Hamilton County, IN Ordinances (2026)

Indiana has no Fire Hazard Severity Zone program like California. Hamilton County is a suburban Indianapolis county with no mapped wildfire zones and no defensible-space mandate…

Open burning of trash and yard waste for disposal is banned statewide by Indiana's IDEM under 326 IAC 4-1. Small recreational and ceremonial fires of clean wood are exempt in all…

No one may possess or consume alcohol on Hamilton County property without written approval from the Board of Commissioners. The ban reaches the government and judicial center, the…

Hamilton County bans lighted cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes and vapor pens inside and within 15 feet of the entrances of county government buildings. The rule covers the…

Hamilton County lists loitering as "prohibited conduct" at its Noblesville parking garage, alongside skateboarding, rollerblading, racing and smoking. A citation can bring a fine of up…

Skateboards, roller blades and roller skates are banned at the Hamilton County government and judicial center, the courthouse, and surrounding downtown Noblesville sidewalks bounded by…

At the Hamilton County government and judicial center, a person may only enter or exit the property at properly marked crosswalks. Crossing anywhere else on the courthouse grounds is…

Hamilton County's junk and prohibited-vehicle ordinance (Sec. 36-9-30-34) will not be enforced against a farm in a way that conflicts with Indiana's Right to Farm Act, IC 32-30-6-9…

Hamilton County charges a 5% County Innkeeper's Tax on every room, lodging, or tourist cabin rented on a daily basis anywhere in the county, on top of Indiana's state sales tax. The…

Hamilton County's code carves "automobile repair shop" status out of any business run from a residentially-classified property. That means a home-based repair operation cannot claim…

Hamilton County requires an annual license from the Health Department to operate a body art establishment or work as a body artist, County Code Sections 16-20-9-1 and 16-20-9-14. Fixed…

Hamilton County bans accumulating junk or "prohibited vehicles," including abandoned, inoperable and excess vehicles, on private property in the unincorporated county. Violators get a…

Cities generally require vehicles to be parked on an improved driveway rather than a lawn, and limit yard storage. Noblesville lets residents park anywhere on a single-family lot…

Indiana sets no statewide overnight ban, but Hamilton County cities cap how long a vehicle may sit on a public street. Noblesville and Fishers both prohibit leaving a vehicle on a…

Rules come from each city, not the county. Noblesville requires campers, RVs and boat trailers be stored in a building or behind the home's front facade, with only short loading stops…

Anyone who wants to build, dig, install a driveway, or store items within a Hamilton County road right-of-way must get a permit first. Sec. 8-17-4-2 requires county commissioner…

Hamilton County bars anyone from pushing snow, debris, construction materials, litter or any other item onto a county road right-of-way under Sec. 8-20-8-6(a). A vehicle blocking that…

Hamilton County outlaws puppy mills outright, fining backyard breeders and puppy-mill operators up to $1,500.00 per occurrence. Pet shops themselves aren't banned or made…

Feeding a colony of feral cats in Hamilton County is unlawful unless the colony is registered as a managed trap-neuter-return site with Low Cost Spay Neuter Clinic, Inc. Unregistered…

Hamilton County requires every dog and cat over six months old to be spayed or neutered by a licensed veterinarian unless the owner secures a free breeder's permit, County Code Section…

Hamilton County does not ban dog breeds by name. County Code Section 15-2.1-1-10 lets a prior court finding turn any individual dog, cat, or other animal into a 'vicious animal' for…

Hamilton County's animal code defines livestock to expressly include fowl, meaning backyard chickens are regulated the same as horses or goats. Owners must keep animals safe, clean…

Indiana requires owners to reasonably restrain dogs; letting a dog stray off your premises is an infraction, and failing to restrain a dog that then bites is a crime. Fishers and…

In unincorporated Hamilton County, electronically amplified sound cannot exceed 25 dB/A above ambient noise for more than two minutes an hour at the property line during nighttime…

Unincorporated Hamilton County caps property-generated noise at 75 dB/A for more than two minutes an hour, measured a half-mile from the source's property line. It is a strict numeric…

Storing a dumpster or construction materials in a Hamilton County road right-of-way costs $50.00 per week per site under Sec. 8-17-4-2(e)(13), capped at 500 square feet of paved area…

Large-item pickup is handled through your city hauler, but Hamilton County runs a free Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Center and self-serve General Recycling Area in Noblesville…

Dumping trash on someone else's property or public land is illegal statewide. Under Indiana Code IC 35-45-3-2, leaving refuse anywhere except a container provided for it is littering…

Hamilton County bans discharging anything but stormwater into the county's storm drains, regulated drains, or watercourses, with narrow exemptions for things like lawn watering and…

Any construction site in unincorporated Hamilton County disturbing an acre or more of land needs an approved stormwater pollution prevention plan and an improvement location permit…

New homes and additions in Hamilton County's mapped flood hazard areas must have their lowest floor built two feet above the base flood elevation, a standard the code calls the flood…

Hamilton County's floodplain ordinance covers every special flood hazard area shown on the county's November 19, 2014 FEMA flood insurance rate map and bans filling floodplain land…

In unincorporated Hamilton County's flood hazard areas, no construction, fill, or land alteration can start until the county issues a floodplain development permit, the local…

Hamilton County requires every mobile food unit to hold a valid permit from the county health officer before operating, County Code Sections 16-20-7-1 and 16-20-7-2. The permit runs…

Hamilton County has no separate parade ordinance, but any gathering of 500 or more people at a venue not built for regular assembly, or 2,500 or more anywhere else, needs a mass…

Hamilton County levies an 8% innkeeper's (lodging) tax on stays under 30 days, including Airbnb and Vrbo rentals, on top of Indiana's 7% state sales tax. City STR permit fees are…

Indiana's Unsafe Building Law (IC 36-7-9) lets Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield and Hamilton County order the repair, vacation or demolition of blighted structures. A building…

A vacant lot or structure that becomes overgrown, a dumping site, or a hazard can be declared unsafe under IC 36-7-9. Indiana law specifically finds that unmaintained vacant structures…

Hamilton County's food-establishment permit law does not reach cottage food producers. Section 16-20-8-1 excludes an 'individual vendor that meets the requirements of IC 16-42-5.3…

Park hours are set by whichever city or the county operates the park, but Indiana's statewide juvenile curfew (IC 31-37-3) applies everywhere. Teens 15 to 17 may not be in a public…