Carteret County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Sec. 14-30 of the Carteret County Code designates recycling containers for acceptable recyclable materials and makes anything placed in them county property, while Sec. 14-29 requires…

Carteret County has no curbside bulk pickup in the unincorporated area; Sec. 14-28 routes large or bulky items such as furniture, mattresses, white goods and construction debris to…

Carteret County bans leaf and yard waste from general landfill and transfer-station disposal but requires it be taken to designated county convenience and recycling container sites…

Carteret County treats illegal dumping anywhere in the unincorporated area, or at its transfer station and container sites, as a Chapter 14 violation carrying escalating civil fines…

Sec. 14-91 governs how solid waste is collected and transported to the Carteret County transfer station: haulers need a CRSWMA use permit, vehicles must be leak-proof, covered and…

Sec. 14-92 requires private solid waste collectors and municipalities delivering waste to the Carteret County transfer station to give customers an effective means to collect and…

Unincorporated Carteret County requires dumpsters, trash compactors and similar receptacles at commercial and multi-family developments to sit inside a four-sided enclosure with an…

Unincorporated Carteret County requires every new or substantially improved home, including manufactured homes, to have its reference level built no lower than the regulatory flood…

New subdivisions in unincorporated Carteret County must install an adequate surface water drainage system built to the Sedimentation Pollution Control Act, North Carolina stormwater…

Any development activity in a special flood hazard area of unincorporated Carteret County needs a floodplain development permit before work starts, under County Code § 7-38. The…

In unincorporated Carteret County, playing a radio, stereo or other sound equipment loud enough to annoy or disturb neighbors violates Sec. 10-1(b)(3). Vehicle stereo noise audible 30…

In unincorporated Carteret County, running a car, motorcycle or other vehicle so out of repair or overloaded that it creates loud grating, grinding or rattling noise violates the…

Unincorporated Carteret County makes it unlawful to keep a dog or other animal that habitually barks, whines or howls enough to interfere with a neighbor's use and enjoyment of their…

Unincorporated Carteret County's noise ordinance restricts loud, disturbing noise most heavily between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under Sec. 10-1(c), when it is detrimental to an…

Unincorporated Carteret County bans sounding a horn or signal device, including an alarm, on a parked vehicle. Carteret County Code § 10-1(b)(2) makes it unlawful to sound any horn or…

Unincorporated Carteret County presumes a car stereo or speaker system is an illegal noise source if it is audible, or its bass can be felt, 30 feet or more from the vehicle. Carteret…

In unincorporated Carteret County, outdoor air compressors and air-conditioning equipment placed next to a home fall under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 3009.2. Support equipment likely to…

Carteret County's zoning ordinance classifies an 'animal hospital/veterinary clinic' as its own use, separate from a kennel. Section 1102 defines it as a place providing dental…

In unincorporated Carteret County, running a pet-grooming business from a residence is classified as a personal-business home occupation under the zoning ordinance. One non-resident…

Carteret County outright bans keeping big cats, bears, wolves, and non-human primates as pets. County Code § 3-31 makes it unlawful to keep, shelter, or harbor any "inherently…

In unincorporated Carteret County every cat must wear a collar bearing the owner's name and address, plus a current rabies tag, under County Code § 3-2. Owners must produce proof of…

In unincorporated Carteret County, County Code § 3-3 makes it unlawful for an owner or keeper to let a dog or cat run at large or leave the owner's premises unsupervised. "Under…

Carteret County has no county-wide mandatory spay/neuter law. County Code § 3-5(a) requires only that a dog or cat adopted from the Carteret County Humane Society's animal control…

Carteret County can declare a dog "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous" under County Code § 3-21 after it bites, injures, or menaces without provocation. Once declared, owners must…

In unincorporated Carteret County, possessing, displaying or drinking any alcoholic beverage on county park or recreational property is illegal. Carteret County Code § 11-1 bans…

In unincorporated Carteret County, an unoccupied RV may be stored on any lot outside required setbacks, but an occupied RV cannot stay on an individual lot for fewer than 180…

