Nassau County, FL Ordinances (2026)

In unincorporated Nassau County, it's unlawful to throw, discard, place, or let fall from a vehicle or boat any litter on public or private roads, beaches, sidewalks, waterways or…

In unincorporated Nassau County, bulky items like appliances, furniture, building materials and tree limbs don't ride along with regular cart service. Section 30½-21 calls these…

Unincorporated Nassau County bans dumping yard trash in its lined landfill cells. Section 30½-7, the 'Yard Trash Ordinance' adopted in 1993, codifies the state Solid Waste Management…

Unincorporated Nassau County doesn't fix pickup days or hours in the code itself. Section 30½-81 has the Board of County Commissioners set frequency, quantity limits, hours, and…

Countywide in unincorporated Nassau County, dumpsters and outdoor mechanical equipment like HVAC units, transformer pads, propane tanks and generators must sit behind a fully opaque…

In unincorporated Nassau County you cannot report a code violation anonymously. County Code § 1-58(b) requires anyone reporting a potential code or ordinance violation to give their…

Nassau County's Unsafe Building Abatement Code spells out the exact property conditions that count as unlawful nuisances in the unincorporated area, from vacant buildings open to…

In unincorporated Nassau County, most residential and commercial zoning categories allow only one inoperable vehicle on a property, and only for up to 30 days, unless it's kept fully…

Unincorporated Nassau County allows major recreational equipment such as RVs, boats and trailers to be parked or stored in a residential side or rear yard, but never in a required…

Unincorporated Nassau County bars parking tractors, trucks and school buses, including vehicles bearing Florida CV, GW, KS and P license classifications, in any residential zoning…

Unincorporated Nassau County requires off-street parking areas to be paved, striped and properly drained, but exempts single-family and two-family homes from the paving mandate…

Unincorporated Nassau County requires businesses to provide off-street loading space sized to a building's floor area under Land Development Code § 28.16.4. Loading facilities must sit…

Nassau County's Building Department, acting under the adopted Florida Building Code, requires a fixed sequence of inspections on every permitted job in the unincorporated area, from…

Nassau County enforces plumbing work through the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, adopted wholesale by County Code Section 7-6. Under Florida Building Code Section 101.4.3…

Electrical work in unincorporated Nassau County runs on the 2020 National Electrical Code, NFPA 70, adopted through County Code Section 7-6's Florida Building Code amendments. Section…

Any owner who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure in unincorporated Nassau County must first apply to the…

A child care facility bigger than a licensed family day care home needs conditional use approval in unincorporated Nassau County, and Land Development Code § 28.14(B) ties that…

Nassau County's Fireworks Display Ordinance bans selling, exposing for sale, or using or exploding fireworks in the unincorporated area unless state law allows it, reserving fireworks…

A backyard fire pit or outdoor BBQ doesn't need a Nassau County building permit. Florida Building Code Section 105.2's exemption list, adopted by County Code Section 7-6, names…

Nassau County's Building Department requires every one and two-family residential building permit application to show smoke and carbon monoxide alarm and detector locations on the…

Under the county's Unsafe Building Abatement Code, a property maintained with a dilapidated, unsafe or dangerous structure is a declared public nuisance in unincorporated Nassau…

In unincorporated Nassau County, an accumulation of dead or dying grass, plants, shrubs, trees, limbs or branches on any property is listed as a prohibited condition affecting public…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Sec. 30¾-38 requires new or redeveloped property to connect to Nassau Amelia Utilities' water and wastewater system before occupancy, and it bans a…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Nassau Amelia Utilities (NAU) is not responsible for detecting or reporting leaks on the customer's side of the water meter. Customers who repair a…

Nassau County's landscaping code asks new development to design with xeriscape principles: watering zones grouped by need, at least half of vehicular-area plantings drought tolerant…

Nassau County's Floodplain Management Ordinance requires a floodplain development permit for any development within a mapped flood hazard area in the unincorporated county, even for…

Every structure built within a Special Flood Hazard Area in unincorporated Nassau County must set its finished floor at least one foot above the current 100-year flood level, the…

In unincorporated Nassau County, any project that alters natural or man-made drainage collection, storage or conveyance systems, changes land use, adds or resizes structures, or…

Any site in unincorporated Nassau County where construction disturbs natural cover or topography must control erosion and retain sediment onsite under Section 10.6.5 of the Roadway and…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Class I, II and III electric bicycles are allowed on county sidewalks and county-maintained multi-path trails, but every rider on those surfaces is…

In unincorporated Nassau County, ringing a doorbell or knocking to solicit is unlawful before 9:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on any weekday, and banned entirely on Sundays and state or…

Anyone conducting a home solicitation sale in unincorporated Nassau County must first get a permit from the clerk of the circuit court, which requires a sworn application with the…

