Walton County, FL Ordinances (2026)

A land clearing and alteration permit is required before removing or altering vegetation on most land in unincorporated Walton County under LDC § 1.13.09(F), to control stormwater…

Walton County's landscaping code requires that seventy-five percent of the plant material in any required landscape plan be native species, under Land Development Code § 5.01.01(C)…

Unincorporated Walton County caps weeds, grasses and shrubbery at 18 inches on residential and mixed-use lots, improved or vacant alike. Land Development Code Section 7.02.02 declares…

Inside the Point Washington Neighborhood Plan Overlay District in South Walton, utility companies and government agencies may trim or remove protected trees for line maintenance…

In unincorporated Walton County, charcoal grills are banned outright on the public beach. A propane gas grill is allowed only if it uses a cylinder no larger than 1 pound and a cooking…

Walton County Code § 22-54(o) sets an outright specification list for any generator used on the beach south of Highway 20, capping noise output at 60 decibels along with limits on…

In unincorporated Walton County's Grayton Beach community, the board of county commissioners found that late-night bars and package stores selling alcohol drove up noise, traffic…

A permit is required in unincorporated Walton County whenever an owner, agent or contractor wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a…

Unincorporated Walton County requires a permit before anyone erects, enlarges, alters, repairs, removes, converts or replaces a plumbing system, and every installation must meet the…

Walton County lists 15 required inspections for construction in the unincorporated county, running from footing and foundation through framing, electrical, plumbing, gas, mechanical…

Unincorporated Walton County requires an automatic sprinkler system, installed to NFPA 13, in any structure taller than three stories. The county's fire code flatly bars plastic or…

Every electrical installation, alteration, or replacement in unincorporated Walton County needs a permit under Sec. 6-29 and must meet the most recent National Electric Code, NFPA 70…

Walton County has no separate green-building program: instead it adopts the Florida Building Code's Energy Efficiency Code, Chapter 13, by reference as the minimum energy standard for…

Walton County's Land Development Code exempts farm buildings, fences, and signs on agricultural land, and bona fide farm operations on agricultural-classified land more broadly, from…

Unincorporated Walton County protects working farmland through two dedicated zoning districts rather than a standalone right-to-farm ordinance. The Large Scale Agriculture (LSA)…

In unincorporated Walton County, dumping solid waste anywhere except a permitted disposal site is unlawful, and haulers cannot bring outside trash into county landfills. County Code…

Unincorporated Walton County requires commercial establishments to store trash in controlled containers, sized to handle everything the business generates, with spillage cleaned up…

Short-term vacation rentals in unincorporated Walton County must provide at least 35 gallons of fully enclosed trash container capacity per four transient occupants, with screening…

Short-term vacation rentals in unincorporated Walton County can put trash containers at the curb no earlier than 4 p.m. the day before pickup and must pull them back by sunset on…

Walton County does not require an owner to live on site, but every short-term vacation rental must have a designated, locally available responsible party under LDC § 1.13.16(E)…

Walton County levies a base two percent tourist development tax on any short-term rental of six months or less under County Code Section 19-26, on top of state sales tax. The host…

Every Walton County short-term vacation rental lease must notify guests of the county noise ordinance and its 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. quiet hours, warning of civil fines up to $500.00 and…

Anyone renting a residential unit as a short-term vacation rental in unincorporated Walton County must first obtain a short-term vacation rental certificate and renew it annually…

Walton County enforces short-term rental violations through a progressive citation system set out in Land Development Code Sec. 1.13.16(H). A first violation draws a warning with a…

A short-term vacation rental in unincorporated Walton County can't sleep more people than its floor area allows: the Land Development Code caps occupancy at 150 square feet of gross…

New-construction and converted short-term vacation rentals in unincorporated Walton County must provide one off-street parking space for every six transient occupants under the Land…

Walton County's combined tourist development tax is five percent south of the Intracoastal Waterway and two percent north of it, per County Code Section 19-34. The tax applies to…

Walton County requires any shared motorized-scooter operator to hold a competitively awarded county permit, run only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and park scooters in designated corrals…