Unincorporated Carteret County bans leaving abandoned or junked motor vehicles on county-owned property. Under Carteret County Code §§ 10-51 and 10-54, a vehicle left on county…

Unincorporated Carteret County does not post loading-zone hours; instead, Zoning Ordinance Section 2014 requires every commercial or multi-use building to provide offstreet loading…

Where unincorporated Carteret County accepts dedicated common areas, the subdivision's owners' association must pay assessments and county ad valorem taxes on those areas. Section…

Unincorporated Carteret County requires developers of subdivisions with shared common areas to form an owners' association before selling any lot. Section 6-1.1 makes membership…

Unincorporated Carteret County requires a county health department permit before anyone organizes an outdoor festival, fair or concert of more than 1,000 people that charges admission…

Unincorporated Carteret County bans living in a detached accessory building. Section 1102 states 'under no circumstances shall an accessory building or structure be used for…

Sheds and other accessory structures in unincorporated Carteret County cannot sit in the required front yard or within five feet of a side or rear property line under Zoning Ordinance…

Carteret County's flood damage prevention ordinance draws a hard line around tiny homes: County Code § 7-26 excludes any tiny home or park model that fails the county's…

Unincorporated Carteret County requires Planning Commission site plan approval before anyone builds a solar energy facility. Chapter 13.5 of the Carteret County Code bans operating an…

In unincorporated Carteret County, Sec. 14-24 bans burning refuse, garbage, rubbish, tires, asphalt or other petroleum products for disposal purposes, counting each tire or container…

Unincorporated Carteret County allows electronic message boards as part of a sign's allowed area, but Carteret County Code § 13-17(q) bans blinking, flashing or scrolling displays…

Unincorporated Carteret County lets political signs up to 32 square feet go up without a zoning permit under Section 2106.11. Anything larger needs a zoning permit and the landowner's…

Section 1007 of the Carteret County Zoning Ordinance says the ordinance shall in no way regulate, restrict, prohibit, or otherwise deter any bona fide farm and its related uses. The…

Unincorporated Carteret County's zoning ordinance does not apply to bona fide farms; Section 1005 excludes them from the regulations, and the county's Rural Agricultural (RA) district…

In unincorporated Carteret County, every new building and substantial improvement in a special flood hazard area must be anchored against flotation, built with flood-resistant…

Anyone who believes a building or group-housing rule is being broken in unincorporated Carteret County can file a written complaint with the county building inspection office under…

Unincorporated Carteret County will not permit vehicle repair as a home occupation. Section 1102 lists 'vehicle repair' alongside kennel, veterinarian, and wrecker services as uses…

Adult establishments in unincorporated Carteret County may open only in the B-1 general business district and only with a special use permit under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 3322. The use…

Unincorporated Carteret County bans glare from any illuminated sign, including billboards: Zoning Ordinance Section 2102.3 forbids light so designed or placed that it creates a hazard…

Zoning Ordinance Sec. 3009.3 controls light trespass from non-residential uses in unincorporated Carteret County. Outdoor lighting must be aimed downward and away from residential uses…

In unincorporated Carteret County's residential zoning districts, walls and fences cannot exceed eight feet within any required yard under Zoning Ordinance Section 1619. On corner…

A home occupation's sign allowance in unincorporated Carteret County depends on its classification. Section 2902.C.2 bars any sign for a minor home occupation in a residential…

In unincorporated Carteret County, a home-based business is a home occupation under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 2902 and must stay subordinate to the residential use. Minor home occupations…

Major home occupations in unincorporated Carteret County, such as bed-and-breakfasts and larger day-cares approved by special use permit, face client-traffic limits under Zoning…

Unincorporated Carteret County splits home day-care into two zoning tracks. Care for six or fewer children or adults is a minor home occupation needing no special permit under Sec…

Before Carteret County's building inspector will issue a building permit for a structure using a septic tank, County Code § 4-1 requires the applicant to first obtain a certificate…

For unincorporated Carteret County lots that have not been assigned to one of the county's numbered zoning districts, Zoning Ordinance Sec. 1607 sets a 20-foot front setback (40 feet…