Orangeburg County, SC Ordinances (2026)

In the unincorporated area of Orangeburg County, new construction and substantial improvements to residential structures in a mapped special flood hazard area must have the lowest…

Orangeburg County requires every solid-waste collection vehicle serving the unincorporated county to stay sanitary and leak-proof, keep loads fully covered en route to the landfill or…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, brush and limbs from commercial tree cutting or any tree debris over six inches in diameter is the homeowner's own job to haul to the landfill…

Anyone building in unincorporated Orangeburg County must keep a dumpster on-site for the length of the project, empty it at a licensed landfill before debris is visible to passersby…

Dumping litter or solid waste anywhere in unincorporated Orangeburg County outside the county landfill or transfer station is a misdemeanor under Section 34-3(c). Fines climb with the…

Orangeburg County requires household garbage and recyclables to go to designated county waste and recycling centers under Section 34-3(k), and bans leaving items there after the center…

A short-term rental host in unincorporated Orangeburg County collects the county's 3% local accommodations tax on every stay, capped at a 3% cumulative rate countywide, and any real…

Orangeburg County has charged a 3% local accommodations tax on hotel and transient lodging stays since January 1, 2024, capped at 1.5% inside a municipality unless that town consents…

Orangeburg County Code § 24-1 bans loitering in the unincorporated area when it comes with activity or circumstances that give a sheriff's deputy probable cause for alarm about…

Commercial establishments in unincorporated Orangeburg County cannot sell, allow consumption or possession of, or allow non-employees to remain on the premises with alcoholic beverages…

Orangeburg County Code § 24-2 makes it unlawful, at any hour, to create, assist in creating, or allow the continuance of unreasonably loud, disturbing noise anywhere in the…

Outdoor recreation and event centers in unincorporated Orangeburg County must silence amplified music and sound by 11:00 p.m. under Zoning Ordinance § 3.21(C)(8). The cutoff is one of…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, a dog that habitually barks excessively or continuously meets the county's Animal Control definition of a 'nuisance' animal. Keepers have an…

Manufacturing uses in unincorporated Orangeburg County must keep noise below a sliding scale of decibel limits measured at the lot line under Section 3.2 of the Zoning Ordinance…

Within the Approach Zones of a precision instrument runway in unincorporated Orangeburg County, the Zoning Ordinance requires new residential dwellings and public-reception buildings…

Within Orangeburg County's manufacturing performance standards, construction-related noise and vibration are exempt from the Zoning Ordinance's strict decibel and vibration limits only…

Anyone who wants to hold a parade, procession or organized formation that travels on a county street outside normal traffic rules in unincorporated Orangeburg County must first get a…

Orangeburg County lists filming among the named examples of a "special event" under Orangeburg County Code § 24-3, so a film crew shooting on a county street, park or other public…

Sec. 9-26 of the county's community development code lets the code official condemn any structure found unsafe, unfit for occupancy or unlawful, including buildings dangerous from fire…

Orangeburg County's community development code requires that vacant land and vacant structures in the unincorporated county be maintained in a clean, safe, secure, and sanitary…

Orangeburg County closes its Indian Bluff Recreation Area from sunset to sunrise under Orangeburg County Code § 28-3, except for the boat ramp, dock and boat ramp parking area, which…

Orangeburg County's public services department only performs drainage work off the road right-of-way for one of four reasons under Orangeburg County Code § 28-64: an immediate health…

Before any development can proceed in a special flood hazard area of unincorporated Orangeburg County, Section 18-81 requires the applicant to show that the structure cannot be located…

In special flood hazard areas of unincorporated Orangeburg County where FEMA has set a base flood elevation, Section 18-82(1) requires new construction and substantially improved…

Disturbing land anywhere in unincorporated Orangeburg County, grading, filling, clearing or building in a floodway, requires a land disturbance permit approved by the Soil and Water…

Orangeburg County enforces the 2023 National Electrical Code as adopted by the South Carolina Building Codes Council, applied with South Carolina modifications. Anyone who wants to…

Orangeburg County enforces the 2024 International Plumbing Code with South Carolina modifications, and anyone installing, altering or repairing a plumbing system in the unincorporated…

Sec. 6-15 of the county code requires any owner, agent or contractor who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair or move a building or structure, or install regulated electrical…

The Orangeburg County building official inspects every permitted project directly or through certified reports from approved agencies, and can enter a structure or lot at reasonable…

Orangeburg County does not mandate fire sprinkler systems in residential structures; the only sprinkler provision in the county code, Section 16-1, instead offers a property tax credit…