Anyone in unincorporated Nassau County who buys or sells old, used or secondhand gold, silver or platinum items must keep a sheriff-approved transaction register recording the seller's…

Nassau County bars retailers from selling e-cigarettes or liquid nicotine to anyone under 18 and from stocking them in open, self-service displays customers can reach. Code §§ 19¼-79…

Nonconsensual and trespass tows in Nassau County may only be performed by a wrecker operator certified as 'qualified' by the Sheriff's Office under the Nassau County Wrecker Ordinance…

Nassau County requires anyone operating or working at a sexually oriented business, adult bookstores, cabarets, motels, theaters, semi-nude model studios, sexual device shops or…

Nassau County bans retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits from commercial establishments, public thoroughfares, common areas and flea markets, aiming the ordinance squarely at…

In unincorporated Nassau County, keeping a wild or vicious animal as a pet is illegal outright. County Code Section 6-55 bars anyone from owning, possessing or keeping a wild or…

Land Development Code Section 22.01 lets landowners in the Open Rural (OR) zoning district keep farm animals and poultry by right, but any coop, barn or pen must sit at least 100 feet…

Nassau County does not require every owned pet to be spayed or neutered, but Code Section 6-59 makes sterilization mandatory before an animal leaves the county's animal control…

Any grooming shop bathing, clipping or otherwise grooming animals in unincorporated Nassau County must hold an annual $100.00 permit from Animal Control under Sec. 6-43. A grooming…

Every cat four months or older in unincorporated Nassau County must carry a county rabies license under Sec. 6-42, issued by a veterinarian or Animal Control after proof of a current…

In unincorporated Nassau County every dog must be kept under restraint at all times under Sec. 6-45, meaning secured by a leash under a handler's control or confined within the owner's…

Nassau County does not restrict any dog breed by name; instead Sec. 6-47 adopts Florida's dangerous-dog statutes and lays out the county's own hearing and appeal process for…

Once Nassau County finally classifies a dog as dangerous under Sec. 6-47, the owner must have it microchipped at their own expense as recommended by the Florida Animal Control…

In unincorporated Nassau County, a veterinary hospital or animal clinic is a permitted use in the Commercial, Neighborhood (CN) zoning district, so long as animals stay inside a…

Unincorporated Nassau County bars medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities from locating within 500 feet, measured in airline distance, of a public or private…

Unincorporated Nassau County allows medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facilities as a permitted use in the Commercial, Neighborhood (CN) district and, by cross-reference…

In unincorporated Nassau County, front, side and rear yard setbacks are fixed by zoning district in the Land Development Code. The most restrictive residential district, RS-E…

Unincorporated Nassau County caps how much of a residential lot buildings may cover, with the limit set per zoning district in the Land Development Code. In the RS-E Single-Family…

Unincorporated Nassau County caps residential building height at 35 feet across its core single-family zoning districts. Section 8.06(B) sets that limit for the RS-E Single-Family…

Building a residential swimming pool in unincorporated Nassau County requires a Building Department permit under Florida Building Code Section 105.1, adopted by County Code Section…

Mobile food vending is confined to developed commercial or industrial sites, developed private property hosting a permitted civic, institutional or recreational use, or county property…

Mobile food vendors operating in unincorporated Nassau County must keep on-site proof of the property owner's written authorization, their state mobile food license under F.S. §…

Selling from a mobile food vehicle in the public right-of-way, including sidewalks, is banned outright in unincorporated Nassau County. Section 18½-100 bars a MFVV from operating in…

Smoking is banned in the bleachers, dugouts and on the playing field at Nassau County recreation parks, allowed only starting twenty feet away from any bleacher or dugout. Code §…

Nassau County bans bikes, skates, skateboards, roller blades, all-terrain vehicles and paintball activities in its recreation parks unless the county parks and recreation department…

Nassau County requires every sexually oriented business to post no-loitering signs, monitor its property in person or by video at least every ninety minutes, and light its exterior…

In unincorporated Nassau County, drinking or carrying an open container of beer, wine or any alcoholic or intoxicating beverage on a public street, highway, right-of-way, sidewalk or…

Anyone staging a festival, fair, art show or musical event in Nassau County must first get a festival permit from the county manager under Code § 19½-2. Festivals are capped at ten…

A nonprofit group wanting to camp overnight at Burney Park must first get a group camping permit from the county's Public Works Department under Code § 23½-13. Groups of 10 to 30…

Nassau County only recognizes parklets inside the Timber to Tides Design Overlay, the SR 200/A1A corridor running through Yulee and East Nassau. The Land Development Code lets…

Using any county right-of-way in Nassau County, above or below ground, requires a permit from the engineering services director. Commercial use, camping and other traffic-obstructing…

In unincorporated Nassau County, no one may disturb, excavate, block or place material on a county-maintained road without a permit from the county engineer's office. Violators face up…

