Local rules and regulations for Madison County, Alabama. Population: 388,153.
Verified from official government sources
Select a topic to see Madison County's rules on that subject.
No Alabama statute bars parking a work truck or van at home, but Madison County zoning can restrict commercial vehicles in unincorporated residential districts. HOA covenants and city…
Alabama has no statewide overnight parking ban, and there is no county rule against leaving a vehicle parked overnight at your home or, generally, on an unincorporated county road…
Madison County, unlike most Alabama counties, exercises zoning authority in unincorporated areas, so residential zoning districts can regulate RV, boat, and trailer storage. On…
Abandoned vehicles in Madison County are handled under the Alabama Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act, Ala. Code § 32-13-1. A vehicle counts as abandoned once it has gone unclaimed for at…
Madison County zones its unincorporated areas, so residential districts carry driveway and yard standards, and a new connection to a public road needs an access permit. HOA covenants…
Nothing in Alabama law restricts installing a home EV charger. A charger at an unincorporated Madison County home simply needs an electrical permit and inspection to meet the National…
Parking on public roads in Madison County, including unincorporated county roads, is governed by the state traffic code. Ala. Code § 32-5A-137 bars stopping or parking on sidewalks, in…
Short-term rental guests in unincorporated Madison County must obey the county noise ordinance like anyone else: sound under 85 decibels by day and 75 decibels after 11 p.m. under Ala…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County rule set short-term rental parking. Guests park on-site or on the road, limited only by the property's zoning, HOA covenants, and any city…
Alabama sets no short-term rental insurance mandate, and unincorporated Madison County requires none. Coverage is a private matter: platform host protection plus a landlord or STR…
Alabama requires no statewide short-term rental permit, and unincorporated Madison County requires no STR license. A host needs a county business license, must meet the zoning…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County ordinance cap short-term rental occupancy. The practical ceiling is the property's septic system, sized under Alabama Department of Public…
Short-term rentals in Madison County owe Alabama's 5% state lodgings tax under Ala. Code §40-26-1, because the county sits in the mountain-lakes region, plus Madison County and city…
Alabama shares boundary-fence cost by statute. Ala. Code §35-7-3 makes a partition fence between improved lands the joint expense of both adjoining occupants, so a neighbor who ties in…
Madison County runs both a zoning office and a Building Inspection Department for unincorporated land, so fence work is checked against the county zoning resolution. Call Alabama 811…
Madison County zones its unincorporated area, so the county zoning resolution—not a blank slate—governs fences outside city limits. No Alabama statute caps residential fence height…
No Alabama statute restricts residential fence materials, and Madison County's zoning resolution does not dictate them. Wood, vinyl, chain-link, aluminum, and wrought iron are all…
Madison County's Building Inspection Department enforces the adopted building code on unincorporated land, so a retaining wall above the code threshold—generally four feet—needs a…
Madison County enforces a residential pool barrier. Its Building Inspection Department requires pools to meet the International Residential Code, Appendix G, Section AG105—a barrier at…
Clearing brush by burning is allowed in unincorporated Madison County under ADEM Admin. Code r. 335-3-3-.01, but the pile must sit 500 feet from any neighboring dwelling, and the…
Outdoor burning is legal in unincorporated Madison County under ADEM rules, but when the State Forestry Commission declares a drought emergency, Ala. Code § 9-13-141 makes all outdoor…
Alabama maps no regulatory wildfire hazard zones, and Madison County imposes no defensible-space or fire-hardening building mandates. Wildfire risk is managed by the Alabama Forestry…
Consumer fireworks are legal in Madison County. Ala. Code § 8-17-217 permits Class C fireworks statewide, and unincorporated residents may buy and shoot them. Buyers must be 16 or…
