Yellowstone County, MT Ordinances (2026)

Yellowstone County's zoning ordinance has no separate carport standard; a carport is treated as an accessory building. In the zoning area around Billings that means rear-yard placement…

Yellowstone County's zoning code will not let a mobile home, manufactured home, RV, travel trailer, or any other wheeled or transportable structure count as an accessory dwelling unit…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, an accessory dwelling unit only gets approved if the property owner actually lives on site. The zoning code requires the owner to occupy either…

In the county zoning area, a "private garage" is defined as an accessory building used only for storing motor vehicles. Converting it to a habitable rental unit creates a separate…

In Yellowstone County's zoning area around Billings, "accessory living quarters" (guest houses) are allowed within an accessory building but may have no kitchen and may not be rented…

Small recreational backyard fires are allowed without a permit in Yellowstone County if the fire pit is 48 inches or less and used only for cooking or recreation. Burn only natural…

Open burning of natural vegetation is allowed year-round in Yellowstone County but requires a burn permit from County Disaster & Emergency Services. Permits cost $8 the first year and…

Most residential zones in the Billings/Yellowstone County jurisdiction allow common fencing but forbid barbed and razor wire in front and near dwellings. In special overlay districts…

In the zoned 4.5-mile fringe around Billings (governed by the unified Chapter 27 zoning code), fences up to 3 feet are allowed in the required front-yard setback and up to 6 feet…

Yellowstone County's Zoning Code sets no height limit for retaining walls, but Section 27-1203.C.1(i) requires any proposed retaining wall's location, size, and construction material…

A fence, wall, or hedge taller than three feet in unincorporated Yellowstone County needs a fence permit from the planning department, and anything over seven feet needs a full Zoning…

Where county zoning applies (such as the Laurel-Yellowstone County jurisdictional area and other adopted districts), a home occupation is a permitted accessory use in residential…

Running a home occupation in unincorporated Yellowstone County comes with real hour and traffic caps. The zoning code says the business should not generate traffic before 7:30 a.m. or…

A family day care home in Yellowstone County zoning districts is a permitted use in residential zones and cares for up to six children; a group day care home covers seven to twelve…

A home occupation in unincorporated Yellowstone County cannot advertise itself with a sign. The zoning code bars any sign calling attention to the business and also prohibits any…

Restaurants in unincorporated Yellowstone County may add sidewalk seating only under the physical conditions in Section 27-1009.P.2 of the Zoning Code: contiguous to the restaurant…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, Montana, marijuana dispensaries must sit at least 600 feet from religious institutions, schools, playground parks, day care centers, youth…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, the Zoning Code allows marijuana dispensaries only in the zone districts where Table 27-1000.1 marks them PR (permitted with restrictions), and…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, billboards along Interstate 90 are confined to a defined Interstate Corridor, 660 feet either side of the interstate right-of-way, and are allowed…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, window signs are not free of the sign-area cap: the Zoning Code exempts only the first 25 percent of an individual window's face from the overall…

Billboards in unincorporated Yellowstone County are confined to the Interstate Corridor and specific commercial and industrial zones, capped at 600 square feet and 40 feet tall along…

Yellowstone County treats sexually oriented businesses, adult arcades, adult book or video stores, adult motels, and adult motion picture theaters, as a regulated commercial use under…

Yellowstone County's zoning code bars automobile, lawn mower, and other engine repair, welding, or machine shops from operating as a home occupation anywhere in the unincorporated…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, Montana, a rooftop or ground-mounted solar array is regulated as a Solar Energy Facility (SEF) under three size tiers. Tier 1 accessory systems…

Every short-term rental permitted in unincorporated Yellowstone County must post the permit, local contact information, and emergency safety information inside the unit, and the owner…

Guests at a permitted short-term rental in unincorporated Yellowstone County must park in the property's private driveway first, with any overflow allowed only on the street where…

Anyone renting a dwelling short-term in unincorporated Yellowstone County must hold a Zoning Coordinator-issued permit under Section 27-1620. The application lists the owner, a local…

In the county's agricultural and residential zone districts, a guest home can only get a short-term rental permit if it is owner-occupied or occupied by a long-term tenant for at least…

Yellowstone County can revoke a short-term rental permit under Section 27-1620.E when a substantiated violation occurs during the permit term. The Zoning Coordinator gives written…

