Fayette County, GA Ordinances (2026)

Electrical work in unincorporated Fayette County requires a permit from the code official under Fayette County Code Sec. 102-1138, which also requires the permit to be kept on the…

Anyone constructing, altering or replacing a plumbing system in unincorporated Fayette County must apply to the code official and obtain a permit before starting work under Fayette…

Fayette County's Multifamily Residential Sprinkler Code requires automatic fire sprinkler systems in apartment buildings, hotels, dormitories, lodging houses and residential board and…

Anyone who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure in unincorporated Fayette County, or install regulated…

Fayette County Code § 102-284 keeps every permitted job open to inspection by the building official until approved, and Code § 102-286 lists the required stages, from footing and…

In unincorporated Fayette County, sound crossing onto a neighbor's property cannot exceed set decibel ceilings that depend on both the noise source's zoning district and the receiving…

Frequent or continuous animal noise that unreasonably interferes with residential peace and comfort is a public disturbance noise in unincorporated Fayette County, with exceptions for…

Construction activity, including blasting, is a nighttime public disturbance noise in unincorporated Fayette County's residential districts. Night runs 9:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. weekdays…

Fayette County bars loudspeakers and amplifiers used to broadcast or advertise, and separately bars musical instruments, radios or amplified sound heard as comprehensible music inside…

Unincorporated Fayette County enforces nighttime quiet hours in residential districts from 9:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. on weekdays and 10:01 p.m. to 8:59 a.m. on weekends, during which a…

Operating a mechanically powered blower or similar garden tool in a residential district at night is a public disturbance noise in unincorporated Fayette County. The rule also covers…

Motor vehicles in unincorporated Fayette County are capped at 78-90 dB(A) depending on class and speed, measured 50 feet from the lane of travel, and unmuffled exhaust, repeated engine…

Fayette County's noise ordinance does not restrict aircraft. Code § 16-40(a)(1) exempts, at all times, sounds originating from aircraft in flight and sounds that originate at airports…

Fayette County does not require a building or gas permit to install an underground or above-ground LP-gas (propane) storage tank on residential property in the unincorporated area. The…

Unincorporated Fayette County requires a residential or commercial permit before any open burning, and bans all open burning outright during May through September except for…

A recreational cooking fire, such as a backyard fire pit, needs no burning permit in unincorporated Fayette County, but Code § 12-28 still requires it to burn only between 8:00 a.m…

Fireworks and other pyrotechnics are banned in Fayette County's parks and recreation facilities unless the county parks and recreation department issues a written permit. Code §…

Unincorporated Fayette County requires a stormwater management permit for new development or redevelopment that adds 5,000 square feet or more of impervious cover, disturbs one acre or…

Land disturbance in unincorporated Fayette County requires a permit from the environmental management department under Code Sec. 104-305, and every project must follow the minimum best…

In unincorporated Fayette County, letting a stationary truck over 10,000 pounds GVWR idle for more than ten minutes at a time at night in a residential district is a public disturbance…

New construction and substantial improvements in unincorporated Fayette County's future-conditions floodplain must set the lowest floor, including any basement, at least three feet…

Unincorporated Fayette County bars any development inside an area of special flood hazard or future-conditions flood hazard that would raise the base flood elevation, cut flood storage…

Unincorporated Fayette County can force repair or demolition of a dwelling or structure the Board of Commissioners has found unfit for human habitation, commercial, or business use…

Unincorporated Fayette County requires industrial, wholesale, and retail operations to provide off-street loading spaces sized to their function and scope, with all vehicle maneuvering…

Residential lots in unincorporated Fayette County cannot host a business vehicle over 8,000 pounds except during daylight hours for deliveries, pickups or service calls, and lighter…

Unincorporated Fayette County bars parking camping trailers, motorized homes, boat trailers, and boats on any residential or A-R lot that has no dwelling on it, except under a…

Any owner who wants to build, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a swimming pool or spa in unincorporated Fayette County must first apply to the code official and get a permit…