Backyard fire pits are legal in unincorporated Madison County. ADEM's open-burning rule exempts recreational and cooking fires outright, so no permit is needed to enjoy a fire pit on…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County ordinance limits trimming trees on your own land in the unincorporated county. You may prune freely. Inside Huntsville, right-of-way trees are…
No Alabama statute or Madison County ordinance restricts native or drought-tolerant planting. You may replace lawn with native Tennessee Valley species, pollinator beds, or wildflower…
Madison County can act on overgrown lots in unincorporated areas, but only as a nuisance under Ala. Code §11-3A-2, which adopts the state's 12-inch weed standard. There is no routine…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County ordinance governs artificial turf. In unincorporated areas you may install it freely. Only HOA architectural covenants restrict synthetic…
You may remove trees on your own land in unincorporated Madison County without a county permit. Alabama has no statewide tree-protection law and the county has no zoning authority…
Rainwater harvesting is legal and unregulated throughout Madison County. No Alabama statute limits collecting rain, and the county has no ordinance. Rain barrels and cisterns for the…
Madison County's weed power in unincorporated areas is narrow: under Ala. Code §11-3A-2 the commission may abate overgrowth only as a public nuisance, using the 12-inch standard of…
Alabama sets no statewide lawn-watering ban. In Madison County, restrictions come from your water provider, triggered when the state Office of Water Resources issues a drought…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County ordinance ban feeding wildlife generally. But state game rules restrict baiting deer, and feeding that draws nuisance or rabies-vector animals…
Alabama bans possessing many exotic and wild animals. ADCNR regulation 220-2-.26 prohibits possessing or importing listed species, including foxes, raccoons, coyotes, venomous…
Backyard chickens and livestock are common in unincorporated Madison County, though the county zoning resolution governs where they are kept. Alabama abolished open range: Ala. Code…
Alabama has no statewide breed ban and no law barring cities from adopting one; the state is silent. Unincorporated Madison County restricts no breed. Emily's Law targets dangerous…
Beekeeping is legal across unincorporated Madison County and treated as agriculture. Ala. Code §2-14-3 requires every beekeeper to register their colonies each year by October 1 with…
Alabama law requires dogs be confined to the owner's premises. Ala. Code §3-1-5 orders every owner to keep dogs on their own land, and Madison County enforces at-large and rabies rules.
Because Madison County zones unincorporated land, where a food truck may set up depends on the parcel's zoning district and the property owner's permission. The county's main lever…
A food truck operating in Madison County must be approved by the county Health Officer before it works there. Under Alabama's food-establishment sanitation rules a mobile unit needs…
Madison County issues no tree-removal permits and has no authority to require one in unincorporated areas. Permits exist only inside cities like Huntsville, which regulates protected…
Alabama designates no heritage or landmark trees by statute, and Madison County protects none in unincorporated areas. Huntsville, a longtime Tree City USA, guards heritage and…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County ordinance requires replacing a removed tree in unincorporated areas. Replanting mandates exist only inside cities like Huntsville, or as a…
Madison County's zoning governs home occupations in zoned areas, where an accessory home business may not generate traffic beyond a normal residential level and parking must be…
In zoned areas of unincorporated Madison County, a home-business sign must meet the county's sign rules for that district. Where a parcel is unzoned, HOA deed restrictions and Alabama…
Madison County is one of the few Alabama counties that zones unincorporated land, so a home occupation must conform to the parcel's zoning district. Confirm the classification through…
Running a child-care home for pay in Madison County requires a license or approval from the Alabama Department of Human Resources under Code Section 38-7-3. DHR controls the use; the…
Alabama's Cottage Food Law lets you sell approved home-produced foods from a Madison County home with no permit or health inspection. A 2021 amendment removed the sales cap, so there…
Madison County runs no no-knock registry, but a posted "No Soliciting" or "No Trespassing" sign carries legal force. Entering or remaining on posted premises after that notice is…
