Rockdale County, GA Ordinances (2026)

Rockdale County Code § 78-14(b) bars mixing yard trimmings with regular household trash and bans sending them to a lined landfill with a leachate system. Trimmings must be sorted…

Sec. 226-3 of the county's Unified Development Ordinance requires commercial dumpsters in unincorporated Rockdale County to sit on a concrete pad, be enclosed or placed to the rear of…

Under the Unified Development Ordinance (Title 2 of the Code), commercial dumpsters in unincorporated Rockdale County must sit on a rated concrete pad, stay out of sight from public…

Unincorporated Rockdale County has no curbside recycling pickup: residents recycle by hauling material to the county recycling and transfer station instead. Rockdale County Code Sec…

Illegal dumping anywhere in unincorporated Rockdale County, on a public road, right-of-way, waterway or someone else's private property without consent, is banned under Rockdale County…

Rockdale County Code § 78-9 requires bulk trash from holidays, moving or cleanup to be bundled to no more than 50 pounds and 4 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet, secured, with cartons broken…

Rockdale County Code § 78-7 requires every owner, occupant, tenant and lessee of a commercial, institutional or industrial property to supply litter containers sized and typed as the…

Rockdale County does not require residents to compost. Code § 78-14(b)(4) lists composting, mowing high and letting clippings lie, brush piles and on-site chipping as acceptable ways…

During a declared water shortage, Rockdale County Code § 98-40 lets the water director impose demand management measures on lawn watering, car washing and pool filling once the Board…

Removing trees ahead of development in unincorporated Rockdale County requires an approved landscape and tree protection and replacement plan under County Code Section 328-18 before…

Rockdale County Code § 78-13 bans letting uncut grass or weeds exceed ten inches, or become a nuisance, health hazard or unsightly, on any lot in the unincorporated county. A…

Unincorporated Rockdale County makes it unlawful to possess one ounce or less of marijuana anywhere in the unincorporated area, including public places, streets and parks. The county…

Unincorporated Rockdale County makes loitering a citable offense when someone is in a place, at a time, or acting in a manner unusual for law-abiding people under circumstances that…

Rockdale County's Smoke-free Air Ordinance, Code §§ 42-121 to 42-138, bans smoking in every enclosed public place and workplace in the unincorporated county, plus within 15 feet of any…

In unincorporated Rockdale County it is unlawful to appear intoxicated on streets, roads, or county property, or in any public business, and separately unlawful to bring your own…

Unincorporated Rockdale County bars minors 16 and under from loitering or wandering in public places between 9:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. on weeknights, and between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m…

Unincorporated Rockdale County parks close from sundown to sunrise, and no overnight camping is allowed at any public park or recreation area. Staying on park grounds during closed…

In unincorporated Rockdale County's public parks and recreational areas, no one may discharge firecrackers, fireworks or any firearm or explosive without express written permission…

Unincorporated Rockdale County bans outdoor burning under the state Environmental Protection Division's Summer Burn Ban every year from May 1 through September 30. Outside that window…

Rockdale County's Unified Development Ordinance requires every previously occupied manufactured home moved into the unincorporated county to carry a state-approved smoke detector…

Rockdale County Code § 98-46 lets EPD-permitted reclaimed water supply toilets, urinals, trap primers and water features in motels, hotels, apartments and commercial or institutional…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Rockdale County Code § 98-39 makes landlords, not incoming tenants, responsible for water and wastewater leaks. Before a new tenant moves in, the…

Rockdale County Code § 102-8(a)(10) adopts the latest National Electrical Code as a Georgia State Minimum Standard Code, enforced by the Department of Public Services and Engineering…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Code § 302-49 makes it unlawful to excavate, fill, build, demolish, move or alter any building or structure, including accessory structures, until…

Rockdale County Code § 102-8(a)(4) adopts the latest International Plumbing Code as a Georgia State Minimum Standard Code, enforced by the Department of Public Services and…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, hotels, multifamily buildings, day cares, health care facilities and any residential building with more than two units must install a complete…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, the Fire Marshal's Office inspects construction at intervals, requires an 80 percent completion inspection and a final inspection before occupancy…

