Kern County, CA Ordinances (2026)

Kern County Zoning Ordinance Chapter 19.90 allows one accessory dwelling unit per legal lot, capped at 1,200 square feet, subject to minimum lot size and zoning district setbacks.

Kern County's Chapter 19.90 ADU rules let homeowners convert an existing garage into an ADU subject to size and standards, but other garage conversions to living space still require a…

In unincorporated Kern County, carports are regulated as residential accessory structures, and the combined size of all detached accessory buildings on a residential parcel is capped…

Kern County has no tiny-home-specific ordinance: a tiny house built on a permanent foundation can be permitted as an accessory dwelling unit under Zoning Ordinance Chapter 19.90…

Section 7.08.380 of the Kern County Code makes it unlawful to keep or harbor any animal whose howling, yelping, barking, or other noise disturbs or annoys a neighborhood. Each day of…

Section 8.36.020 prohibits construction noise between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. weekdays and 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. weekends when audible at 150 feet from the site, if the site is…

Stationary noise sources at commercial and industrial sites within 500 feet of residentially developed and zoned property in unincorporated Kern County may not exceed an average 65 dB…

Kern County does not impose local aircraft-overflight noise restrictions; aircraft noise is federally preempted by the FAA. The county participates in a FAR Part 150 Noise…

No Kern County-specific ordinance directly restricts leaf blower use, hours, or decibel levels in unincorporated areas; the county's general noise rules and California's statewide…

Kern County's Noise Control chapter (Title 8, Chapter 8.36) does not set general residential quiet hours; only construction noise has explicit time limits. The 'loud and raucous noise'…

Section 8.36.020 of the Kern County Code prohibits operating any public address system or sound equipment when the sound emanates beyond the confines of a permanent building to a…

In Kern County's Estate (E) and Residential (R-1, R-2, R-3) zones, fences in the required front yard cannot exceed 4 feet, while side and rear yard fences are capped at 6 feet. Heights…

In unincorporated Kern County, boundary-fence disputes between neighbors are governed by California's Good Neighbor Fence Act (Civil Code Section 841), which presumes adjoining…

Per the California Building Code as adopted in Kern County Title 17, fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from building permits. Fences exceeding 7 feet, masonry retaining walls, and…

In unincorporated Kern County, a retaining wall needs a building permit if it is over 4 feet tall measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, or if it supports a…

Kern County prohibits barbed wire and electrified fences in residential and Estate zones, with narrow exceptions: electrified fences are allowed only for animal containment on…

Kern County has no breed-specific ordinance: state law (Cal. Food & Agric. Code §31683) preempts breed bans. Dogs are regulated by conduct under Kern County Code §7.08.270, which…

Unincorporated Kern County does not mandate spaying or neutering of pets. Owners of unaltered dogs instead pay higher license fees ($60 per year versus $15 for altered dogs), and…

Unincorporated Kern County sets no fixed cap on pets per household. The practical line is commercial activity: more than one litter a year, or boarding, training or selling animals for…

Kern County requires dogs to be leashed and controlled, or confined, on public property and other people's land under KCC § 7.08.150; off-leash is allowed only on the owner's secured…

Exotic animal ownership in unincorporated Kern County is controlled by California state law. Fish and Game Code section 2118 makes it unlawful to import, transport, or possess…

Kern County doesn't license a grooming shop that only bathes, clips, or plucks animals. But Section 7.08.015(Y) flips the moment a groomer boards pets overnight: a grooming shop that…

Kern County makes it a misdemeanor to trap, hunt, shoot or molest any bird or wild fowl, or rob bird nests, within the North Edwards Bird Sanctuary, a mapped tract surrounding the…

Kern County doesn't force every pet owner to microchip a dog or cat that has never seen the shelter. But once an animal passes through the county's impound system, microchipping…

Kern County Code Chapter 7.08 requires every dog over four months old to be licensed, tagged, and vaccinated, but the same chapter never imposes a license, tag, or fee on cats. Section…