Madison County does not issue or require door-to-door solicitor permits in unincorporated areas; its zoning authority does not extend to licensing peddlers. Door-to-door sellers must…
Pool safety in Madison County rests on three rules: self-latching gates under the 2018 ISPSC Section 305.3, anti-entrapment drain covers under the federal VGB Act, and bonding of metal…
A pool or spa in unincorporated Madison County needs a county Swimming Pool and Spa Permit. The county adopts the 2018 ICC ISPSC (International Swimming Pool and Spa Code) and the 2017…
An above-ground pool gets no break in Madison County. It needs the county Swimming Pool and Spa Permit under the adopted 2018 ISPSC, and its wall or an added fence must meet the…
Every pool in unincorporated Madison County must sit behind a barrier at least 48 inches high under the adopted 2018 ISPSC Section 305.2. The county issues no pool permit until the…
A spa or hot tub in unincorporated Madison County is regulated like a pool. It falls under the county Swimming Pool and Spa Permit and the adopted 2018 ISPSC, and its 240-volt wiring…
This is effectively a non-issue in North Alabama. Madison County sees little measurable snow, maintains no sidewalk-clearing ordinance, and imposes no shoveling duty on property owners…
Overgrown vacant lots are reachable in unincorporated Madison County. Under Alabama Code §11-3A-2 the county may abate weeds as a public nuisance defined in §11-67-60 — grass or weeds…
Madison County directly polices blight in unincorporated areas. Alabama Code §45-45-173.01 makes it a public nuisance to let any lot or premises accumulate garbage, junk, debris…
Madison County sets no garage-sale rules for unincorporated areas. The county's zoning power does not extend to licensing residential yard sales, so frequency, hours, and permits are…
Madison County provides the trash cart but sets no rule on where you store it. Screening and placement between collections are HOA matters; your only county duty is subscribing to…
Growing marijuana at home is a crime everywhere in Alabama, including unincorporated Madison County. Possessing marijuana for personal use is unlawful possession in the second degree…
Recreational cannabis retail is illegal in Alabama. The only lawful outlets are medical dispensaries licensed by the state Medical Cannabis Commission, and Code Section 20-2A-51 bars…
A tiny house in unincorporated Madison County is a real dwelling only if it is built and inspected to the 2018 IRC, using Appendix Q for homes 400 square feet or less. A park-model RV…
A detached dwelling or ADU in unincorporated Madison County needs a county building permit under the 2018 IRC, must meet the zoning enforced by Public Works, and off public sewer needs…
Converting a garage to living space in unincorporated Madison County is a change of occupancy needing a county building permit under the 2018 IRC. Adding a bathroom on a septic lot…
A backyard shed in unincorporated Madison County is governed by two things: the 2018 International Residential Code the county enforces, and the zoning setbacks Public Works applies…
A carport in unincorporated Madison County needs a county building permit as a roofed structure under the adopted 2018 IRC, and it must meet the setbacks the county zoning, enforced by…
Madison County issues the cart and sets your collection day by street name, but no ordinance fixes a set-out hour in unincorporated areas. Put the county cart out on your scheduled…
Alabama mandates no recycling, and Madison County requires nothing separated. Curbside recycling is voluntary through RANA, the free Recycling Alliance of North Alabama cart program…
Madison County collects large debris once a month by district — appliances, mattresses, and furniture. Tires, construction debris, and electronics are refused and must go to the…
Unlike many Alabama counties, Madison County runs its own Waste Control Department, providing weekly curbside garbage pickup to households outside Huntsville for $13.50 a month…
There is no garage-sale permit in unincorporated Madison County. The county's zoning authority does not extend to licensing residential sales, so no county application, fee, or…
No county ordinance sets yard-sale hours in unincorporated Madison County. The county does not regulate residential sales, so start and end times are unrestricted by county law; only…
Madison County sets no cap on how often you can hold a yard sale in unincorporated areas — there is no annual limit. Frequency is controlled only by HOA covenants, if any apply.
