Horry County, SC Ordinances (2026)

South Carolina levies a 7% state accommodations tax on transient lodging. On top of that, Horry County charges a hospitality fee/local accommodations tax of 3% of gross proceeds…

Horry County and its cities set no annual limit on how many nights a property may be rented short-term. The only threshold is duration: a stay becomes long-term (and tax-exempt) once…

Before renting, unincorporated-county hosts register with Horry County's Business License office (BLHospitality@horrycountysc.gov) and open a Hospitality Fee / Local Accommodations Tax…

Outdoor concerts, festivals, or fairs expected to draw 500 or more people in unincorporated Horry County require a county special-event permit under Section 13-34. Established…

In unincorporated Horry County, playing a radio, stereo, instrument, or other sound device between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. so it is audible 50 feet away is prohibited under Code Sec…

Horry County does not put a barking dog under its general noise chapter but under its animal code. Section 4-3 makes it unlawful for an owner to let any animal create a public…

In unincorporated Horry County, building construction, demolition, or repair is a prohibited noise except between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Inside a platted major residential…

Horry County has no dedicated leaf-blower ordinance and generally exempts lawn-maintenance equipment from the noise article. However, Section 13-32(b)(7) prohibits nighttime operation…

Horry County has no industrial decibel cap, but Section 13-32(b)(9) prohibits nighttime noise from asphalt, concrete, aggregate, and paving-material plants (9 p.m.–7 a.m. in summer, 7…

Horry County Code 13-32 bans discharging a vehicle, motorcycle, or engine exhaust into the open air except through an effective muffler, and prohibits unnecessary horn or…

An above-ground pool wall can act as the barrier only if it is at least 48 inches high all around. Any ladder or steps must be secured, locked or removable to block access when the…

Outdoor pools must be enclosed by a barrier at least 48 inches high measured from the outside. Openings cannot pass a 4-inch sphere, and ground clearance is capped at 2 inches on…

Every fence in unincorporated Horry County must permit emergency access to the enclosed area, keep vehicular sight lines clear at intersections and driveways, and honor the ten-foot…

Horry County's Zoning Ordinance treats walls alongside fences, so the eight-foot general height ceiling in Section 412 applies to freestanding walls. Structural retaining walls are…

Horry County sets no general side or rear property-line offset for fences, so a fence may sit on the shared line. But privacy fences in a front or corner side yard must be set back ten…

Horry County allows a wide range of fence materials. The Zoning Ordinance singles out split rail, uncluttered chain link and picket fences under 50 percent opacity for a front-yard…

Horry County requires a building permit before installing any fence or wall taller than seven feet anywhere in the unincorporated county, per Zoning Ordinance § 412.B.1. Applicants…

Horry County has no blanket ban on keeping an operable, licensed RV, boat or trailer on your own private lot in the unincorporated county. But a junked, wrecked or unregistered…

Myrtle Beach flatly bans camping, sleeping or living in any camper, van, bus or motor vehicle on public streets, and bars storing a vehicle on the street as dead storage for more than…

Myrtle Beach prohibits stopping, standing or parking in front of any public or private driveway, or so near it that you interfere with entering or leaving. Parking is also barred…

Horry County's Junk, Debris and Common Nuisance Ordinance makes it unlawful to leave an inoperable vehicle, one sitting on public property over 72 hours, or one unattended on any…

In Myrtle Beach, parking alongside any curb painted yellow is prohibited, and no vehicle may park where official signs or markings bar it. Curb colors and traffic-control markings are…

In Myrtle Beach, a vehicle parked at a curb must sit within 18 inches of the right-hand curb, facing the direction of traffic, and may never block the roadway to less than ten feet of…

Myrtle Beach only allows a vehicle to sit on a street when parking is incidental to its actual use; storing dealer, garage or commercial vehicles on the street is prohibited…

In Myrtle Beach, a designated loading zone may be used only for the expeditious unloading, delivery, pickup or loading of material during the hours the loading rules are in effect…

Horry County's zoning ordinance names one formal parking district: the Garden City Parking District, carved out of the Garden City Overlay Zone. It isn't a residents-only permit…

Unincorporated Horry County limits how much of a residential lot a house and its accessory structures can cover under the Sec. 205 dimensional tables. Wedge Character low-density lots…

The Horry County Zoning Ordinance caps principal building height at 35 feet across the single-family residential districts (SF6 through SF40) and General Residential. Freestanding…

Horry County's Zoning Ordinance sets minimum front, side, rear and corner-side setbacks by district. In the common SF6 single-family district a house needs a 20-foot front, 7.5-foot…

Horry County's animal chapter and zoning code set no specific beekeeping ordinance. Hives are treated as an agricultural use tied to your zoning district, and South Carolina's Right to…