Kern County's zoning ordinance treats veterinary clinics differently by district. A household-pet clinic with no outside kennels is permitted by right in the C-1 and C-2 commercial…

Kern County requires every beekeeper to register colonies annually with the Agricultural Commissioner and keep hives clear of neighbors. Apiaries must sit at least 20 feet from a state…

In unincorporated Kern County, poultry and livestock keeping is tied to zoning: § 19.60.020 permits it in the Residential Suburban (RS) district and Chapter 19.12 in agricultural…

Unincorporated Kern County requires a development permit before any construction, grading, or land alteration in a mapped special flood hazard area. The Public Works Director, acting…

In unincorporated Kern County, new construction and substantial improvements in a special flood hazard area must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least one…

A private boat dock's permit requirement in unincorporated Kern County turns on the parcel's zoning district. Zoning Ordinance Section 19.42.020 lists 'Boat dock, private' as a use…

Unincorporated Kern County bans dumping anything but rain into the county's storm drains. Kern County Code § 14.26.250 makes it unlawful to introduce sanitary wastewater, litter…

Unincorporated Kern County requires a grading permit before any excavation or fill under Section 17.28.040 of the Grading Code, and Section 17.28.140 then makes erosion control…

Unincorporated Kern County levies a 6% Transient Occupancy Tax under Code Chapter 4.16, authorized by California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7280. Operators must register with…

Kern County's Transient Occupancy Tax Chapter 4.16 does not set per-bedroom guest caps, overnight occupancy limits, or daytime gathering limits for short-term rentals in the…

Kern County does not require a stand-alone short-term rental permit, but every operator of a hotel, vacation rental, or short-term lodging in the unincorporated area must register with…

Kern County has no STR-specific noise ordinance, but Ordinance Code Chapter 8.36 prohibits loud and raucous noise and restricts amplified sound in unincorporated areas. Construction…

No Kern County ordinance imposes parking requirements specifically on short-term rentals. The standard residential off-street parking minimums of Zoning Ordinance Chapter 19.82 apply…

Removing a western Joshua tree anywhere in Kern County requires authorization from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife under the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act. The…

Kern County requires non-ornamental trees to be limbed up at least 6 feet from the ground, with dead limbs removed and trees and limbs cleared at least 10 feet from chimney outlets…

Unincorporated Kern County requires new and rehabilitated landscapes to comply with California's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) under Title 19, Chapter 19.86 of the…

Kern County Ordinance Code Chapter 8.46 declares weeds and other hazardous growths a public nuisance subject to abatement, administered by the Fire Department under the Fire Hazard…

No Kern County-specific ordinance restricts residential rainwater harvesting in unincorporated areas. Under the California Rainwater Capture Act of 2012, property owners may capture…

No Kern County ordinance prohibits artificial turf in unincorporated areas, and state law bars the county from prohibiting living drought-tolerant landscaping on residential property…

Kern County declares abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative (WDI) vehicles a public nuisance: a vehicle left 72 or more consecutive hours on a county road, or on private…

Kern County prohibits parking a vehicle on any state highway in the unincorporated county for 72 or more consecutive hours, adopted under California Vehicle Code authority.

Kern County Title 19 limits truck parking at a residence to one truck under 5 tons used for employment or an approved home occupation, and bans any commercial vehicle of 10,000+ lbs…

Kern County does not impose a blanket overnight parking ban on unincorporated streets, but any vehicle left in place for 72 consecutive hours can be declared abandoned and removed…

In unincorporated Kern County, off-street parking areas and driveways must be surfaced with approved materials, residential driveways must be at least 14 feet wide with 15 feet of…

California law requires Kern County to approve applications to install electric vehicle charging stations administratively through a nondiscretionary building permit, limits county…

Kern County's zoning ordinance requires commercial, industrial, and larger residential developments in unincorporated areas to provide on-site loading and unloading space in addition…

