Decatur, AL

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, any vehicle left standing on a public street or sidewalk for more than three days is an offense and a public nuisance. A damaged, wrecked, unlicensed…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Decatur City Code § 22-81 makes it unlawful to park or stand, or allow the parking or standing of, more than one motor vehicle used for commercial or…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a vehicle parked on a street must sit with its right-hand wheels parallel to and within eighteen inches of the curb, or between the painted lines where…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Decatur City Code § 22-71 makes it unlawful to park or leave standing on a public street or alley in a residence district any truck, trailer or…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every new dwelling unit must provide off-street parking for two vehicles, and City Code § 25-16 requires all parking areas to be surfaced for…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every structure built or altered after June 3, 1958 in a business or industrial district must provide off-street loading and unloading facilities as…

Alabama regulates the paperwork of a nonconsensual tow far more tightly than the price of one. Ala. Code § 32-13-2(d) lets a property owner or lessee have a car removed once it has…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, § 16-9 makes it unlawful to speak through any horn, megaphone, sound box or amplifier, or to play amplified music, in the city or its police…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, it is unlawful for a driver to use an engine compression brake on any public roadway within the corporate limits. Public safety vehicles, true…

Section 16-15 of the Decatur City Code makes it unlawful to keep any domestic or farm animal or fowl, including cats and dogs, in a way that becomes a public or private nuisance due to…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, any growth of weeds other than ornamental plant growth that exceeds twelve inches in height is a weed nuisance under § 16-14 of the city code. The…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a tree, shrub or ground cover on private property that interferes with a public street, sidewalk or alley, or blocks traffic and sight lines, is…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, no one can remove a tree on public property or along a public street without approval from the city tree board. Approval follows a written application…

The Alabama Water Resources Act (Ala. Code Title 9, Chapter 10B) gives the Office of Water Resources authority to declare drought stages and trigger conservation measures. Local water…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, setting off fireworks, possessing or selling them, and lighting a bonfire all require a permit under Decatur City Code § 11-6. Novelties and sparkling…

Alabama requires a state burn permit from the Alabama Forestry Commission for most outdoor burning of forest, grass, woods, and brush during fire season, applying universally across…

The Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board regulates the storage, handling, transportation, and installation of propane and LP-gas systems statewide under Title 9, Chapter 17, with…

Alabama's State Forestry Commission may declare a drought emergency by regulation under Ala. Code § 9-13-141, making all outdoor burning unlawful in the affected counties. Such…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a home occupation cannot display any sign. Section 25-145(c) bars advertising, signage, display, or other evidence of the business on the residential…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a home occupation needs a building department permit before the revenue department will issue a business license. The applicant pays a nonrefundable…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a home day care facility is a state-licensed family home caring for up to six children, or seven to twelve in a group home. In R-1, R-2, R-3, PRD, AG-1…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a home occupation is limited to one room, cannot use signage or display, and cannot sell stocks of merchandise from the premises. Only one merchandise…

Alabama runs one of the plainer cottage food laws in the country. Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(b) states that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment and is…

Alabama has never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit. The words "microenterprise" and "home kitchen" return no sections at all in the Code of Alabama, and Ala. Admin. Code…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a residential lot gets one main structure plus permitted accessory structures, and City Code § 25-18 says accessory structures shall not include living…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, accessory structures such as sheds are allowed in R residential districts with a 5-foot rear and side setback (Sec. 25-10). A building permit is…

Alabama enforces statewide minimum building, energy, and manufactured-home standards through the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission and the state-adopted residential code. Tiny…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, City Code § 25-20 bans any fence, wall, shrubbery, sign or other obstruction to vision between 3.5 feet and 15 feet above street level within 20 feet…