Idling a stationary truck over 10,000 pounds GVWR for more than ten minutes at night in a residential district is a public disturbance noise in unincorporated Fayette County, a rule…

In unincorporated Fayette County, running a generator or other internal combustion powered equipment in a residential district at night is a public disturbance noise violation under…

Fayette County Code § 16-39(1)g bans music or bass so loud it is heard as comprehensible rhythms, or felt, inside another residence or 75 feet or more from the source outdoors in a…

Unincorporated Fayette County requires a permit for open burning, but recreational cooking fires such as smokers, grills and fire pits used to cook food for immediate human consumption…

Outdoor kitchens and fireplaces are a permitted residential accessory use in unincorporated Fayette County, and an uncovered outdoor kitchen does not count toward a lot's…

Installing or swapping out a gas grill or barbeque on a one- or two-family home in unincorporated Fayette County doesn't need a residential building permit, as long as you don't…

Fayette County's health code treats used needles and other sharps from licensed body art studios as bio-hazardous waste, requiring puncture-resistant, labeled containers and disposal…

Unincorporated Fayette County bans yard trimmings, leaves, brush, grass clippings and Christmas trees from the landfill and requires them to be separated out and brought to a county…

Dumping litter on public or private property or waters in Fayette County is banned outright under Code § 16-137, with narrow exceptions for permitted disposal sites and receptacles…

Nonresidential dumpster and refuse areas in unincorporated Fayette County must sit to the side or rear of the principal building, meet the applicable zoning district's setback and…

Fayette County's social host ordinance makes any person in control of private property criminally liable for a gathering where an underage guest obtains, possesses or consumes alcohol…

Unincorporated Fayette County bans loitering or prowling in a manner not usual for law-abiding people when the circumstances create justifiable alarm for the safety of persons or…

Smoking or using tobacco products anywhere in a Fayette County park or recreation facility, indoors or out, is a violation unless the area is specifically posted to allow it, under…

Urinating or defecating in public is expressly listed as unlawful conduct in Fayette County parks and recreation facilities under Code of Fayette County, Georgia Sec. 18-21, part of a…

Fayette County Code § 4-100 bans possessing an open container of alcohol almost anywhere in the unincorporated county: inside a moving car's passenger compartment, on streets…

Fayette County residents report unsafe or unfit dwellings, buildings and structures to the director of the building department, who doubles as the article's public officer under County…

Fayette County's building director relies on a specific statutory checklist, not guesswork, to label a dwelling, building or structure a nuisance. Code § 102-2278 names the conditions…

Fayette County requires a sexually oriented business permit and denies it if the business sits within 1,000 feet of a school, religious institution, park, child care facility or…

Unincorporated Fayette County outlaws "massage parlors," defined as places combining bodywork with sexual activity, under Code section 8-126(f). Legitimate massage therapy performed by…

Pawnbrokers in unincorporated Fayette County must hold an annual county license issued by code enforcement, pass a criminal history check, and operate only between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00…

Anyone buying used gold, silver, platinum, gems or jewelry in unincorporated Fayette County must hold an annual dealer license from code enforcement under Code chapter 8, division 3…

Every tattoo, cosmetic-tattoo and body-piercing studio in unincorporated Fayette County must hold an annual body art studio permit from the county board of health, and no tattoo may be…

Unincorporated Fayette County explicitly bars on-premises automobile, motorcycle and farm or heavy construction equipment repair from qualifying as a home occupation. Section…

In unincorporated Fayette County, trees meeting specimen-size thresholds get special protection under Development Code Sec. 104-153. A 24-inch deciduous canopy tree, a 30-inch…

Unincorporated Fayette County bars canvassers, solicitors, peddlers and door-to-door salespeople from calling at any home, office or business posting a 'No solicitors or peddlers…

Anyone canvassing, peddling or selling door-to-door in unincorporated Fayette County must register with code enforcement first under § 8-57, listing an employer, products sold and…

