Washington County, AR Ordinances (2026)

Arkansas has no shared-cost residential fence statute, so Washington County neighbors split fence expenses only by agreement. Rural boundary and livestock fencing follows the state…

Cutting a ditch or trench across or along any Washington County road right-of-way requires a permit from the County Road Department, plus a cash, surety, or property bond guaranteeing…

Washington County records a standing notice in the Circuit Clerk's real estate records under Code of Ordinances Section 1320.05(1), warning buyers of unincorporated land that…

Washington County declares "the right to farm" to be official county policy under Code of Ordinances Section 1320.05(10), and folds the state's farm-nuisance protections into county…

Washington County regulates development in Special Flood Hazard Areas under its Flood Damage Prevention Program. The ordinance restricts building, filling, grading, mining and other…

Any construction disturbing one acre or more in Washington County needs coverage under Arkansas DEQ's construction general permit (ARR150000) plus a SWPPP. Fayetteville and Springdale…

Construction sites in Washington County must control erosion and sediment under Arkansas DEQ permit ARR150000 once one acre is disturbed. Silt fence, wattles, and stabilized entrances…

Sexually oriented businesses in unincorporated Washington County face strict location limits: 500 feet from churches, schools and parks, 200 to 400 feet from residential areas, and…

Washington County requires every scrap metal recycler regulated under Arkansas's secondhand-dealer statute, A.C.A. §§ 17-44-101 et seq., to keep and transmit all required transaction…

Washington County does not ban any breed. Instead, a law enforcement officer can declare a specific dog hazardous, potentially dangerous, or dangerous based on its own conduct…

Washington County does not ban exotic or wild animals outright. Code § 700.01 requires anyone who keeps one in the unincorporated county to notify the Animal Control Officer, cage or…

Washington County runs a voucher-based spay/neuter program under Code § 700.02 rather than a blanket sterilization mandate. Sterilization becomes mandatory in two specific situations…

Beekeeping is allowed across Washington County. Under the Arkansas Apiary Act, Ark. Code 2-22-110, beekeepers must register their colonies with the State Plant Board; cities add hive…

Washington County requires dogs be controlled and not run at large; specific leash rules are set by city ordinance. Statewide, every dog and cat must be vaccinated against rabies under…

Unincorporated Washington County broadly allows chickens, cattle, horses, and other livestock on rural and agricultural parcels, core to the region's poultry economy. City limits like…

Washington County's unincorporated area does not require a separate building permit for ordinary agricultural or single-family construction: Code of Ordinances Section 1320.07(16)…

Arkansas designates no heritage trees by statute, and Washington County protects none. Fayetteville runs a voluntary Tree Registry under UDC §167.03 for historic, rare, or exceptional…

Caring for children for pay in a Washington County home requires a license from the Arkansas Department of Human Services. State code makes operating an unlicensed child-care facility…

The Arkansas Food Freedom Act lets you make non-hazardous food at your Washington County home and sell it directly to consumers with no license, no health inspection, and no sales cap…

Unincorporated Washington County enforces no residential building code, so it mandates no pool barrier. But Fayetteville and Springdale enforce the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, which…

Unincorporated Washington County enforces no building code, so a residential pool needs no county building permit or inspection. A floodplain development permit still applies in flood…

Only medical dispensaries are legal in Arkansas, and licensed ones operate in Washington County, including Fayetteville. Under Amendment 98 a dispensary may not sit within 1,500 feet…

Growing marijuana at home is illegal everywhere in Washington County, including for medical cardholders. Arkansas's medical program has no home-grow, and recreational cannabis failed…

Converting a garage in unincorporated Washington County needs no building permit, since the county enforces no building code. But making it a separate dwelling triggers Additional…

A backyard shed needs no county building permit in unincorporated Washington County, which enforces no building code for accessory structures. Zoning setbacks and a floodplain permit…

In unincorporated Washington County a second home is an Additional Dwelling Unit needing Planning review and a septic permit, since base zoning is one unit per acre. Fayetteville, by…

A foundation tiny home is allowed on its own acre in unincorporated Washington County under the one-unit-per-acre zoning, needing a septic permit but no building inspection. On wheels…

Arkansas requires no just cause to evict, and Washington County cannot add one. It is the only state with a criminal eviction remedy: under Ark. Code §18-16-101 a tenant who won't…

In unincorporated Washington County, the County Judge can declare a county-wide ban on outdoor burning whenever weather or drought conditions make fires a danger, and burning during an…

Fireworks stands in unincorporated Washington County must register with the County Fire Marshal, pass inspection, and follow strict stocking and removal windows under Code § 940.01…

A short-term stay in Washington County owes Arkansas's 6.5% state sales tax, a 2% state tourism tax, and local sales taxes, plus a city advertising-and-promotion or hotel tax…

Arkansas law lets the Washington County Sheriff tag and tow unattended and abandoned vehicles from public ways, and an inoperable junk vehicle left in view on private land is…

Arkansas requires no replant-what-you-cut rule, and Washington County imposes none. In Fayetteville, development that removes canopy below the required minimum must mitigate on site…

Overgrown grass is a city matter in Washington County. Fayetteville, Springdale, and Prairie Grove order weeds cut under Ark. Code §14-54-901, then bill the owner. The unincorporated…

Washington County does not license door-to-door solicitors in unincorporated areas; peddler licensing is a city police power exercised by Fayetteville, Springdale, and others…

Parks across Washington County close at posted hours. Most Fayetteville parks close at 11 p.m., while the lakes close at sunset and Kessler Mountain runs 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Staying…

The County Judge can order owners of unsightly or unsanitary vacant property in unincorporated Washington County to clear garbage, junk and stagnant water within 30 days, then abate it…