Georgetown County, SC Ordinances (2026)

Between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Georgetown County's noise ordinance treats a radio, stereo or musical device audible from 50 feet away as prima facie evidence of a violation under…

Georgetown County's noise ordinance bars unnecessary horn use and excessive engine or exhaust noise on any street or public place in the unincorporated county. Code § 13.8-2(c)(1)…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, a dog or bird that howls, barks or squawks with frequent or continued duration across a property line violates the county's noise ordinance…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, building erection, excavation, demolition, alteration or repair outside 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. is excessive noise under Code § 13.8-2(c)(6). An…

Georgetown County's noise ordinance publishes decibel guidelines in Appendix A to Code § 13.8-2 rather than setting a strict legal maximum: 60 dB by day and 50 dB at night for…

Loudspeakers and sound amplifiers used to broadcast music for commercial advertising on public streets are banned outright in unincorporated Georgetown County. For amplified outside…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, it is a violation to park facing oncoming traffic, block the free movement of vehicular, pedestrian or emergency traffic, or stop within 15 feet of…

Letting junk or disabled cars and trucks pile up on a residential lot in unincorporated Georgetown County is a declared nuisance under the county's Junk, Debris and Common Nuisance…

Georgetown County requires a film permit for any commercial film, video, television or movie activity in the unincorporated county, with exemptions for news coverage, student projects…

Any filming that disrupts traffic in unincorporated Georgetown County, including street closures, needs an encroachment permit before the film permit issues, and the Sheriff sets the…

All county parks and recreation facilities in unincorporated Georgetown County close to the public at 11:00 p.m. under County Code § 13.9-22, except during organized activities that…

Georgetown County enforces the 3 percent accommodations tax against residential short-term rentals through the annual property tax notice under County Code § 16-78, adopted under the…

Any group wanting a Georgetown County park or recreation facility for a picnic or other group activity must register in advance through the parks and recreation department's…

A parade, festival, concert or athletic event in unincorporated Georgetown County that will exceed the noise ordinance's normal limits needs a special event permit under Code §…

At Morse Landing Park in Murrells Inlet, unincorporated Georgetown County bans biking, skateboarding or similar activity outright under County Code § 13.9-73. The rule sits alongside…

Georgetown County Code § 3-2 bans drinking any alcoholic liquor, beer, ale, porter or wine, including from an open container in a vehicle, on the streets, roads or sidewalks of…

Georgetown County Code § 5.5-20 bars gatherings, loitering and loud or boisterous behavior at any public beach access area in the unincorporated county, and closes those accesses…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, urinating in a public area or in view of others is disorderly conduct under County Code Sec. 13.8-16. The Sheriff's Office can charge anyone who…

Georgetown County bans all begging, soliciting, vending, and bartering on the Marshwalk and Jetty View Walk in Murrells Inlet under County Code Sec. 13.8-42(4). Georgetown County…

Unincorporated Georgetown County imposes a 3 percent local accommodations tax on rooms rented to transients and a 2 percent local hospitality tax on prepared meals and beverages under…

Georgetown County's animal-noise rule, Code § 13.8-2(c)(10), exempts bona fide agricultural operations from its bark, howl and squawk restrictions, citing South Carolina's Right to…

Unincorporated Georgetown County funds stormwater management through a dedicated utility fee billed to every developed parcel. The county sets one equivalent residential unit (ERU) at…

Unincorporated Georgetown County requires a Land Disturbance Permit before any land-disturbing construction under the county's Stormwater Management Ordinance 2014, with erosion and…

Unincorporated Georgetown County regulates every Special Flood Hazard Area shown on FEMA's June 18, 2025 Flood Insurance Study under its Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, requiring a…

In unincorporated Georgetown County's Special Flood Hazard Areas, the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance sets the Design Flood Elevation at the base flood elevation plus one foot of…

Unincorporated Georgetown County bans open burning within 50 feet of any structure and prohibits burning rubbish, tires, treated wood, plastics and construction debris anywhere in the…

Recreational fire pits, campfires and outdoor fireplaces are exempt from Georgetown County's open-burning permit requirements as long as they burn clean wood, stay contained and…

Georgetown County Council administers a fireworks prohibited zone extension process under County Code Sec. 13.8-18, enacted under S.C. Code Sec. 23-35-175. Property owners near an…

Georgetown County no longer has a standalone smoke detector ordinance. Ordinance 2008-26 repealed the county's 1992 smoke-detector law in Article V of Chapter 7, and smoke alarm…

