3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Tarrant County, Texas.
Verified from official government sources
Residential security cameras are legal in Tarrant County without a permit. Texas law allows recording video on your property and publicly visible areas. Cameras must not be directed into areas with a reasonable expectation of privacy such as neighbors' bedrooms or bathrooms.
Tex. Penal Code Sec. 21.15(b), (c)
Sec. 21.15. INVASIVE VISUAL RECORDING. ... (b) A person commits an offense if, without the other person's consent and with intent to invade the privacy of the other person, the person: (1) photographs or by videotape or other electronic means records, broadcasts, or transmits a visual image of an intimate area of another person if the other person has a reasonable expectation that the intimate ...
Texas is a one-party consent state for audio recording. Only one party to a conversation must consent. Video recording in public spaces is legal, but recording in private areas where individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy is a state jail felony.
Tex. Penal Code Sec. 16.02(c)(4)
Sec. 16.02. UNLAWFUL INTERCEPTION, USE, OR DISCLOSURE OF WIRE, ORAL, OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. ... (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) that: ... (4) a person not acting under color of law intercepts a wire, oral, or electronic communication, if: (A) the person is a party to the communication; or (B) one of the parties to the communication has given prior con...
Privacy fences in Tarrant County are generally allowed up to 8 feet in rear and side yards and 4 feet in front yards. Fort Worth requires permits for solid fences over 6 feet. The finished side must face outward toward neighbors.
1 cities in Tarrant County have their own privacy & surveillance rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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