Table 1 of the Orangeburg County Zoning Ordinance permits Child/Adult Day Care Services (NAICS 6244) by right in seven of the county's eight primary zoning districts, RG, RO, CN, CG…

Orangeburg County enforces the 2024 International Fire Code, and its local amendment to Section 1103.5.3 gives owners of existing buildings three years from the date of adoption to…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County allows fireworks stands only as a temporary use under Zoning Ordinance § 3.18-2(9), and only for up to six weeks before a commemorative holiday such as…

Orangeburg County's Sec. 6-14.2 permit fee schedule lists swimming pools as requiring a building permit, an electrical permit and plan review. Sec. 6-15 requires that permit before…

Orangeburg County's Sec. 6-14.2 permit fee schedule lists residential solar installations as requiring a building permit, an electrical permit and plan review. Sec. 6-15 requires that…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, mobile vendors are a conditional use governed by Zoning Ordinance § 3.9. Vending sites must sit at least 20 feet back from the street right-of-way…

Food trucks and other sidewalk-style vendors in unincorporated Orangeburg County must follow the conditional-use standards in Zoning Ordinance § 3.9: sit at least 20 feet back from the…

Under Article VII of chapter 6, Orangeburg County has found that dwellings in the county can be unfit for human habitation due to dilapidation, fire hazards or inadequate sanitation…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County treats sexually oriented businesses as a conditional use under Zoning Ordinance § 3.10 and keeps them well away from everyday community life. No such…

General auto repair is not a permitted use in Orangeburg County's residential districts. Table 1 of the Zoning Ordinance marks General Auto Repair "N," not permitted, in the RS, RG and…

Table 1 of the Orangeburg County Zoning Ordinance confines pawn shops to a single zoning district in the unincorporated county. Pawn Shops (NAICS 522298) are a permitted, by-right use…

Table 1 of the Orangeburg County Zoning Ordinance confines tattoo and body-piercing parlors to a single zoning district. Body Piercing/Tattoo Parlors (NAICS 812199) are a permitted…

Home occupations in unincorporated Orangeburg County are a conditional use under Zoning Ordinance § 3.16, meaning Table 1 has to list them as permitted before the county approves one…

Orangeburg County sets no numeric visitor cap for home occupations, but Zoning Ordinance § 3.16(7) requires that a home business generate no more traffic than would normally be…

Zoning Ordinance § 3.16(4) bans signage for home occupations outright in the county's RS and RG residential districts, the zones where most home businesses operate. Outside RS and RG…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County allows a family day care home as a permitted accessory residential use with no separate zoning permit, capped at six children including the caregiver's…

Orangeburg County does not regulate any dog breed as inherently dangerous. Sec. 4-61 states plainly that an animal shall not be deemed a dangerous animal solely by reason of its breed…

Orangeburg County does not require dogs or cats to be microchipped. Sec. 4-108(b) states only that it is the county's policy to encourage animal keepers to have their dogs and cats…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County has banned exotic creatures outright since December 7, 2009. Chapter 4 defines 'exotic creatures' to include big cats, bears, wolves, coyotes…

Every cat six months or older kept in unincorporated Orangeburg County must be registered and licensed with county animal control, with fees keyed to spay/neuter status. A separate…

Every keeper in unincorporated Orangeburg County must keep dogs and other animals confined or under restraint at all times. Sec. 4-129(a) makes letting an animal run at large a…

Veterinary Services (NAICS 54194) are a permitted, by-right use in four of the eight primary zoning districts covering unincorporated Orangeburg County: Commercial General…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, keeping livestock or poultry is a zoning question first: Table 1 of the Zoning Ordinance permits Livestock (NAICS 112111) by right only in the…

Table 1 of the Orangeburg County Zoning Ordinance separates indoor from outdoor pet-care businesses. "Pet Care (Enclosed Facility)" (NAICS 81291), the category covering grooming shops…

Orangeburg County's community development code bars keeping an inoperable, disassembled, or dismantled vehicle on any premises in the unincorporated county, along with a vehicle…

Orangeburg County bans parking a recreational vehicle or boat over 17 feet in a required front or side yard setback, or within five feet of the property line, in RS and RG residential…

Every use in unincorporated Orangeburg County must provide its own off-street loading space under Section 6.7 of the Zoning Ordinance. Loading and unloading has to happen on the same…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County bars any vehicle used for commercial purposes, defined as one over five tons, with more than two axles, or taller than eight feet, from parking in a…