Madison County controls bulk through minimum lot area and lot width, not a lot-coverage percentage. Rural Residential 1.5 requires a one-acre minimum lot, 1.5-acre average, and…
Unlike most Alabama counties, Madison County zones unincorporated land. The Agricultural district requires buildings 50 feet from the right-of-way, 10-foot side yards, and 25-foot rear…
Madison County zones unincorporated land. In the Transitional Agriculture and Rural Residential districts, non-agricultural buildings may not exceed 2.5 stories or 35 feet under Zoning…
Unincorporated Madison County has no rental registration. The county runs zoning and building inspection but no landlord registry, so it cannot license, register, or annually inspect…
Rent control is illegal in unincorporated Madison County. Alabama Code §11-80-8.1 bars every county, city, and town from enacting or enforcing any ordinance that controls the rent…
Alabama has no just-cause eviction rule, and Madison County cannot add one. Under Alabama Code §35-9A-421 a landlord ends a tenancy with a seven-business-day written notice for unpaid…
Any land disturbance in unincorporated Madison County that discharges construction stormwater to a water of the state needs an NPDES permit before work begins. ADEM administers the…
Alabama authorizes Madison County to manage flood-prone land so property qualifies for the National Flood Insurance Program. The county's flood damage prevention rules require a…
Grading that disturbs one acre or more in unincorporated Madison County falls under ADEM's construction stormwater program, Chapter 335-6-12. Smaller earthwork is exempt from state…
Coastal development rules do not apply in Madison County. It sits in the inland Tennessee Valley of North Alabama, roughly 300 miles from the Gulf, so the Alabama Coastal Area…
Clearing or grading one acre or more in unincorporated Madison County makes the site a regulated NPDES construction site under ADEM Chapter 335-6-12. The operator must register and…
Madison County has no dark-sky lighting ordinance, and Alabama has no statewide dark-sky law for private property. Shielded or full-cutoff lighting requirements come only from HOA deed…
Madison County has no light-trespass ordinance, and Alabama has no statute limiting light spilling onto a neighbor's property. Remedies come from HOA deed restrictions and a common-law…
Rooftop solar in unincorporated Madison County goes through a building and electrical permit plus an interconnection agreement with the serving utility. Wiring must meet the National…
Alabama has no solar access law. Unlike Texas, California, or Florida, no statute stops a homeowners' association in Madison County from restricting or banning rooftop solar. A…
Unincorporated Madison County's noise ordinance covers barking dogs. An owner who lets a dog bark loudly enough to breach the 85-decibel daytime or 75-decibel nighttime limit commits a…
Amplified music in unincorporated Madison County must stay under the noise ordinance's 85-decibel daytime and 75-decibel nighttime limits set under Ala. Code §45-45-174. The county…
Unincorporated Madison County enforces a noise ordinance adopted in 2019 under Ala. Code §45-45-174. Sound may not exceed 85 decibels by day, and after 11 p.m. the limit drops to 75…
Unincorporated Madison County sets no construction-hours curfew. Work may run day or night, but the county noise ordinance under Ala. Code §45-45-174 caps sound at 85 decibels by day…
No Alabama statute and no Madison County rule single out leaf blowers. They run at any hour in unincorporated areas, bounded only by the county noise ordinance's 85-decibel daytime and…
Madison County has no ordinance regulating holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays in unincorporated areas, and Alabama has no statute on them. A homeowner may decorate without a…
Garage-sale signs face no Madison County zoning rule on your own property. But Alabama Code §23-1-6 makes it illegal to plant a sign in a state highway right-of-way, and the county…
Madison County imposes no zoning signage rules, so political signs on your own land need no county permit. Alabama Code §23-1-6 bars signs in a state highway right-of-way, the county…
Recreational drone flights over Madison County follow FAA rule 49 U.S.C. § 44809: register drones over 250 grams, pass the TRUST test, stay below 400 feet, keep visual line of sight…
Commercial drone operators in Madison County follow FAA 14 C.F.R. Part 107: hold a Remote Pilot Certificate, register the aircraft, stay below 400 feet, keep line of sight. Redstone…
Unincorporated Madison County enforces no juvenile curfew; Alabama counties lack that power. Municipalities set curfews under Ala. Code § 11-45-1, and Huntsville restricts minors from…
Madison County parks such as Sharon Johnston Park close at posted hours, generally dawn to dusk. Remaining after closing without a permit is criminal trespass in the third degree under…
These cities are located within Madison County and may have their own ordinances.
These communities are in unincorporated Madison County. County ordinances apply directly to these areas.
Ordinance data for Madison County is sourced from the following official government references. Click any topic above for detailed citations.