Rockdale County's Unified Development Ordinance defines a pet grooming or training business as 'animal services, limited' and bars it outright from the R-1 and R-2 residential…

Rockdale County's Unified Development Ordinance sorts apiaries into Class A (up to 6 colonies), Class B (7 to 14) and Class C (15 or more), and § 218-13(e2) sets density, rear-yard…

Unincorporated Rockdale County caps household pets at five per lot under Code Section 218-7(h)(11), not counting litters under six months old, a limit that carries over from the A-R…

Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics in unincorporated Rockdale County must sit at least 50 feet from any residentially zoned or used property, and any attached kennel or boarding…

Unincorporated Rockdale County bans letting a dog run at large or go unattended on streets, in parks, on shared apartment common areas, or on someone else's property, and separately…

Unincorporated Rockdale County allows chickens, horses, cows, goats and hogs under Code § 42-72(6), but housing must sit set distances from any occupied building: 100 feet for fewer…

Rockdale County classifies dogs as dangerous or vicious based on what a specific dog has done, biting, attacking or killing a pet, not by breed, then requires registration, proper…

Unincorporated Rockdale County bans owning, possessing, breeding or selling skunks, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, wolves, wolf hybrids and exotic cats, plus any other wild animal, unless…

Unlike dogs, cats running at large in unincorporated Rockdale County are not subject to impoundment under the chapter's at-large provision, but a feral cat that fails a temperament…

A dog impounded a second time for running at large in unincorporated Rockdale County within 12 months of the first violation must be microchipped, or have its existing chip updated…

Rockdale County's home occupation standard, § 218-13(dd), caps a home-based business to one passenger vehicle and bars any earth-moving or heavy equipment on the premises, while a…

Unincorporated Rockdale County prohibits vape stores outright. Sec. 218-13(yyy1)(a) of the Unified Development Ordinance declares that in all zoning districts of the county, vape…

Operating a massage establishment in unincorporated Rockdale County requires a license from the Department of Public Services and Engineering under Code section 22-72. The same section…

Tattoo, piercing and other body art studios and artists in unincorporated Rockdale County must follow the Body Art Studios and Artists rules adopted by the county Board of Health on…

Any adult entertainment establishment operating in unincorporated Rockdale County needs a license under Code section 22-143. Section 22-147 blocks approval if the site sits within…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, operating musical equipment on private property in a residentially zoned area is unlawful whenever the sound is plainly audible beyond the property…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, construction and utility work in a residentially zoned area is barred between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weeknights and between 10:00 p.m. and 9:00…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, playing musical equipment in or on a motor vehicle so it is plainly audible 100 feet from the vehicle is unlawful under County Code § 42-1(b). The…

Rockdale County's zoning code sets two specific decibel thresholds rather than one blanket noise limit: organic farming equipment over 70 decibels must sit at least 100 feet from the…

Unincorporated Rockdale County bans letting an animal bark, whine, howl or crow for a "sustained period", defined as 15 minutes continuous or 30 minutes intermittent noise plainly…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, running lawn equipment, including gas or electric leaf blowers, mowers, edgers, chippers and tillers, in a residentially zoned area between 9:00 p.m…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a bar, nightclub or other business in a commercially zoned area cannot run musical equipment plainly audible beyond its property line between 12:01…

Rockdale County's vehicle noise ordinance does not exempt low-frequency bass just because lyrics are unintelligible: Code § 42-1(b) states that to be "plainly audible," words or…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a motor vehicle left unattended on a public street for at least five days, or on private property for at least 30 days, meets the Code's own…

Unincorporated Rockdale County regulates electric vehicle charging stations under the Unified Development Ordinance's parking standards: they must sit within an off-street parking lot…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, parking or standing a commercial vehicle in a residential zoning district is unlawful unless it is actively loading or unloading, under Sec. 222-11…

Recreational vehicles, boats, boat trailers and utility trailers are exempt from the county's residential commercial-vehicle parking ban, but Sec. 222-11 still requires them to be…

In any residential zoning district in unincorporated Rockdale County, Sec. 222-11(b) requires vehicles to be parked within a garage, driveway, or carport, or within a side or rear…