In the RS and RG residential districts of unincorporated Orangeburg County, a recreational vehicle or boat over 17 feet cannot sit in a front or side yard setback or within five feet…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County bans letting weeds or vegetation grow taller than 12 inches on any occupied or unoccupied lot located in or within 200 feet of a platted subdivision or…

Cutting down a significant tree, one measuring 30 inches DBH, inside a protected tree area in unincorporated Orangeburg County requires the Zoning Administrator's prior approval…

Section 9-77(e) of Orangeburg County's community development code requires every structure and exterior property in the unincorporated county to stay free of insect and rodent…

Anyone digging, boring, tunneling or installing utility lines in an Orangeburg County road right-of-way, or within three feet of a roadbed, must first get an encroachment permit from…

Depositing litter or solid waste on a curb, sidewalk, street, road, highway or public right-of-way in unincorporated Orangeburg County is unlawful under Section 34-3(g), and the same…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County caps building height at 35 feet in the RS, RO, FA and RC zoning districts under Section 2.4, Table 2 of the Zoning Ordinance. In the RG, CN, CG and BI…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in Section 2.4, Table 2 of the Zoning Ordinance. Front setback from a multi-lane major street is 50 feet…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County limits how much of a lot can be covered by buildings, pavement and other impervious surface under Section 2.4, Table 2 of the Zoning Ordinance. The…

Where the county's zoning ordinance requires a bufferyard between different land uses, Section 4.1-9 sets the fence and wall materials allowed: wooden fences must be rot-resistant…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, fences and walls in any required yard cannot exceed six feet in height, and opaque fences need Zoning Administrator approval before going up in a…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County does not require a permit for an ordinary fence, but Table 6, Note (B) of the Zoning Ordinance requires Zoning Administrator approval before an opaque…

Manufacturing uses in unincorporated Orangeburg County must fully shield outdoor light fixtures under Section 3.2 of the Zoning Ordinance so no light shines above the fixture's lowest…

Billboards and other signs in unincorporated Orangeburg County may be lit indirectly or with internal illumination without a separate permit, but Table 4 of the Zoning Ordinance bans…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County's Forest Agricultural (FA) zoning district exists to conserve and protect farmland and forestry operations, letting crop production, livestock…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, the code official investigates any dwelling reported as unfit for human habitation under County Code §§ 6-31 to 6-42. After a preliminary…

Orangeburg County grants a multi-year special property tax assessment to historic properties that complete a certified rehabilitation, under County Code §§ 9-38 to 9-43. The length of…

Anyone who wants to sell goods, wares, or merchandise door-to-door in unincorporated Orangeburg County must first get a peddler or hawker license from the clerk of court under County…

Every business operating in unincorporated Orangeburg County pays an annual license tax set by classification under County Code § 8-221. Rates track the standardized class schedule the…

Orangeburg County's code official can condemn a structure in the unincorporated county that is unsafe, unfit for human occupancy, or unlawful under § 9-26. The section lists eleven…

The Community Development code official investigates and processes reports of code violations in unincorporated Orangeburg County under §§ 9-24 and 9-25. A written notice must describe…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, accessory dwelling units are a conditional use under Zoning Ordinance Section 3.22, allowed only where Table 1 permits them for the district…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County flatly bars renting out an accessory dwelling unit as a residential unit. Zoning Ordinance Section 3.22 says ADUs "may not be rented as residential…

An accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated Orangeburg County can only be built on a lot with a single-family, owner-occupied principal dwelling. Zoning Ordinance Section 3.22(b) ties…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, an accessory shed, workshop or storage building must sit outside the required front, side and corner-lot building lines and keep at least three…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County protects mature trees by size, not species. Zoning Ordinance Section 4.5.2 designates any tree measuring 30 inches DBH (diameter at breast height) a…

In unincorporated Orangeburg County, off-premises billboards are allowed only with a zoning permit in the CG (General Commercial) and BI (Business/Industrial) districts. Most…

The Orangeburg County Zoning Ordinance treats window signs as a building sign type governed by Table 4 of Section 5.2. They are barred outright in the RS and RG residential districts…

Orangeburg County's Zoning Ordinance treats digital signage as its own sign characteristic in Table 4: a 'Digital' sign needs a zoning permit and is allowed only in the CG and BI…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County otherwise bans signs in the public right-of-way, but Section 5.4 of the Zoning Ordinance carves out a narrow exception for yard sales: a temporary…

Political signs are allowed without a permit in every zoning district in unincorporated Orangeburg County, but Section 5.5's temporary-sign table caps them at 32 square feet, applies…