in unincorporated Carroll County are exempt from regulation under Zoning Code § 158.111(H), meaning no zoning certificate, size cap, or…

Carroll County has no curbside bulky-item pickup. Residents and licensed haulers must self-haul furniture, mattresses, boats, campers, trailers and non-recyclable appliances to a…

Carroll County can require recyclables to be kept out of the trash. Section 50.03(A) and (L) let the County Commissioners declare recycling mandatory by resolution, after which…

Yard waste and yard trim cannot be mixed with regular trash in Carroll County. Section 50.04(E)(1) requires it to be kept separate and, if taken to a county site, dropped only at the…

Carroll County licenses every trash and recycling hauler under Chapter 50, and § 50.03 sets the operating rules collectors must follow on every route: covered, leak-proof loads, a…

Any company licensed to collect trash in Carroll County must also collect recyclables. Section 50.04(E) requires a hauler who collects municipal solid waste to collect, or arrange for…

Carroll County makes it a crime to dump trash on public streets. Section 92.065 flatly bans casting, throwing, or sweeping any trash, refuse, leaves, or sweepings into a county street…

Carroll County allows a dumpster or portable storage container on residential property under Zoning Code § 158.048.01(H). Tied to an active building permit there is no separate day…

Carroll County bans burning trash as a substitute for proper disposal. Section 50.03(J) forbids using open burning as a means of solid waste management anywhere in the county unless a…

Carroll County requires every propane installation, from home-fill cylinders to fixed LP tanks, to meet NFPA 58 (2020 Edition) and the International Fuel Gas Code (2021 Edition) under…

Carroll County outright bans fireworks and explosives on park property under Code of Ordinances § 94.072, covering firecrackers, rockets, sparklers, and any other combustible or…

Carroll County's Livability Code requires at least one single-station smoke detector near every sleeping area in dwelling and rooming units covered by the chapter. Section 171.105(B)…

Carroll County froze all new data processing center approvals for a full year starting February 19, 2026. Under § 158.176, the county will not accept, process, review, or approve any…

Carroll County allows rooftop and yard solar arrays as an accessory use by right in every zoning district except the Historic District, capped at 200% of the property's electric…

Carroll County has no general just-cause eviction law: landlords may end most tenancies without stating a reason. The one protection in the code, § 171.005 of the Livability Code…

Carroll County's Livability Code (Chapter 171) makes minimum housing standards a condition of renting: § 171.020(B) bars a property owner from renting or leasing any premises unless it…

Carroll County requires a retaining wall taller than 30 inches, measured from finish grade to the top of the wall within 36 inches of its edge, to meet International Building Code…

Carroll County lets fences rise up to 10 feet without a building permit, so long as they meet County, City, or Town zoning rules; taller fences must be engineered for wind load. On any…

Carroll County adopts the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 Edition, and locally rewrites its barrier trigger at § 170.22: every pool and spa must meet the code's Section…

Carroll County only exempts small 'storable' pools, those 42 inches deep or less with non-metallic or inflatable walls, from a building permit. Any in-ground pool or above-ground pool…

A tenant who wants a Livability Code inspection can trigger one by complaint: § 171.120 requires the county to inspect any premises when a complaint is filed or the county otherwise…

Carroll County's forest conservation code protects trees tied to historic sites and county-designated champion trees. Under Section 150.06(B)(2), any tree recognized by the National…

Carroll County's Forest Conservation ordinance singles out rare, threatened, and endangered trees, shrubs, and plants for mandatory retention. Under Section 150.06(B)(1), any species…

Carroll County keeps licensed cannabis dispensaries at least 500 feet from schools, childcare centers, playgrounds, parks, libraries, and houses of worship, a half mile from any other…

Carroll County permits licensed cannabis dispensaries but tightly controls where they can locate under Zoning § 158.059. Every dispensary needs Planning Commission site plan approval…

Carroll County Code § 6-104 lets the County Commissioners license massage establishments after a public hearing, while zoning § 158.154 keeps them at least 1,000 feet from schools…

Carroll County caps pawnshop hours at 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., bans drive-up transactions, and forces a 10-day hold on every item before resale so law enforcement can check it against…

Carroll County's zoning code steers tattoo and piercing shops out of its industrial zones: § 158.079(D)(6)(i) bars them from a Business/Industrial Park, and § 158.156(A)(2)(r) bars…

Carroll County requires secondhand dealers to keep detailed transaction records, report them to law enforcement by 10:00 a.m. the next business day, and hold every item 10 days, with…

Carroll County zones adult entertainment businesses, massage establishments, and striptease businesses away from residential and family-oriented uses. Under § 158.154, these businesses…

Carroll County's Livability Code requires every rental premises to stay free of rodents and other pests: § 171.035(C) bars infestation outright, subsection (B) requires rodent-proof…

Carroll County designates historically, archaeologically or architecturally significant sites, structures and districts under the Historic District Overlay, Zoning Code § 158.095. A…

Anyone seeking exclusive use of a Carroll County park facility, or any activity the Manager decides needs one, must get a permit in advance under § 94.113. The Manager reviews written…