Kern County can create preferential parking zones on unincorporated streets under Vehicle Code Section 22507, but the county code currently names only one: a short stretch of North…

Kern County's director of roads, not a separate curb-paint code, decides where street curbs get painted or signed for no-parking, loading, bus, taxi and angle-parking zones under…

Unincorporated Kern County has no blanket ban on storing an operable, registered RV or boat at home, but zoning parking requirements (§ 19.82.020), the 72-hour abandoned-vehicle rule…

Only State Fire Marshal-approved 'Safe and Sane' fireworks may be sold or used in unincorporated Kern County, and they are entirely prohibited within the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire…

Small recreational backyard fires for cooking or warmth are allowed under California Fire Code § 307 as adopted by Kern County, but any burning of vegetation, debris, or trash requires…

Kern County requires 30 feet of clearance of all non-ornamental combustibles around every structure and a total 100 feet of fuel reduction, enforced annually by the Kern County Fire…

Open burning of vegetation in unincorporated Kern County requires a burn permit from the Kern County Fire Department, may only occur on declared 'permissive burn days' during the…

Kern County adopted its own Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Ordinance Code Chapter 17.34), tying local hazardous fire areas to the state Fire Hazard Severity Zones, and in 2025 released…

The Kern County Fire Code requires a construction permit to install or modify LP-gas containers of 125 gallons water capacity or more (other than at a single-family residence) and caps…

Kern County Zoning Ordinance § 19.94.040 limits home occupations to 25% of the gross area of one floor of the residence (or equivalent accessory building space), restricts work to…

Kern County prohibits all home occupation signs in unincorporated areas. Under § 19.94.040(9), 'No sign shall be permitted, other than the clearly posted address of the home.' The…

Kern County Chapter 19.96 sets development standards and a Planning Director permit process for large family day-care homes serving up to 14 children, though California law now treats…

Kern County residents can sell approved low-risk homemade foods as cottage food operations. Class A operations register with Kern County Public Health for direct sales; Class B…

Home occupations in unincorporated Kern County must be run by appointment only and solely by residents of the home. Freight deliveries beyond normal residential frequency are…

Unincorporated Kern County enforces the California Residential Code Appendix V and the state Swimming Pool Safety Act, which require pool enclosures at least 60 inches tall, with…

A building permit from the Kern County Building Inspection Division is required before constructing any swimming pool, spa or hot tub in unincorporated Kern County. The County adopts…

Kern County bans selling or drinking alcohol, or carrying an opened alcoholic beverage container, at Lamont Park, Virginia Avenue Park, Heritage Park, Lost Hills Park, and Rexland…

Kern County outright bans smoking, along with open fires, camping and firearms, throughout the Kern River Riparian Preserve Park, a mapped stretch of riverside land the county operates…

Anyone riding a skateboard at a county-owned or operated skateboard park in Kern County must wear a helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads. Skating without all three pieces of gear is a…

Kern County bans smoking, ingesting, or otherwise using cannabis products anywhere in a county park or other public place, including park parking areas. Adults 21 and older face a fine…

Kern County treats gatherings at vacant, for-sale homes occupied without the owner's consent as 'nuisance parties' under Ordinance Code Section 9.36.020 when they produce disorderly…

Kern County follows the statewide residential fire sprinkler mandate for new one- and two-family dwellings but carves out its own exemption for additions and alterations to existing…

Installing, energizing or altering electrical equipment or wiring anywhere in unincorporated Kern County requires a permit from the building official under Section 17.24.090, with…

Every permitted building project in unincorporated Kern County must post an inspection record card on site before work starts, under Section 17.08.100 (and its Residential Code twin…

Unincorporated Kern County builds under the 2025 California Green Building Standards Code, known locally as the Kern County Green Building Code. Section 17.10.020 adopts that portion…