In unincorporated Nassau County, most residential fences and privacy walls up to 7 feet tall are exempt from a building permit no matter what material they use. The one big exception…

In unincorporated Nassau County, retaining walls up to 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, are exempt from a building permit under Section…

Nassau County treats a low-voltage electric fence as a permitted alarm system under Section 105.17 of the adopted Florida Building Code rather than ordinary fencing. The fence is…

Inside the Timber to Tides Design Overlay along SR 200/A1A, front-yard fences cap out at four feet and must be at least half see-through, while side and rear fences can run up to six…

Nassau County levies a combined five percent tourist development tax on Amelia Island, in both the City of Fernandina Beach and unincorporated Nassau County, on any hotel, motel…

In unincorporated Nassau County, Section 105.15 of the adopted Florida Building Code requires impact-resistant opening protection, shutters, impact windows or doors meeting the Florida…

Nassau County's Florida Building Code, Residential amendments in Section R322.2.1 require the lowest floor of a home in a flood hazard area to sit at or above the base flood elevation…

In unincorporated Nassau County, no audio device may be played on the Atlantic Ocean beach or beach parking areas if it is plainly audible fifty feet away, and electronically amplified…

In unincorporated Nassau County it is unlawful under Sec. 6-54(k) for an owner to let an animal bark, howl, whine or make similar noise persistently or continuously for thirty minutes…

Every subdivision the county approves, including rural subdivisions, must have a property or homeowners association responsible for maintaining roads, easements, amenities, landscape…

Nassau County's Chapter 5 creates the Amelia Island Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission, a body corporate empowered to acquire, restore and operate historic landmarks…

In unincorporated Nassau County, land taxed as open rural by the county property appraiser automatically sits in the Open Rural (OR) zoning district no matter what the county's Zoning…

A home business in unincorporated Nassau County is a conditional use, not a right, in any residential district that doesn't already permit it outright. Land Development Code § 28.14(A)…

Unincorporated Nassau County allows a home occupation as a conditional use in any residential district that doesn't already list it as a permitted use, but Land Development Code §…

In unincorporated Nassau County, a licensed family day care home is a permitted use in every residential district, with no conditional use hearing required. Land Development Code §…

A home occupation in unincorporated Nassau County can display exactly one sign, and it has to be small and unlit. Land Development Code § 28.14(A)(3) caps it at one square foot…

A tool or garden shed in unincorporated Nassau County is an accessory structure, and Land Development Code § 28.15 caps its footprint at the size of the main house, keeps it out of…

Nassau County allows one accessory dwelling by right on any residentially zoned lot that permits a single-family home. Land Development Code § 28.15(K) caps it at 50 percent of the…

Nassau County's Land Development Code § 28.24 creates a tiny home development program for the unincorporated area, capping each unit at 800 square feet on a permanent foundation and…

On unincorporated Amelia Island outside Fernandina Beach, cutting down a protected tree, any healthy tree five inches or more in trunk diameter, requires a permit from the Nassau…

In unincorporated Nassau County, trees and palms near street and driveway intersections must be trimmed so no limbs or foliage sit between three and eight feet off the ground inside…

Inside the Timber to Tides Design Overlay along SR 200/A1A, new landscaping has to lean native. The Land Development Code requires at least 80 percent of all trees and 60 percent of…

Unincorporated Amelia Island's Land Development Code singles out large live oaks, forty inches or more in trunk diameter, as specimen trees. Removing one needs a separate Planning…

Unincorporated Amelia Island's tree ordinance protects trees by size and health, not by a fixed species list: any healthy tree five inches or more in diameter at breast height counts…

Nassau County's tree planting program for unincorporated Amelia Island puts publicly held land first, prioritizing new trees in rights-of-way and on land owned by the county or the…

Nassau County's Land Development Code flatly bans planting any species on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's Category I or II invasive list as required or supplemental landscaping…

In unincorporated Nassau County, solar energy systems are a permitted accessory use under Land Development Code § 28.15. Roof-mounted panels on a residential structure cannot rise more…

Unincorporated Nassau County bans electronic digital signs outright, regardless of how often the display changes, under Land Development Code § 30.03(C). The rule also sweeps in…

Unincorporated Nassau County bans billboards and other off-premise advertising signs outright under Land Development Code § 30.03. The same section prohibits any sign inside a public…

Nassau County's Land Development Code § 30.04(B) treats a political campaign advertisement as a device Florida law defines and regulates rather than local signage, but it extends the…

Nassau County defines a window sign broadly under Land Development Code § 30.05 as anything visible from the right-of-way through a window or door, then draws one narrow exception in §…

Inside the Timber to Tides Design Overlay along SR 200/A1A, every thoroughfare, building-facade and parking-lot light has to carry dark-sky friendly shielding and directional LED bulbs…

Any agritourism operation on land classified agricultural by the Nassau County property appraiser has to design its lighting so it measures zero foot-candles at the property line of a…