Walton County Code Sec. 20-50 governs bike lanes and other multimodal facilities in unincorporated Walton County. No vehicle, device, bicycle, or stroller may block or be left…

Walton County Code Sec. 20-50 adopts the state's three-class e-bike system for unincorporated Walton County: Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes cut off motor assist at 20 mph, while Class 3…

Walton County has no single countywide overnight parking curfew; instead Code Section 20-14 lets the county administrator designate specific 'no parking' and 'limited time parking'…

Walton County's Land Development Code caps unoccupied recreational vehicles at two per lot alongside a principal residence, and bans using an RV as a permanent residence outside a…

In unincorporated Walton County, an inoperable vehicle without a current tag that has sat exposed to the weather for a month or more counts as an abandoned vehicle, and no property…

In unincorporated Walton County, vehicles on two-way streets must park within 12 inches of the right-hand curb, facing the direction of travel; one-way streets allow either curb but…

In unincorporated Walton County, off-street parking for a single-family home has to sit in the front or rear yard, never the side yard, and access drives and aisles must be paved. The…

Unincorporated Walton County requires any development that generates deliveries or shipments to build offstreet loading berths sized to its floor area, with each berth at least 250…

Any new construction or roofing work in unincorporated Walton County must meet the wind-borne debris and wind speed requirements the county has mapped in its own Exhibit A, plus the…

After a hurricane or other disaster, unincorporated Walton County can clear debris from private streets, roads and roadways once the Board of County Commissioners determines it is a…

Walton County does not write its own hurricane shutter standard; it enforces the Florida Building Code's opening-protection rules, adopted by Sec. 6-26(1), and pinpoints which…

Unincorporated Walton County flatly bans roadside vending countywide, and separately bans vending food or beverage on any county-owned or county-maintained beach or in its parking…

Roadside vending and Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle operations are allowed in any Walton County zoning district under Land Development Code Sec. 2.02.00(C)(5), except inside a…

Unincorporated Walton County treats mobile food dispensing vehicles and roadside vending as temporary land uses, not sidewalk businesses: the Land Development Code requires vending to…

Walton County only treats a fence as a permit-triggering structure if it needs a foundation. Section 6-29 defines a structure as anything fixed to or below the ground that rises 30…

On lots of a half-acre or less, Walton County caps front-yard fences and hedges at four feet unless set back to the required building setback line, under Land Development Code §…

Along the entire Route 30A Scenic Corridor in South Walton, the Land Development Code bans chain link fences, wire fences including barbed wire, and solid walls outright, and…

Unincorporated Walton County ties a retaining wall's required setback to its height: walls under two feet need just a one-foot setback, taller walls need two feet, and any wall over…

Walton County keeps adult entertainment establishments at least 1,320 feet from churches, parks, public buildings, schools and residential lots, and at least 750 feet from any other…

Walton County Code §§ 20-60 to 20-66 cap the rates wrecker companies can charge for non-consensual towing in unincorporated Walton County, Freeport, and Paxton, and ban practices like…

Walton County treats both storm-damaged unsafe buildings and dilapidated structures as public nuisances. A building loses its integrity below new-construction standards after fire…

In unincorporated Walton County, junk, litter and junked or abandoned motor vehicles cannot sit for more than 30 days in a yard, garden, lawn, outbuilding or open area of any private…

Walton County caps medical marijuana dispensaries at one location north of the Intracoastal Waterway and one south of it, reflecting the county's population under 70,000 and its…

Unincorporated Walton County bars a medical cannabis dispensing business from locating within 1,320 feet of any school, house of worship, licensed day care or county park. Distance is…

Walton County's parks ordinance bars anyone from molesting, harming, killing, netting, trapping, snaring, hunting, chasing, shooting at or throwing objects at any bird, along with…

Walton County's parks ordinance bars bringing non-domesticated or exotic animals, cattle, mules, swine, sheep, goats, fowl or reptiles included, onto any park property, unless the…

Unincorporated Walton County bans letting any dog run or remain at large off its owner's property: Section 5-29 requires direct, continuous control by a competent person, defined by…