Dumping litter or solid waste on public or private property anywhere in Georgetown County is a misdemeanor. Depositing under 15 pounds or 27 cubic feet draws a $100 to $200 fine, 30…

Unincorporated Georgetown County has no county-run curbside trash truck for single-family homes; residents self-haul to the landfill or recycling centers or hire a private hauler. The…

Georgetown County defines yard waste as pure vegetative matter like leaves, brush, grass and limbs under eight inches thick and six feet long, and it must go loose, never bagged in…

Georgetown County runs drop-off recycling centers, not curbside pickup, and Sec. 8-22 limits them to county residents disposing of household waste only. Residents must haul their own…

Beyond who can use them, Georgetown County's recycling centers run on a strict conduct code. Sec. 8-22 bans loitering and scavenging outright, requires waste to go into the receptacle…

Georgetown County has no curbside bulk pickup; large items go to the solid waste management complex, where Sec. 8-24(c)(5) folds bulk waste into the same $45.00-per-ton fee as land…

Placing a roll-off container in unincorporated Georgetown County for a construction or cleanout project runs through the county's internal regulations, not an over-the-counter permit…

Georgetown County's Junk, Debris and Common Nuisance Ordinance defines the property conditions residents most often report: trash and debris left to accumulate, stagnant standing…

Georgetown County treats dilapidated, unsafe or fire-damaged structures and junk-strewn lots as nuisances under its Junk, Debris and Common Nuisance Ordinance. The Environmental…

Georgetown County can clean up an overgrown vacant lot itself and bill the owner. Its Property Maintenance Code fee schedule sets a $500 magistrate's court citation for an overgrown…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, South Carolina, anyone wanting to erect, construct or maintain a structure on county-owned property, including rights-of-way and street ends, must…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, nobody may block a county- or state-owned sidewalk or bike path so a pedestrian or bicyclist must step off it onto private property or into the…

Georgetown County Code § 4-3 makes it unlawful to place food or other nourishment on county-owned property to feed any stray or feral animal that is on or frequents that property, and…

Georgetown County has no breed-specific ban. Instead, § 4-24(3) targets any 'fierce or dangerous dog, or a dog which has bitten some person,' making it unlawful for the owner to let…

Georgetown County Code § 4-24(1) bars any owner from letting a dog run at large off the owner's premises without a leash or similar restraint anywhere in the unincorporated county…

Georgetown County does not require pet owners generally to spay or neuter their animals. Under § 4-27(c), the animal shelter itself must spay or neuter every unclaimed or…

Before building a pool in unincorporated Georgetown County, homeowners must get a building permit from the county Building Department. County Code Sec. 7-10 lists swimming pool…

Georgetown County has adopted the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code as county law, so any barrier, fence or gate around a pool in the unincorporated county must meet that…

Georgetown County building inspectors check work at set stages listed on the permit card, and Sec. 7-12 spells out how the process runs in the unincorporated county. No inspection…

Georgetown County requires a building permit before any construction, remodeling, plumbing, electrical, mechanical or gas work, or land development begins in the unincorporated county…

Georgetown County has adopted the 2020 National Electric Code, with South Carolina modifications, as its electrical code. Sec. 7-12(d) makes it unlawful to connect any wiring, device…

Georgetown County enforces the 2021 International Plumbing Code, with South Carolina modifications, as its plumbing code. Sec. 7-10 requires a permit from the building official before…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, the Development Regulations governing subdivisions require tree protection to be installed before any land disturbance around every significant and…

Along Georgetown County's ocean-facing coastal high hazard areas (VE-Zones), the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance requires new construction to sit landward of the mean high tide line…

Georgetown County Code Sec. 13.8-124 makes property owners responsible for trimming any shrub, tree, or plant that grows over a sidewalk or bike path in the unincorporated county so it…

Georgetown County caps weeds and plant growth at twenty inches on all premises and exterior property under its version of the International Property Maintenance Code. County Council…

Georgetown County caps non-consent tows from private property in the unincorporated area under County Code Sec. 13.8-115, limiting rates to the state Wrecker Rotation Fee Schedule and…

Georgetown County Code Sec. 13.8-125 bans driving a moped or motor vehicle on any public sidewalk or bicycle path in the unincorporated area, except to cross it on a permanent or…

Georgetown County bans artificial light that spills onto the beach anywhere in unincorporated areas of the Waccamaw Neck, Litchfield and DeBordieu. Adopted by County Council in 1989 to…