Unincorporated Fayette County bans operating a business from a mobile vehicle, or vending, on public sidewalks, streets, alleys, parks, parking lots or rights-of-way. The county carves…

Fayette County generally bars operating any business, including a food truck, from a mobile vehicle on public sidewalks, streets, parking lots or other public land. Sections 8-62(b)…

Unincorporated Fayette County bans selling goods or services from a temporary spot along a public right-of-way outside an approved permanent structure. Section 110-96 carves out three…

Fayette County Code § 8-65 forbids any licensed canvasser, solicitor, peddler or door-to-door salesperson from obstructing a sidewalk, street or highway while doing business in the…

Cutting a new driveway into a county road or prescriptive easement in unincorporated Fayette County takes an approved driveway application permit from the engineering department first…

Fayette County, not the abutting owner, is on the hook for fixing damaged sidewalks sitting inside its right-of-way, though Code § 104-59(11) lets the county shift repair costs to a…

Anyone operating a short-term tourist accommodation in unincorporated Fayette County, other than a hotel, campground or planned retreat and lodge, must obtain a permit from code…

Fayette County limits every guestroom in a permitted tourist accommodation to two guests, with detached structures and recreational vehicles barred entirely as guest space, under Code…

Because Fayette County defines a taxable 'tourist accommodation' as any property, facility or structure that provides accommodations for value to the public for 30 days or less, a…

Anyone organizing a parade or public assembly in unincorporated Fayette County must get a permit from the sheriff before the event, per Code § 16-94(a). Permits cost $12.00 per hour…

Any group planning to use a Fayette County park for more than five people, whether for a picnic, party, sports event, or performance, must get a permit from the parks and recreation…

Residential properties in unincorporated Fayette County may post no more than three window signs, and each one is capped at six square feet or 25 percent of that window's glass area…

Digital billboards cannot exist in unincorporated Fayette County because billboards, any sign over 60 square feet, are banned outright. Smaller electronic changeable-copy signs that…

Filming for TV, movies, or other media on county-owned property in Fayette County, including county rights-of-way, requires a film permit under Code § 16-151(b). Fees run $100.00 per…

Fayette County doesn't ban dogs by breed; it classifies individual dogs as dangerous or vicious based on behavior. Section 6-19 defines a dangerous dog by bite or attack history and a…

Fayette County's animal control ordinance never requires owners to microchip a pet. Section 6-19 simply defines a microchip implant as an identifying circuit placed under an animal's…

Fayette County Code § 6-22 makes it unlawful for an owner to let any animal run at large, unattended, on county streets or another person's property without consent. Section 6-19…

Fayette County doesn't require pet sterilization across the board, but § 6-26(i) makes it mandatory after a second at-large or restraint conviction. Anyone found guilty a second time…

Fayette County allows trap, neuter, vaccinate and return (TNVR) programs for feral and free-roaming cats under Chapter 6, Article V. A community cat, defined at § 6-101, is a feral or…

Homes in most unincorporated Fayette County zoning districts are limited to three animals per dwelling under § 110-87, though a litter under six months old does not count. A-R zoned…

Beekeeping is allowed on any single-family lot across most of unincorporated Fayette County's residential districts under § 110-88, as long as hives meet the zoning setback. A…

Unincorporated Fayette County prohibits keeping any wild animal classified as inherently dangerous under Georgia's wild animal license law in every residential and A-R zoning district…

Unincorporated Fayette County allows up to six chickens per dwelling on a one-acre lot, scaling to a 12-bird maximum as lot size grows, in every residential zoning district from EST…

Unincorporated Fayette County treats animal hospitals, kennels and veterinary clinics as conditional uses, not by-right uses, in five zoning districts. Section 110-169(2)d and (2)e set…

Unincorporated Fayette County will not permit on-premises pet grooming as a home occupation. Section 110-169(2)z.13 lists pet grooming alongside animal hospitals and commercial kennels…

Unincorporated Fayette County bans billboards outright, so no billboard lighting fixture, internal or external, may be installed anywhere in the county's jurisdiction. Any sign over 60…