In unincorporated Walton County, keeping backyard chickens is legal, but Walton County Code § 5-32(a) treats the flock as a nuisance animal if it creates odor, escapes the property, or…

Walton County does not ban any dog breed; Sec. 5-33 instead lets animal control officers classify an individual dog as dangerous under F.S. ch. 767, pt. II based on that dog's own…

Walton County Code § 5-35 requires every animal to wear identification at all times, a collar, tattoo, or implanted microchip listing the owner's name, address, and phone number. An…

Walton County's Land Development Code treats veterinary offices differently by zoning category: the Agriculture Uses category allows veterinary offices and animal hospitals with…

Walton County parks close between sunset and sunrise: no one may be in a park during those hours except in areas designated for 24-hour boat launching, or under department lighting for…

Anyone wanting to use a Walton County park for a sporting event, public gathering, demonstration, speech or performance needs a permit first. Sports leagues get theirs from the Parks…

Unincorporated Walton County limits road closures for races and similar events on Scenic Highway 30A and its connector roads to five per calendar year, requiring the event to benefit a…

Any fair, carnival or festival held outdoors in unincorporated Walton County counts as an 'outdoor event' once it charges admission, rents booths, expects over 200 people, blocks a…

Walton County's Motorized Scooter Pilot Share Program ordinance lets a permitted scooter operator convert an on-street parking space into a parklet holding a scooter corral, dock, or…

South of the Choctawhatchee Bay, in South Walton, Walton County requires a South Walton Fire District permit, held only by a company with a valid BATFE low-explosive license, before…

Walton County can declare a countywide burn ban prohibiting all open fires once wildfire hazard conditions reach the high-to-extreme range on Florida's Wildland Fire Danger Index. The…

On County beaches in South Walton, a bonfire or fire pit requires a permit from the South Walton Fire District (SWFD) under Walton County Code § 22-54(b)(1). Fires must stay 200 feet…

Walton County's zoning code splits bulk propane storage by volume: General Commercial districts may host LP gas storage and distribution facilities under 1,000 gallons alongside…

Before installing any underground or aerial utility line in a Walton County road right-of-way, in unincorporated Walton County, the utility owner must get a permit approved by the…

Walton County bars loitering in or around any park restroom, dressing room or bath house, and separately bans lewd or lascivious behavior anywhere on park property as defined by state…

Unincorporated Walton County outlaws drinking beer, wine or any other alcoholic beverage in three specific public spots: the Grayton Beach Subdivision's public right-of-way, the Alaqua…

Skateboards and human-propelled scooters are expressly authorized on bike lanes, sidewalks, and other multimodal facilities in unincorporated Walton County under Walton County Code…

Walton County allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family residential lot under Land Development Code Sec. 2.02.00(B)(3). The ADU cannot exceed 800 square feet of heated and…

Sheds, utility buildings, and greenhouses in unincorporated Walton County must meet the same setback and distance standards as other structures under Land Development Code Sec…

A home-based business is allowed in any Walton County zoning district that permits residential development, under Land Development Code Sec. 2.02.00(K) and F.S. § 559.955. The business…

Walton County limits every home-based business to a single sign of no more than two square feet under Land Development Code Sec. 2.02.00(K)(2). Outside of that one small sign, the code…

Unincorporated Walton County bars any noise disturbance plainly audible inside another occupied residence between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. A first violation only draws a written…

Unincorporated Walton County exempts permitted construction noise from its general noise rules only between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on…

Unincorporated Walton County's noise ordinance makes it a civil infraction, escalating to a criminal offense between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., to produce any 'plainly audible' noise…

In unincorporated Walton County, a dog, cat or other animal that barks, whines, howls or meows non-stop for 20 minutes or more, unprovoked and not baffled by an enclosure, meets the…

Any residential pool in unincorporated Walton County must meet Chapter 4, Section 454 of the Florida Building Code, adopted by Sec. 6-26(10), and be built under a permit inspected by…

In the Military Influence Overlay District near Eglin Air Force Base, unincorporated Walton County requires low-pressure sodium lighting for all new outdoor, unroofed development and…