Unincorporated Rockdale County requires any development where goods are routinely delivered or shipped to provide off-street loading space, with the minimum count set by floor area…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Code § 94-5 lets a sheriff's deputy order a vehicle moved, or towed to impound, whenever it is parked on an alley, road, street or right-of-way in a…

Unincorporated Rockdale County bans parking in shopping center parking lots between 7:30 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. under Code § 42-76, unless you are patronizing the merchants, in a permitted…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, keeping trash, garbage, refuse or any foul, decaying or putrescent material in a manner that becomes a breeding place for rodents is a declared…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, new residential construction in the future-conditions floodplain must have its lowest floor built at least three feet above the base flood elevation…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, disturbing one acre or more of land, or any part of a larger development plan reaching that threshold, requires a land-disturbing permit under County…

Unincorporated Rockdale County regulates stormwater under County Code Chapter 310, banning any discharge of pollutants into the county's separate storm sewer system besides stormwater…

Rockdale County's Chapter 320 Flood Damage Prevention ordinance bars new construction, fill or other development in a special flood hazard area if it would raise the base flood…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, the A-R Agricultural-Residential District (Sec. 206-2 of the Unified Development Ordinance) sets aside land where single-family homes coexist with…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a data center falls under the zoning code's 'Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting and related services' use, which the…

Unincorporated Rockdale County allows a home occupation only as a use clearly incidental to a dwelling's residential purpose: it must be run solely by residents of that home, cannot…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a home occupation under Sec. 218-13(dd) of the Code cannot involve group assembly or group instruction on the premises. Only residents of the…

Unincorporated Rockdale County allows no signage of any kind for a home occupation. Sec. 218-13(dd)(5) of the Code also bars interior or exterior alterations that look non-residential…

Unincorporated Rockdale County zones a small in-home daycare as a family day care home if it serves three to six unrelated children, requiring the operator to follow the state's Bright…

A mobile food vendor operating in unincorporated Rockdale County needs a permit from the Department of Planning and Development plus a food service permit from the county Environmental…

Operating a short-term rental in unincorporated Rockdale County requires a license from the Department of Planning and Development, capped occupancy of two guests per bedroom, a…

Every short-term rental license in unincorporated Rockdale County must designate an agent who is at least 25 years old and can be present onsite within one hour of contact. Sec…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Rockdale County cannot generate excessive or unusually loud noise that disturbs the neighborhood, and Sec. 218-13(mmm2)(13)d.8 requires every…

Short-term rental guests in unincorporated Rockdale County cannot park on any public or private right-of-way, and Sec. 218-13(mmm2)(13)d.10 requires all parking to follow the parking…

Short-term rental violations in unincorporated Rockdale County escalate under Sec. 218-13(mmm2)(18): a $500 fine for a first offense in 12 months, $750 for a second, and a $1,000 fine…

Rockdale County Code Sec. 86-91 defines 'hotel' broadly enough to cover any structure with guestrooms rented to transient guests, which reaches short-term rentals in unincorporated…

In the CRS Collaborative Residential Subdivision zoning district, unincorporated Rockdale County requires street trees along every street, spaced no more than 50 feet apart, at least…

Rockdale County designates large, healthy trees as specimen trees under Code Section 328-26, requiring a certified arborist's survey before development and extra density credit for…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, the zoning code lets a property owners association formed for a conservation subdivision place liens to collect unpaid dues, and lets the county…

Any subdivision in unincorporated Rockdale County built on private residential streets must form a mandatory property owners association under Code § 302-73, with membership binding…

Rockdale County does not enforce private HOA covenants: Code § 218-13(pp)(11) requires every manufactured home permit application to carry a disclosure that a county permit 'has no…

Rockdale County grants a per-acre density bonus to developers within the Salem Road Corridor Overlay District who dedicate right-of-way and build the streets and multi-use paths called…

Unincorporated Rockdale County lets window signs cover up to 30 percent of the window area of a building elevation without any sign permit, but they still have to follow the sign…

Rockdale County allows digital billboards as 'multiple message billboards' under Code § 230-21(i), but each message must hold for at least ten seconds and change within two seconds…

Unincorporated Rockdale County treats yard and garage sale signs as exempt 'weekend signs' under Code § 230-17(d)(5): allowed only from 3 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Monday, capped at four…