Fayette County requires self-storage facilities in unincorporated Fayette County to shield all outdoor lighting away from adjacent residential areas. Section 110-169(2)qq.7 sets this…

A storage building is a permitted residential accessory structure in unincorporated Fayette County, but it counts against a lot's overall cap: two structures totaling 1,800 square…

Unincorporated Fayette County allows exactly one guesthouse per lot, capped at 700 square feet of heated and finished floor area, and it cannot be rented out as tenant space. Any…

Unincorporated Fayette County allows one guesthouse per lot as a residential accessory structure, but county code flatly bars using it as a rental. Section 110-79(f) caps a guesthouse…

Barbed wire and electric fencing are prohibited on residential and A-R lots in unincorporated Fayette County under § 110-81(b)(1) and (c)(1). The only broad exception is chainlink or…

A retaining wall on a one- or two-family residential lot in unincorporated Fayette County does not need a building permit as long as it stays four feet or less, measured from grade to…

Front-yard walls and fences in unincorporated Fayette County top out at four feet solid under § 110-81(b) and (c). Anything taller must be at least half open so sightlines and airflow…

A zoning compliance certificate is required before building any wall or fence in a front yard in unincorporated Fayette County, per § 110-81(a)(4). Applicants must submit a scaled…

Unincorporated Fayette County caps ground-mounted residential solar panels at three per lot, 900 combined square feet, and ten feet in height, and requires them to meet standard…

Outdoor irrigation in unincorporated Fayette County runs only before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m. year-round under Code § 28-77. When the state EPD declares a drought response level…

Fayette County adopted the International Property Maintenance Code's weed standard as Code § 102-22(10)a: every premises has to stay free of weeds or plant growth over 14 inches, and…

Fayette County's cable television franchise ordinance gives a CATV grantee the authority to trim trees overhanging county streets when branches touch its wires and cables, but only…

Any project in unincorporated Fayette County that needs a preliminary plat, an erosion and sedimentation plan, or a site plan also has to submit a tree protection plan before land…

Fayette County's nonresidential landscape ordinance defines native plants as species indigenous or naturalized to the area and lists dozens of them, from red maple to bald cypress, as…

Fayette County requires every new conveyor car wash built after November 14, 2019 to install a recycled water system that captures and reuses at least 50 percent of its wash water…

Every county-owned park and recreation facility in unincorporated Fayette County is open only between sunrise and sunset as those hours are set by the U.S. Weather Service, unless the…

Fayette County levies an annual occupation tax on every business, trade, profession or occupation operating in the unincorporated county, with the amount set by a bracket schedule tied…

Every stay at a tourist accommodation in unincorporated Fayette County is taxed at three percent of the rent charged, under Code of Fayette County, Georgia Sec. 22-71. The occupant…

Unincorporated Fayette County caps garage and yard sales at three per residential lot within any 12-month period, and each individual sale cannot run longer than three days. The rule…

Unincorporated Fayette County's Agricultural-Residential (A-R) district, Section 110-125, is built around very low density single-family and agricultural use, permitting crop growing…

In the R-85 Single-Family Residential District, unincorporated Fayette County's Section 110-128 sets a 100-foot front setback from a major arterial (75 feet from a collector, 50 feet…

Unincorporated Fayette County caps residential structures at 35 feet in the R-85 Single-Family Residential District under Section 110-128(d)(7), the same 35-foot ceiling that applies…

In unincorporated Fayette County, the county code caps impervious lot coverage by zoning district rather than county-wide. The RMF Multi-Family Residential District limits buildings…

Unincorporated Fayette County allows home occupations only as a conditional use, available across most residential districts plus several commercial and industrial zones. Section…

Fayette County limits how many clients, customers or students can visit a home-based business in unincorporated Fayette County. Section 110-169(2)z.4 caps on-premises visitors at two…

A home daycare counts as a home occupation in unincorporated Fayette County, and the zoning ordinance caps it at three children or three adults at any one time. Section 110-169(2)z.10…