Kern County's Plumbing Code covers new construction and any alteration, repair or reconstruction of plumbing systems in the unincorporated county under Section 17.20.020, adopting the…

Kern County's Division of Countywide Communications, through its Film Commission, holds sole authority to issue location film permits for any production company or individual recording…

Kern County treats a commercial film, TV, video or still-photo shoot that closes a public street the same as any other special event: Chapter 12.12 defines "event" to include such…

Kern County's building inspection division must review and issue permits for small residential rooftop solar systems within one business day for walk-in applications and one to three…

Kern County bars riding a horse or other animal, and operating any motor vehicle, on a designated pedestrian/bicycle path inside county-owned or county-operated parks and recreation…

Kern County closes its public parks to public use and occupancy between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., with named exceptions for mountain recreation areas, designated campgrounds, and…

Unemancipated minors cannot loiter, wander or roam by vehicle on public streets, parks or businesses in unincorporated Kern County between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., under Ordinance…

Exclusive or business use of a Kern County park, recreation area, or recreational facility requires a written permit, license, lease, or concession agreement from the director of parks…

A block party, celebration or other non-parade gathering that closes a street in unincorporated Kern County counts as an "event" under Chapter 12.12, and organizers need a temporary…

Organizing, holding or joining a parade on any unincorporated Kern County street, sidewalk or public park requires a sheriff-issued permit under Chapter 12.32, filed at least thirty…

Kern County bans smoking or otherwise using cannabis products within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center, or youth center while children are present. The home carve-out only…

Kern County bans every commercial cannabis business, medicinal and recreational alike, in all zone districts of the unincorporated county. Zoning Ordinance Section 19.08.055 blocks any…

In unincorporated Kern County's R-1 Low-Density Residential district, houses are capped at three stories or 35 feet, whichever binds first, and detached accessory buildings top out at…

In Kern County's R-1 low-density residential district, buildings must have a front-yard setback of at least 25 feet, side yards of at least 5 feet (10 feet on the street side of corner…

Street vendors and food peddlers who occupy private property in unincorporated Kern County for eight or more hours a day, on more than fourteen days in a calendar year, are running a…

Mobile food vendors in unincorporated Kern County cannot park a cart, wagon or vehicle in one spot to sell food or drinks for more than 30 minutes in any 24-hour period, or return to…

Every mobile food vehicle selling liquids or edibles in unincorporated Kern County needs a $15-a-year Chapter 5.32 license per cart, wagon or vehicle, on top of the county's general…

Unincorporated Kern County protects agricultural, ranching, oil and gas, energy and mining operations from nuisance lawsuits under Ordinance Code Section 8.56.010. If the operation was…

Every food facility in unincorporated Kern County must post its inspection grade card where patrons can see it, under Ordinance Code Section 8.58.040. The card shows a letter grade (A…

Kern County does not run a blanket food handler card program; instead, Ordinance Code Sections 8.59.020 and 8.59.030 let the public health director order specific facility staff into…

Kern County Code Section 8.28.110 makes every person in possession or control of a structure or lot responsible for keeping it free of waste accumulations that attract or harbor…

Kern County requires anyone throwing out home-generated needles or other sharps to first seal them in a puncture-proof, rigid container, or a legal sharps container, before disposal…

In unincorporated Kern County, a window sign counts as exempt from Chapter 19.84's sign permit only if it stays under a hard cap: painted glass signs, poster paper signs, and placards…

Temporary political, religious and civic campaign signs in unincorporated Kern County can stay up no more than 90 days and must come down within 15 days after the campaign ends. In…

Dumping discarded materials on a public right-of-way, vacant lot or waterway in unincorporated Kern County is a misdemeanor under Section 8.28.080, carrying a $1,000 administrative…

Inside a Kern County universal collection area, the property owner must subscribe to, pay for and use the franchise hauler's regularly scheduled trash service, whether or not the…

Every property owner in unincorporated Kern County, residential or commercial, must keep discarded-materials containers on site and participate in the county's franchise hauler's one…