Billboards, ground signs of 401 to 672 square feet aimed at interstate traffic, are permitted only on lots abutting I-20 in nonresidential zoning districts in unincorporated Rockdale…

Rockdale County treats a political sign as an example of a 'free speech sign' under Sec. 230-4, and Sec. 230-17(d)(6) exempts these signs from needing a permit, but they still must…

Rockdale County's dimensional standards table caps impervious surface at 20 percent of a lot in the R-1 single-family district and 30 percent in the R-2 duplex district, part of a…

Rockdale County's dimensional standards table sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district: 40 feet front, 10 or 30 feet side and 50 feet rear in the A-R agricultural-residential…

Rockdale County caps building height at 35 feet in the W-P watershed protection and RM multi-family districts, but exempts church spires, flagpoles, water towers, monuments and…

Rockdale County caps residential fences at 4 feet along the street right-of-way and 6 feet along interior side and rear lines, requires corner-lot fences to sit farther back for sight…

Rockdale County bans tires, sheet metal, plastic, fiberboard, plywood and exposed concrete block for fences in every zoning district, and only agricultural lots of at least three acres…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Code Section 214-6 requires every fence, wall or hedge to be built with its finished side facing the adjoining property, not the property owner's own…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a fence 7 feet tall or under needs no sign-off, but Code Section 214-6(9) requires the chief building official to permit and inspect any fence built…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a retaining wall up to 4 feet tall needs no sign-off, but Code Section 214-6(10) requires any retaining wall taller than 4 feet to be permitted and…

Anyone planning to use a county park, street or other public property in unincorporated Rockdale County for a gathering needs a special event permit under Code Section 218-2 before it…

Vending at a street fair or festival on public property in unincorporated Rockdale County is controlled entirely by the special event's permit holder under Code Section 218-2(d): no…

Unincorporated Rockdale County requires a permit before anyone holds a parade, festival, race, procession or other special event, per Code § 218-2. Applications go through the…

Garage sales, yard sales and similar sales on private property in unincorporated Rockdale County are exempt from the special event permit required by Code Section 218-2, so there is no…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Code Section 218-7 caps how many accessory buildings, like sheds and detached garages, a residential lot may have and how big they can be, based on…

Unincorporated Rockdale County allows a caretaker or employee accessory dwelling under Sec. 218-13(r) of the Unified Development Ordinance, capped at no more than 800 square feet. The…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a billboard may only be lit indirectly, from a light source aimed downward, never by floodlights pointed up at the face. The county's…

In the unincorporated area's mapped floodplain, Rockdale County Code § 320-5(b)(1) requires new homes to sit with their lowest floor at least three feet above the base flood elevation…

Before building a residential pool in unincorporated Rockdale County, the owner needs a building permit under Code § 302-51, which requires the pool to meet the zoning ordinance and…

Rockdale County Code § 78-4 bans leaving hazardous items, and most crates, boxes or similar containers, on streets and sidewalks in the unincorporated county. Only an authorized trash…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, the department of public services and engineering, not the abutting property owner, maintains and repairs county-owned sidewalks under Rockdale…

Cutting or excavating any Rockdale County right-of-way, road, street or sidewalk requires written permission from the director of public services and engineering under Rockdale County…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, the health officer enforces a specific list of declared nuisances under Code of Ordinances § 42-72: bad-repair toilets and sewers, insect-breeding…

Under Code § 42-73, Rockdale County's health officer must promptly investigate every bona fide nuisance complaint from a resident of the unincorporated area, though anonymous tips can…

Unincorporated Rockdale County caps grass and weeds at ten inches on any parcel under Code § 78-13. Owners get an eight-day written notice to clear litter or overgrowth before the…

Rockdale County's public officer can order an unfit or drug-crime-linked building repaired or demolished under Code §§ 42-109 to 42-115. A public authority or five or more residents…

Every business operating in unincorporated Rockdale County must identify its dominant line of business, the type from which it earns the greatest income, on its occupation tax…

Rockdale County levies a five percent occupancy tax on the rent for every hotel guestroom stay under Rockdale County Code Sec. 86-92. Operators collect the tax from occupants and remit…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a charitable organization that wants to solicit money from drivers at intersections must get a permit from the Sheriff's Office at least 30 days…