LaPorte County, IN Ordinances (2026)

LaPorte County treats secondhand retailers under the same Chapter 112 scheme as pawnshops and scrap dealers: no separate storefront license, but daily transaction uploads to a…

LaPorte County does not license pawnshops separately, but Chapter 112 forces every pawnbroker to log each pledge or purchase with a Sheriff-approved third-party vendor, photograph the…

LaPorte County requires a Health Officer permit for every tattoo or body piercing facility, including mobile facilities, renewed each year by the last day of February. Mobile operators…

LaPorte County requires a sexually oriented business license before anyone may operate that kind of business, and a separate employee license for most workers. Code § 113.03 makes…

The county zoning ordinance's Appendix D use table, referenced by § 157.043, lists "Automobile repair, body shop, auto dealership, and auto wash garage" as a Prohibited (PR) use in…

LaPorte County bans using a compression release engine brake, commonly called a Jake Brake, in place of a vehicle's service brakes on Severs Road. The rule targets the loud staccato…

LaPorte County's only numeric decibel standard in the zoning code targets wind energy conversion systems (WECS), not everyday household noise. Under § 157.138(E)(9), a turbine's sound…

LaPorte County treats a habitually barking dog as an animal control violation under Code § 94.04's escalating fine schedule. Animal control officers or any county peace officer can…

LaPorte County's Chapter 52 Stormwater Management ordinance requires a permit and an approved Stormwater Management Plan for any subdivision or site plan disturbing an acre or more…

LaPorte County requires a floodplain development permit before any grading, filling, construction or structural alteration in a special flood hazard area (SFHA). The County Building…

LaPorte County requires an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan before any construction on a project site disturbing an acre or more. The MS4 Coordinator reviews the plan, and…

In LaPorte County's special flood hazard areas, new and substantially improved homes must have their lowest floor, including any basement, built at or above the flood protection grade…

LaPorte County bans smoking outdoors within 25 feet of any public entrance to a county courthouse or county office building, and on the connecting walkway between the LaPorte County…

LaPorte County Code § 93.69(D) bars loitering in or near any park building, toilet, or other structure, and in or near a vehicle within a county park. The rule sits inside the Chapter…

LaPorte County prohibits parking any motor vehicle on county road rights-of-way, shoulders, or along the side of county highways outside the unincorporated area's towns. The ban carves…

LaPorte County bans keeping, parking, or storing any wrecked, junked, or abandoned vehicle in the unincorporated county unless it's inside a garage or other enclosure shielded from…

Cutting a new driveway onto a county road or building one to serve a residence in unincorporated LaPorte County requires a Building Department permit. Code § 37.81 sets the filing fee…

In unincorporated LaPorte County, a recreational vehicle or travel trailer cannot stay on a residential lot for more than four consecutive days unless it is in a licensed campground or…

LaPorte County protects agricultural operations near new rural subdivisions by requiring a recorded deed restriction under which lot owners waive their right to sue a non-negligent…

LaPorte County's zoning and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation rules protect farming from being squeezed out by nearby development. New residential variances near a farm must carry…

LaPorte County requires the Building Commissioner or a representative to inspect all permitted work in the unincorporated area for code and permit compliance. Contractors must request…

LaPorte County requires a building permit under § 151.20 before any construction or alteration that adds or changes support members, or installs new plumbing, permanent heating or air…

LaPorte County requires a building permit before installing new electrical wiring in the unincorporated county under § 151.20(A), and adopts the state Electrical Code at 675 I.A.C…

LaPorte County requires a permit before installing new plumbing in the unincorporated county under § 151.20(A), and adopts the state Plumbing Code at 675 I.A.C. 16-1.3-1 et seq…

LaPorte County's zoning code bans breeding or raising non-farm fowl or livestock outright in every residential and business district (R-1, R-2, R-3, LB, GB, AB, SC). Even in the…

LaPorte County requires every cat over three months old to carry a current annual rabies vaccination under Code § 94.21(A), and bars letting a cat run at large away from where it's…

LaPorte County Code § 93.16(G)(1) bars hunting, trapping, or otherwise molesting any wild bird within a county park, and prohibits robbing or molesting a bird nest anywhere on park…

LaPorte County makes it unlawful for anyone to let a dog or other domestic animal run at large in the unincorporated county. Code § 94.15 defines 'at large' as off the owner's premises…

LaPorte County's zoning definitions at § 150.05 classify any premises keeping more than four dogs, cats, or other household domestic animals over four months old as a KENNEL, and the…