Within the Military Influence Overlay District near Eglin Air Force Base, unincorporated Walton County limits how off-premise billboards may be lit: conventional non-digital billboards…

In unincorporated Walton County, outdoor lighting may not exceed ten maintained footcandles at the property line of any residential lot, dwelling, or congregate care facility, and…

Any development wholly or partly within a mapped flood hazard area in unincorporated Walton County needs a floodplain permit or approval from the county's Floodplain Administrator…

Any construction within 300 feet of one of Walton County's coastal dune lakes, the rare water bodies that give South Walton's 30A corridor its name, must keep erosion controls such as…

A private dock on Choctawhatchee Bay in unincorporated Walton County must clear the Bay Shoreline Protection Zone's 50-foot no-development buffer, and within that buffer the pier or…

In unincorporated Walton County, the Floodplain Management Ordinance adopts the December 30, 2020 Flood Insurance Study and its Flood Insurance Rate Maps by reference as the minimum…

Every residential, commercial and industrial project in unincorporated Walton County has to control erosion and sediment until the site is fully stabilized, under Section 5.06.00 of…

Walton County Code § 22-54(a) makes it unlawful to camp overnight on any County beach, beach access, dune system, or parking area maintained by the County in South Walton. 'Camping' is…

Walton County caps lot coverage through an Impervious Surface Ratio table tied to each zoning district: Residential Preservation lots, common along older South Walton streets, are held…

Walton County's Table 5-1 sets a flat, structure-based setback standard rather than a district-by-district grid: single-family homes need 20 feet in front, 7.5 feet on the side and 15…

Unincorporated Walton County caps building height by planning area under Land Development Code Section 5.00.04: fifty feet anywhere south of Choctawhatchee Bay and the Intracoastal…

Walton County lets planned unit developments of 100 acres or more earn extra residential density by enhancing, restoring or creating wetlands and native vegetation: LDC § 2.05.03…

Installing, altering, or replacing solar panels for water heating, pool heating, or photovoltaic systems in unincorporated Walton County requires a county-licensed solar contractor…

Walton County's Land Development Code requires one street tree preserved or planted for every 25 feet of frontage along collector-or-higher streets, set within a ten-foot-wide planted…

In the Point Washington Neighborhood Plan Overlay District in South Walton, any Live Oak, Southern Magnolia, or Long Leaf Pine measuring eighteen inches or more in diameter at breast…

In the Old Seagrove Neighborhood Plan Overlay District along Scenic Highway 30A, Live Oak and Hickory trees of eight inches or more in diameter at breast height, and Southern Magnolia…

Walton County's landscaping code prohibits placing or using non-native, invasive, or noxious plants in any required landscape plan, defining the prohibited list by reference to the…

Walton County's Xeriscape standard, Land Development Code § 5.01.06, makes water-conserving landscaping mandatory for every approved landscape plan and defines xeriscaping to include…

Walton County's Land Development Code defines the property conditions its Code Enforcement Officers most often cite in unincorporated Walton County: dilapidated structures, accumulated…

Before a Walton County Code Enforcement Officer can write a citation for a property violation in unincorporated Walton County, the Land Development Code requires a written Notice of…

Anyone can report a suspected code violation to Walton County's Code Enforcement in unincorporated Walton County, but the county limits how it handles repeat complaints. Section…

In unincorporated Walton County, a permanent outdoor advertising sign facing a public thoroughfare, a billboard, is capped at 950 square feet per face, must sit at least 1,500 feet…

In the Military Influence Overlay District (MIOD) near Eglin Air Force Base, Walton County's outdoor lighting compatibility rules exempt holiday lighting from every MIOD illumination…

In unincorporated Walton County's Military Influence Overlay District near Eglin Air Force Base, every on-premise and off-premise digital sign is capped at 0.3 foot-candles above…

In unincorporated Walton County, community directory signs posted at highway and county-road intersections may not carry commercial advertising, but the Land Development Code lets the…

Unincorporated Walton County limits most permitted temporary signs, including grand-opening and promotional-sale banners, to 14 days on display and no more than four displays per year…