Horry County has no breed-specific ordinance, and South Carolina bars local breed bans. Any dog can be declared "dangerous" based on its behavior, and a dangerous animal must be kept…

Horry County requires no cat license but does require identification by collar tag, microchip, or other means. People who feed or shelter community (free-roaming) cats are not treated…

Unincorporated Horry County has no citywide leash mandate, but it is unlawful to let a dog run at large off property you own, rent, or control. A dog off-premises must be leashed or…

Horry County's large-animal rules require livestock owners to provide veterinary care, sufficient food and water, and clean, drained containment. Livestock may be kept only where…

Horry County has no standalone animal-hoarding ordinance, but its care standards and South Carolina's cruelty law reach hoarding conditions. Depriving animals of necessary food, water…

Horry County Code § 4-12(j) makes it unlawful for any pet store in the unincorporated county to sell, display, or otherwise dispose of a dog or cat. Stores may only host adoption…

Horry County does not license dogs or cats, but every owner must equip pets with visible identification, a collar tag, microchip, or another viable method, under County Code Sec. 4-8…

Horry County's only codified bird-protection ordinance covers a single 114-acre park: Section 14-36 makes it unlawful to trap, hunt, molest, or attempt to molest any bird, wild fowl…

Horry County Code § 4-33 makes it unlawful to feed, or to cause a congregation of, domestic or migratory waterfowl in residential areas of the county, a rule adopted to stop ducks…

South Carolina law, not a Horry County ordinance, controls exotic pets here: S.C. Code § 47-2-30(A) makes it unlawful to import, possess, purchase, breed, or sell a large wild cat…

In unincorporated Horry County, veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are classified as "Animal Services" under the zoning ordinance's Animal Facilities Use Chart. The use needs a…

It is unlawful in Horry County to remove a Specimen Live Oak with a trunk 24 inches DBH or greater without authorization. Removal generally needs a variance from the Zoning Board of…

Horry County does not require a permit to prune most private trees, but it is unlawful to injure a Specimen Live Oak (24-inch DBH or larger). During development, preserved trees must…

In unincorporated Horry County, uncultivated grass and weeds over twelve inches are 'unsightly growth' and a common nuisance under the county's Junk, Debris and Common Nuisance…

In unincorporated Horry County, owners and occupants may not let garbage, debris, or rubbish pile up in a way that creates a health hazard, unsanitary conditions, fire hazards, odors…

Horry County Code Sec. 10-19(a) bars any owner, agent, or occupant from letting a lot serve as a mosquito breeding place, refuge for rats and snakes, collecting place for debris, trash…

Horry County Code Sec. 10.5-22 requires every person to arrange removal of solid waste from their property, either through a hauler service or by self-hauling to the designated…

Myrtle Beach collects up to two cubic yards of bulk waste placed curbside in a segregated pile on the regular collection day. Yard waste and bulk must be kept separate. Horry County…

Horry County Code Sec. 10-16(a) makes it unlawful to throw or dump garbage, refuse, junk, appliances, tree limbs, or any solid waste anywhere in the unincorporated county except at a…

In Myrtle Beach, all items for collection must be at the curb within five feet of the pavement edge by 6:00 a.m. on the pickup day, and no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the evening before…

Horry County sets no countywide trash pickup day. Instead, each property owner in the unincorporated area must arrange removal, either by contracting an SWA-licensed hauler or hauling…

Unincorporated Horry County has no mandatory recycling law. County Code encourages residents to separate recyclables but stops short of a mandate, and there is no curbside blue-bin…

Horry County Solid Waste Authority convenience centers accept yard waste, meaning leaves, tree limbs and brush, alongside other recyclables under Code Sec. 10-17(a)(16). Haulers who…

Horry County's zoning ordinance requires every commercial and multifamily property to screen garbage and recycling dumpsters on three sides, keep them behind the front building line…

Horry County does not mandate recycling: Code Sec. 10.5-20 only encourages residents to separate recyclables into suitable containers, noting many businesses run their own programs…

Horry County's home occupation ordinance flatly bars the two uses that cover most cottage food sales: "Restaurants or Taverns" and "Retail Sales On-site." A resident baking, canning or…

Horry County limits every home-based business to one sign: nonilluminated, no more than two square feet, and mounted flat against a wall of the principal dwelling. County Code Sec…

Horry County has no separate zoning license for home daycares; South Carolina law controls them directly. A "family childcare home" is a residence where a resident operator cares for…

Horry County lets most residential parcels run a home occupation under Section 927, but caps it at 35% of the dwelling's floor space, limits it to one or two businesses per residence…

One small accessory structure (200 square feet or less) at a single-family home may sit as close as 5 feet from a side or rear property line. Larger or additional sheds must meet the…

Horry County has no separate garage-conversion ordinance. Converting a garage into a separate dwelling triggers the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules: one unit per parcel…

One accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is allowed per parcel as a conditional use in any district that permits a single-family detached home. The main house must be owner-occupied, and the…

Horry County's zoning ordinance defines a tiny home as a permanently-foundationed single-family unit up to 750 square feet, distinct from a manufactured home or RV. Multi-Residential…

Garage-sale signs are temporary ground signs. Horry County allows one temporary ground sign per property (up to 6 square feet on a single-family lot), set back at least 5 feet from the…

Horry County treats yard signs (including political signs) as personal expression signs. There is no limit on how many you may display, provided each is 3 square feet or less per side…

Digital and electronic signs in Horry County are capped at 1,000 nits of brightness at night, must auto-dim for ambient light, and face strict animation limits under Zoning Ordinance §…

Horry County lets window signs go up without a permit, but caps them at eight total signs or pieces of information per § 605.E, and no more than 25 percent of the window's glass area…

Horry County bars off-premise signs and billboards within 1,000 feet of the centerlines of Carolina Bays Parkway, Veterans Highway/Grissom Parkway, Robert Edge Parkway and…

Horry County has no dedicated dark-sky or sea-turtle lighting ordinance, but Zoning Ordinance Section 410 requires brighter fixtures to be full-cutoff or shielded so light is not aimed…

Horry County Zoning Ordinance Section 410 caps light spillover: no activity may cause illumination exceeding one (1) footcandle across any residential lot line in a residential…

Horry County bans unshielded floodlights, beacons, spotlights and searchlights on any sign, including billboards, under Zoning Ordinance § 603.A. No more than one foot-candle of that…

Unincorporated Horry County bans fireworks on beaches and public property outright and, in census-designated urban areas, enforces a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew under Code § 20-453…

Unincorporated Horry County bans open burning within 50 feet of any structure or property line under Code § 20-451. Burning that is otherwise allowed must still follow state DHEC and…

Horry County has no ordinance requiring residents to clear brush for wildfire prevention; the only local rule that reaches brush and yard debris is the outdoor-burning setback in Code…

Backyard fire pits, chimeneas and campfires used for warmth or recreation are exempt from Horry County's open-burning ban under Code § 20-451(d)(2), as long as they are contained…

Horry County limits commercial filming, including site work, staging and equipment moves, to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. unless the county administrator authorizes otherwise…

Horry County requires a special event/film permit for any video, film or still-photography shoot on public or private property, unless the crew is fifteen people or fewer, it's news…

Any street closure or traffic disruption tied to a Horry County film shoot requires an encroachment permit before the county will even issue the underlying film permit. Sec. 13-36(e)…

Student filmmakers working on school projects don't need Horry County's special event/film permit at all. Sec. 13-36(a)(1) exempts them by name, alongside news coverage crews and any…

In unincorporated Horry County, a developer installs new sidewalks and the county inspects them, but once the one-year warranty period passes, repairing damage to a sidewalk in a…

Horry County bans encroachment on public accessways, easements and rights-of-way without a permit. Anything from a fence to a driveway connection placed in county right-of-way…

Horry County outlaws blocking a public accessway, the dead-end paths that lead from a road to the beach, marsh or river across the Grand Strand. Code § 16-17 bans any encroachment on a…

Horry County bars flying a drone into or out of any county park without the recreation department's prior sign-off. Code § 14-15.5(a)(12) prohibits takeoff and landing of any…

Horry County makes it unlawful to camp anywhere on county-owned property, from parks and boat landings to road shoulders and rights-of-way, without a camping permit from the Parks and…

At Myrtle Beach International Airport, ride-hailing drivers without an airport operating permit can only pick up passengers who booked in advance. They must load and unload in the…

On roadways posted at 20 mph or less, Horry County requires e-scooters and other personal electric devices to ride in a provided bicycle lane rather than the travel lane, except to…

Horry County's personal electric device ordinance covers e-scooters whether privately owned or ridden from a shared rental fleet. Riders may not use any public sidewalk, any roadway…

Anyone lending on pledged property or buying secondhand serialized goods from the public in unincorporated Horry County is a pawnbroker under county law and must hold a license from…

Dealers who buy precious metals from the public, or who sell or transport nonferrous scrap like copper and aluminum to a recycler, need a state-mandated permit before Horry County will…

Wrecker and towing operators in unincorporated Horry County need a county business license backed by a detailed application, $500,000 in liability insurance, marked vehicles, and a…

Adult entertainment establishments in unincorporated Horry County need a chief-of-police-issued license, and every employee needs a separate one, under an ordinance built to control…

Horry County confines tattoo parlors to the OPI office/professional/institutional zoning district, and only inside a licensed health care establishment such as a medical office or…

Horry County lists Auto Repair Services among the home occupations flatly prohibited under Sec. 927.C. On tracts under one and one-half acres in agricultural-zoned districts, Sec…

