Moore County, NC Ordinances (2026)

Short-term rental hosts in unincorporated Moore County must collect a three-percent room occupancy and tourism development tax on gross rental receipts. The tax applies to hotels…

Moore County Public Works (MCDPW) credits water bills for leaks beyond a customer's control, but only if the customer discovers and repairs the leak promptly and applies within six…

Playing a radio, stereo, TV or musical instrument loudly enough to disturb a neighbor's dwelling, hotel or motel room is a per se noise violation in unincorporated Moore County under…

Moore County bars noise-creating generators, power fans and other internal combustion engines from disturbing residential neighbors between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under Sec…

In unincorporated Moore County, the Board of Commissioners' noise ordinance bans loud, raucous or disturbing sound, but Sec. 10-42(11) exempts "noises resulting from the normal…

In unincorporated Moore County, Sec. 10-41(b)(2) bans sounding a vehicle horn, whistle or signal device, mounted or not, "intermittently or continuously, for a period in excess of 30…

Unincorporated Moore County requires all plumbing work to comply with the North Carolina Plumbing Code. Chapter 5, Article VIII, Sec. 5-151 of the Moore County Code adopts the state…

In unincorporated Moore County, building permits run through the North Carolina State Building Code, which Moore County Code Section 5-26 adopts by reference 'as fully as though set…

Unincorporated Moore County has no standalone electrical permit ordinance: Moore County Code Section 5-41 adopts the North Carolina Electrical Code, which itself adopts the National…

In unincorporated Moore County, the Fire Marshal's Office carries the local duty to inspect day care facilities for fire safety, per Moore County Code Section 5-63(8), which tasks the…

Moore County taxes every pawnbroker in the unincorporated county under an annual $275.00 privilege license, set alongside loan agencies and check-cashing shops in Sec. 9-62's fee…

Moore County's massage therapy ordinance bars any licensed massagist or licensed massage establishment from massaging, or allowing anyone to massage, a client's private parts, and…

Anyone operating a massage therapy establishment in unincorporated Moore County needs a privilege license under Section 9-47, cleared through the sheriff, planning department and fire…

In unincorporated Moore County, exploding fireworks without a written county permit is declared a disturbing noise violation under Sec. 10-41(b)(8). Anyone caught doing it faces a…

Using a loudspeaker, drum or sound-amplifying device to attract attention to a show, sale or business in unincorporated Moore County requires a sheriff's permit under Sec. 10-41(b)(5)…

Construction work in unincorporated Moore County, including excavation, demolition, alteration and repair, is barred outside 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. under Sec. 10-41(b)(11) of the…

Moore County's noise ordinance exempts lawn care equipment, including leaf blowers, only between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. under Sec. 10-42(14). Run one outside that window in a…

Moore County's airport ordinance imposes a noise curfew on aircraft using the county airport in unincorporated Moore County. Multi-engine aircraft departing Runway 5 or 23 must hold…

Moore County bars vehicle horns sounded more than 30 seconds and vehicles running without proper mufflers or noise-reducing equipment under Sec. 10-41(b)(2) and (b)(7). Both are per se…

Habitual barking, howling or whining that unreasonably disturbs neighbors is a nuisance under Moore County's animal ordinance. An owner or keeper gets 48 hours' written notice from…

In unincorporated Moore County, feral cat colony caregivers must follow Moore County Code Section 4-11's trap-neuter-vaccinate-return standard: neuter every adult cat, vaccinate the…

Moore County bars possessing a coyote or coyote hybrid, or a wolf or wolf hybrid, as a pet in unincorporated Moore County unless the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has…

Moore County treats a dog or other animal that is repeatedly off its owner's property and not under restraint as a nuisance rather than writing a stand-alone leash law. Restraint means…

Moore County has no breed-specific ban; instead it regulates any dog the animal operations director determines is vicious. A vicious dog must live in a six-foot-fenced, roofed…

Moore County caps how many cats can share one primary enclosure at 12, under the animal care standards in its cruelty-to-animals ordinance. The rule sets floor-space minimums per cat…

Moore County bans tethering fowl, selling baby chicks or ducklings under eight weeks old as pets, and dyeing baby chickens or rabbits, while setting shelter and feed standards for…

Moore County bars possessing or harboring any nondomestic animal that is dangerous to people or property, or that could become dangerous, covering animals the code calls exotic such as…

Moore County Code Section 4-88 requires every group, organization or entity that offers animals for adoption within the county to sterilize each animal six months or older before…

Moore County Code § 10.5-21 bans possessing, consuming, displaying or selling any alcoholic beverage on the premises of, or within, a public recreation area anywhere in unincorporated…

Moore County Code § 10.5-16 bans soliciting, peddling or begging in any county park, and bans selling merchandise or wares there, unless the activity is part of a county-approved…

In unincorporated Moore County, the Solid Waste Container Ordinance bars loitering or congregating on any solid waste container site, and any vehicle left unattended there is towed at…

Moore County Code § 10.5-11 closes every county park, playground, ball field and recreation facility once its posted hours of operation end: entering or remaining after closing without…

In unincorporated Moore County parks, Sec. 10.5-12 bans riding a bicycle "without reasonable regard for the safety of others" or outside "designated roads or parking areas, designated…

Customers of the Moore County Public Utilities (Addor) water system face staged, mandatory irrigation cutbacks once the county declares a water shortage. At Stage 2, lawns and gardens…

Moore County Code § 10.5-17 requires county approval before an exhibition show can use a designated park area, and makes the sponsoring organization responsible for any license fees…

Moore County levies a three-percent room occupancy and tourism development tax on gross receipts from renting a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp or similar room, on top of state and…

Unincorporated Moore County limits solid waste disposal to a state-approved sanitary landfill, an approved county container site, an approved incinerator, or another method cleared by…

Moore County Code § 8-155 controls how garbage is stored on residential property in unincorporated Moore County. Every premises must use a health-director-approved container that is…

In unincorporated Moore County, Moore County Code § 8-156 requires every owner, occupant, tenant or lessee to remove all garbage from a premises at least once a week, and requires any…

Moore County Code § 8-181 sets the rules for using the county's public solid waste container sites in unincorporated Moore County: sites are for residents only, open only during posted…

Moore County Code § 8-181 makes the county's public container sites in unincorporated Moore County the place for both residential waste and designated recyclable materials. The section…

Moore County Code § 8-182 bars yard waste and brush from the county's public solid waste container sites in unincorporated Moore County. The section lists yard waste and brush among 16…

Moore County levies an annual privilege license tax on specific business categories rather than businesses generally, from $5.00 for a music machine or video game to $200.00 for a…

Peddlers and itinerant merchants working unincorporated Moore County must hold an annual privilege license, taxed from $10.00 for a peddler on foot up to $100.00 for an itinerant…

Moore County's Voluntary Agricultural District program (Moore County Code §§ 6.75-26 et seq.) lets landowners in unincorporated Moore County enroll qualifying farmland to receive…

Unincorporated Moore County requires refuse containers built to keep rodents out. Moore County Code § 8-155 orders every garbage container constructed of metal or equally durable…