Unincorporated Kern County requires every property owner to keep enough discarded-material containers on site, sized to the waste actually generated there, and the franchise hauler…

In unincorporated Kern County, containers set out for franchise pickup must sit at the curb, alley or another spot the hauler can reach, at the time the hauler designates for…

Every owner of a single-family, multi-family or commercial property in unincorporated Kern County must keep discarded-material containers on site and either subscribe to the franchise…

Kern County's SB 1383 rules require commercial edible food generators, grocery stores, food service providers and similar tier one and tier two businesses, to recover the maximum…

Every owner of single-family, multi-family or commercial property in unincorporated Kern County must keep discarded-materials containers on-site and arrange collection through a…

Digging, excavating, placing material, or building curbs, driveways or other improvements in a public highway right-of-way in unincorporated Kern County requires an encroachment permit…

Blocking a sidewalk with personal property in unincorporated Kern County is allowed for no more than one hour a day, and the code's narrow trade exception only reaches three feet from…

Kern County bans camping on public property for more than three consecutive days in the same spot, plus any semi-permanent structure. Before enforcement officers can clear a site…

Kern County Code Section 8.30.040 bars sitting, lying, sleeping or camping with the intent to camp on public sidewalks in a way that blocks ADA passage, and bans the same conduct…

Kern County requires a secondhand dealer to hold a sheriff-issued business license under Chapter 5.04, using the state Department of Justice application form, and the sheriff cannot…

Any tattoo, piercing, branding or permanent-cosmetics business in unincorporated Kern County needs an environmental health permit from the Director of Public Health Services before…

Kern County's home occupation rules flatly exclude car repair and small engine repair from the list of businesses a resident may run out of a house in unincorporated areas. The same…

Kern County requires two layers of permitting for massage businesses under Ordinance Code Section 8.70.020: every practitioner must hold current CAMTC certification, since the county…

Selling tobacco products anywhere in unincorporated Kern County without a tobacco retailer's permit is a misdemeanor under Ordinance Code Section 8.60.020, with each day of unlicensed…

Kern County requires board of supervisors approval before any adult business opens in the unincorporated county, on top of a 1,500-foot buffer from residential zones, schools, churches…

Anyone running a cardroom in unincorporated Kern County must hold a sheriff's vice-division license under Chapter 5.20, capped countywide at 90 card tables and 45 tables per room, with…

Kern County's Property Maintenance Code requires every dwelling in the unincorporated county to hold habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, per Section…

Kern County's Dark Skies Ordinance, Zoning Chapter 19.81, requires any outdoor fixture of 100 watts or more, or emitting 1,600 lumens or more, to be fully shielded downward…

Kern County's outdoor lighting chapter defines a 'fully shielded' fixture as one that projects no light rays above the horizontal plane at its lowest light-emitting point, and bars any…

Kern County grants density bonuses above the general plan's maximum residential density for qualifying unincorporated projects: up to 20 percent for on-site day care in larger…

Kern County requires an operational permit from the Fire Marshal before anyone may "operate aircraft or drones for filming or theatrical purposes," grouped under the Special…

New or replaced front-yard landscaping on single-family lots inside the Indian Wells Valley Land Use Management Plan area of unincorporated Kern County cannot include any turf at all…

Kern County's Chapter 5.76 bars soliciting business on a public highway, street, railroad, train or vehicle without written permission from the carrier's owner or manager, bans…

Kern County Code Section 8.44.050 requires every property owner to keep their land free of public nuisance conditions and to abate any nuisance promptly. A public official first orders…

Kern County has no dedicated data center ordinance. In unincorporated areas a data center is an industrial use, sited in the M-1, M-2, or M-3 districts under Zoning Ordinance Title 19…

Kern County's Zoning Ordinance caps stationary commercial and industrial noise at 65 dB Ldn measured at the nearest home when a use sits within 500 feet of residential zoning (Section…