Horry County zones therapeutic massage establishments as a conditional use across most commercial and many residential-adjacent districts, and Section 926 layers three conditions on…

Horry County parks are smoke-free except in areas the recreation department specifically designates for it. Code § 14-15.5(a)(13) declares cigarettes, cigars, pipes, vape pens and…

In unincorporated Horry County, from Socastee to Little River, it is unlawful to carry an opened container of any alcoholic beverage in a public place not licensed for on-premises…

Horry County does not have a stand-alone public marijuana-use ban, but its beach ordinance reaches the same conduct: Code § 5-14(c) makes it unlawful to engage in any aquatic activity…

Horry County sorts every unincorporated-area business into a rate class using NAICS industry codes, then taxes gross income on a tiered scale, with nonresident and itinerant businesses…

Commercial filming in unincorporated Horry County needs the same special-event permit used for concerts and festivals, unless the crew totals fifteen people or fewer, it's news…

Horry County lets groups reserve or lease its parks, recreational facilities and equipment like inflatables for a fee under Code § 14-15.4(b). The recreation and parks department sets…

Anyone hawking or peddling goods door to door in unincorporated Horry County must obtain an annual license through the clerk of court before starting, register the business, and…

Horry County's noise ordinance bans any loudspeaker or sound amplifier that broadcasts music onto public streets to advertise a business or draw attention to a building, and separately…

Horry County's public parks and recreational facilities run on posted hours, generally dawn until dusk, under County Code § 14-15.4(a). The parks and recreation department can adjust…

Any land-disturbing activity in unincorporated Horry County needs a county stormwater permit before work starts. Code § 17.7-28 bars disturbing land without stormwater management…

Every stormwater permit application in unincorporated Horry County must include a sediment and erosion control plan built to the state's construction general permit standard. Code §…

Horry County requires a development permit before any construction, fill, or land alteration in FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas, based on the county's December 2021 flood…

New construction and substantial improvement of residential structures in Horry County's special flood hazard areas must have the lowest floor elevated at least two feet above base…

Building, repairing or altering a private dock anywhere in unincorporated Horry County requires conforming to Section 918 of the zoning ordinance. Docks are capped at two permanently…

Horry County charges building permit fees by square footage: 35 cents per square foot for new residential and commercial construction, 15 cents for residential plan review, and 10…

Horry County requires a post-foundation survey within ten working days of installing, backfilling and rough-grading a foundation. A South Carolina-licensed land surveyor must certify…

Horry County charges a minimum $100 permit fee for any power service application, new service or change of service, including water pumps and electric fences. Reinspections after two…

Horry County enforces plumbing work in the unincorporated area under the latest International Plumbing Code, plus its Appendices E and F, adopted wholesale by county ordinance. The…

In Horry County's mapped special flood hazard zones, new residential construction and substantial improvements must have the lowest floor at least two feet above the base flood…

When Horry County declares a public health emergency, such as widespread vegetative debris left by a hurricane, county officials can enter private and public property immediately and…

On Horry County's public beaches, propane grills are banned outright: Code § 5-4 makes it unlawful to build, start, or maintain a fire, open flame, or propane fired grill, cooker, or…

Outdoor smokers, fire pits, chimeneas and woodstoves get a conditional pass from Horry County's open-burning ban: Code § 20-451 forbids open burning within fifty feet of any structure…

At least five Horry County residents can file a written complaint that a dwelling is unfit for human habitation, triggering a county administrator investigation and formal hearing. If…

Horry County's Historic Preservation Commission designates historic properties, districts, cemeteries and trees under Sec. 1206, weighing eleven criteria from architectural…

Non-residential, multifamily, townhome and in-common residential projects fronting any road on Horry County's Table 1 corridor list, from US 17 to Carolina Bays Parkway, must plant a…

Horry County protects 25 native tree species by name, from bald cypress and live oak to pecan and sycamore, once they reach a set trunk diameter. Removing a listed 'Protected' or…

Horry County's Multi-Residential District (MRD) rules grant a 30% increase in allowable gross density to developments that adopt three or more sustainable development standards…

Once a Horry County inspection confirms a nuisance violation, personnel issue a citation stating the inspection date and a compliance deadline, but the property owner or occupant must…

Horry County Code Enforcement cites junk and salvage yards that lack an eight-foot screening fence, scrap tire sites holding more than 50 uncovered tires for ten days or more…

Anyone can trigger a Horry County code inspection: file a complaint or have county personnel notice a nuisance, and appropriate representatives may enter the premises to determine…

Horry County limits stationary mobile food units to commercial and higher-density zoning districts as a conditional use, including HC, NC, CC, the RCS/TRS group, RE-1 through RE-4, and…

Horry County requires a Horry County Mobile Food Permit for every mobile food unit and ice cream truck. The permit costs $150 per unit (plus $100 per extra location reviewed with the…