A short-term rental permit issued in unincorporated Yellowstone County caps occupancy at two guests per bedroom, whether the unit is rented to a single guest or a group. The limit…

Outdoor and rooftop seating at eating and drinking establishments in unincorporated Yellowstone County may use amplified sound or live music only in conformity with the County's noise…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, mechanical equipment on industrial property within 50 feet of a residential zoning district, including air conditioners, air handlers, and back-up…

Unincorporated Yellowstone County lets residents keep backyard chickens and other livestock under Section 27-1008, but the allowance scales with lot size: on 2.5 acres or less, the…

A veterinary clinic or hospital with outdoor boarding facilities in unincorporated Yellowstone County may only be sited in the CX, C3, I1, or I2 zone districts, and any outdoor runs or…

Yellowstone County's zoning code will not approve pet grooming, breeding, or boarding as a home occupation anywhere in the unincorporated county. Section 27-1009.M.4(e) lists 'uses…

Yellowstone County doesn't run an odd/even watering calendar; instead its zoning code regulates how an automatic irrigation system installed under an approved landscape plan must be…

Yellowstone County has no permit requirement for cutting down a tree on ordinary private land. Its only tree protection duty applies narrowly to developers who choose to claim…

New development in unincorporated Yellowstone County must select landscape plan materials for adaptability to the native environment under Section 27-1208.B, using the County's Plant…

Unincorporated Yellowstone County's Agriculture (A) zoning district exists, under Section 27-901, "to protect and preserve agricultural lands for the performance of a wide range of…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, a day care center, family day care home, or group day care home must comply with all applicable Montana statutory licensing requirements before it…

Any lot in unincorporated Yellowstone County that fronts a public or private street must plant a landscaped strip at least five feet wide with street trees at one tree per 50 feet of…

New off-street parking lots in unincorporated Yellowstone County must set aside snow storage space equal to five percent of the plowed surface area. The zoning code does not touch…

Yellowstone County runs the state Junk Vehicle Program and enforces its Community Decay Ordinance. Every junk vehicle, regardless of number, must be shielded from public view. Vehicles…

Yellowstone County does not regulate the charger in your own garage. Put a charging station anywhere else on the property, though, and Section 27-1009.K requires it to sit at an…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, a licensed and operable motor vehicle parked or stored in a front or side yard must sit on a surface prepared with asphalt or concrete. Rear-yard…

In the county's zoning jurisdiction (within 4.5 miles of Billings), storage and parking of RVs, boats, and trailers is regulated as part of general property maintenance and zoning…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, the zoning coordinator enforces Zoning Code Article 27-1700 against unpermitted construction, setback encroachments, illegal signs and unapproved…

In the zoned Billings/Yellowstone County jurisdiction, setbacks are set by district. The N1 residential district requires a front build-to zone of 8–25 feet, a 5-foot minimum side…

In the N4 large-lot suburban district of unincorporated Yellowstone County, a principal house is capped at 3 stories and 34 feet under Zoning Code Table 27-300-3. An accessory building…

Unincorporated Yellowstone County caps how much of a lot a building can cover, and the limit changes by zoning district: 30% in the N4 large-lot residential district, 15% in the…

Under the Yellowstone County Parkland Ordinance, county parks close to public access one-half hour after sunset and open one-half hour before sunrise. No overnight camping is allowed…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County's commercial and mixed-use zoning districts, dumpsters and other refuse containers have to sit in the rear yard or an approved alley, screened from…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, any building with five or more units must keep its trash and recycling area in the rear yard or interior side yard under Zoning Code Section…

Yellowstone County's Zoning Code doesn't ban individual plant species, but Section 27-1203.B.1 requires that any plant material used on a required landscape plan have noninvasive…

In unincorporated Yellowstone County, industrial development within 50 feet of a residential zoning district must shield every outdoor light fixture with a full cutoff shield so no…

Billboard lighting in unincorporated Yellowstone County must follow the countywide sign illumination standard: no light source visible from a street right-of-way, no hazardous or…

Yellowstone County enforces a Community Decay Ordinance covering nuisance conditions visible from a public right-of-way, including inoperable/junk vehicles, vacant or abandoned…

Yellowstone County's zoning code requires sod or another erosion control product anywhere a landscaped lawn sits in a swale, berm, or other spot prone to erosion, and it bars high-flow…