LaPorte County requires every dog or cat adopted from the county animal shelter or a local humane society to be spayed or neutered. Code § 94.37(B)(1) sets a 30-day deadline for…

LaPorte County's zoning use table splits veterinary care into two categories with different rules. A veterinary hospital for large animals is prohibited in every residential, business…

Any food truck or mobile food unit operating in unincorporated LaPorte County needs a mobile retail food service license from the county Health Officer. The license is separate from a…

LaPorte County limits its Ziegler Road Waste Dump Site to residential yard and tree debris, defined in § 50.35 as grass clippings, leaves, branches, and trees. No business may dump…

LaPorte County backs the Ziegler Road Waste Dump Site's yard-waste-only rule with real money: a first violation costs $100 under § 50.36(A), paid straight to the county's Ordinance…

LaPorte County requires every retail food establishment that prepares or serves potentially hazardous foods to keep at least one sanitation-certified manager or employee on site…

LaPorte County's Health Officer treats rodent and insect infestation at any public refuse disposal site as a code violation. Operators must dispose of food-bearing salvage like tin…

LaPorte County parks open at 8 a.m. and close at dusk unless a site posts different hours, under County Code § 93.02. Overnight sleeping in a park requires a special permit from the…

Groups that want exclusive use of a LaPorte County park facility, or a picnic of 25 or more people, must get a reservation from the Parks and Recreation Superintendent under County…

Organizing or joining a parade or rally on county roads or county property in LaPorte County requires a permit from the Board of Commissioners under Code § 37.75. The application must…

A block party, neighborhood picnic, or similar event that closes a county street needs a permit from the Board of Commissioners under LaPorte County Code § 37.76. The rule reaches…

LaPorte County Code § 93.17 bans open fires in county parks except small culinary fires in park or privately owned grills, or fires in a designated spot the Superintendent approves…

LaPorte County Code § 130.03 makes it unlawful to burn leaf or debris on the traveled or paved portion of any county road, backed by a flat $500 fine per violation. Adopted by Ord…

LaPorte County levies its County Innkeepers' Tax on lodging under Code § 36.37, following I.C. 6-9-6-6(b). Operators report the tax on forms the County Treasurer approves and remit…

Installing an in-ground pool in unincorporated LaPorte County requires a Building Department permit before work starts. Code § 151.26 bars any construction without an advance permit…

LaPorte County requires every in-ground swimming pool to be completely enclosed by a fence at least four feet high under § 151.42(D)(1), with self-closing, self-latching gates at every…

Appendix C to LaPorte County's zoning code, the Residential Use Restrictions table, caps single-family homes at 45 feet across the R-1, R-2, and R-3 districts. Two-family dwellings…

LaPorte County's Residential Use Restrictions table caps how much of a lot a home can cover. Single-family lots in the R-1 district are held to 25 percent lot coverage, while…

In unincorporated LaPorte County, every building must sit at least 30 feet back from all road rights-of-way under the zoning code's general regulations. Residential lots also carry…

LaPorte County enforces Indiana's Unsafe Building Law, I.C. 36-7-9-1 through 36-7-9-28, as its own Unsafe Building Code under § 151.75. The Building Commissioner administers the…

Under § 150.05's definition of HOME OCCUPATION OR PROFESSIONAL OFFICE, only family members living on the premises may work the business, the use must stay clearly incidental and…

A home occupation or professional office in unincorporated LaPorte County may display only one sign, and that sign cannot exceed one square foot, must be non-illuminated, and has to be…

Standard (4) of § 150.05 caps a home occupation's client and delivery traffic at no more than what a normal residential neighborhood would see, requires any parking it generates to…

In LaPorte County's residential zoning districts, § 157.042(A) keeps accessory buildings, including sheds and detached garages, at least ten feet from a side lot line and ten feet from…

LaPorte County charges a building permit fee for solar panel installations in the unincorporated county under § 151.27(X): $125 for the first 10 kilowatts of capacity, plus $25 for…

LaPorte County caps fences separating properties at six feet, six inches from natural ground level under § 151.42(A), with the good or decorative side required to face outward. Fences…

LaPorte County caps garage and yard sales at three per year per property, with no single sale running more than five consecutive days, and sales must run only between sunrise and…

LaPorte County lets garage sale signs go up no earlier than seven days before the sale and requires them removed within two days afterward, all under the zoning code's garage-sale…

LaPorte County bars illuminated on-premise or business political signs from residential zoning and from within 500 feet of it, tucked into the zoning code's rules for temporary…

Off-premise commercial signs facing the I-80/90 Toll Road and I-94 can run up to 672 square feet per facing in LaPorte County, while the same signs along other highways are capped at…