Alabama's partition-fence law (Ala. Code § 35-7-1 et seq.) makes a boundary fence between improved lands a shared expense of adjoining owners, with § 35-7-3 apportioning costs. Alabama…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every dog owner or person in charge must keep the dog under effective restraint, on or off the owner's premises. Direct chaining of a dog to a…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, no one can keep livestock within the city except where the zoning ordinance permits it. The AG-1 agricultural district lists livestock and poultry…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a cat found running at large off its owner's premises can be captured by the poundmaster if it is strayed, abandoned, injured, rabid, or a nuisance to…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the dangerous animal rules in Chapter 4, Article II turn on conduct, not breed. The municipal court declares an animal potentially dangerous or vicious…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every dog and cat adopted from the animal shelter must be surgically altered before it goes home with the adopter (Sec. 4-40(c)). An owner who redeems…

Alabama Code Title 2, Chapter 14 requires all beekeepers to register colonies with the Department of Agriculture and Industries and complies with state apiary inspection and disease…

Alabama Code Sections 13A-11-14 and 13A-11-241 criminalize animal cruelty and neglect statewide, capturing hoarding conduct that deprives animals of food, water, shelter, or veterinary…

Alabama Department of Conservation regulations restrict baiting and feeding of deer and other game animals statewide during hunting seasons, with separate rules on bear feeding and…

Alabama imposes a statewide lodgings tax on rooms and accommodations rented for fewer than 180 continuous days, applying universally to short-term rentals across all municipalities…

The City of Decatur, Alabama has no general loitering ban. Its code targets two places and purposes: § 8-25 bars loafing or loitering on the grounds of the Decatur Cemetery, and §…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, drinking or serving liquor, wine or beer on a street, alley, public building or other public property is unlawful. So is carrying an opened container…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, smoking is prohibited in every seating area of an outdoor arena, stadium or amphitheater, including bleachers and grandstands, and within ten feet…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every dwelling falls under the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code, adopted by Decatur City Code § 7-291 with local amendments. The Community…

Under Ala. Code § 35-9A-421 an Alabama landlord must give 7 business days' written notice for unpaid rent (pay or quit) and 7 business days to cure a material lease violation. After…

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Ala. Code Title 35, Chapter 9A) provides the exclusive statutory framework for residential evictions. The act sets uniform notice…

Under Ala. Code § 35-9A-303 an Alabama landlord must give the tenant at least two days' notice and enter only at reasonable times for legitimate purposes such as repairs, inspection…

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no maximum late fee and no mandatory grace period. Late fees are governed entirely by the lease; rent is late the day after…

Under Ala. Code § 35-9A-441 either party ends a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' written notice and a week-to-week tenancy with 7 days' notice. Breaking a fixed lease early…

Rent control is illegal at the local level in Alabama. Ala. Code § 11-80-8.1 preempts the field, barring any county, city, town, or municipality from enacting, maintaining, or…

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no specific notice period or dollar limit for raising rent. A landlord generally cannot raise rent mid-lease, but for…

Alabama caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent under Ala. Code § 35-9A-201, with exceptions for pets, alterations, and added liability risk. Landlords must return the…

Alabama recognizes two adverse-possession paths: 20 years of open, continuous possession by prescription, or 10 years under Ala. Code § 6-5-200 with color of title recorded, annual tax…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the City Council has authorized medical cannabis dispensing sites by dispensary licensees and integrated facility licensees inside the corporate…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, § 14-241 keeps medical cannabis dispensing sites at least 1,000 feet from the boundaries of any church, school, day care or child care facility, and at…

Alabama prohibits all home cultivation of cannabis statewide. Even patients enrolled in the medical cannabis program cannot grow plants at home; only licensed cultivators authorized by…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Decatur City Code § 22-78 makes it unlawful to leave any automobile or other vehicle of any type standing on a sidewalk, or to obstruct free passage…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, § 16-3 makes it unlawful to camp or to erect a tent, shelter, trailer or wagon on city hall property, public rights-of-way, library properties, parks…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the recycling facility at the Decatur Morgan County Landfill charges nothing for recycling loads under 500 pounds and $26.00 per ton for loads of 500…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the sanitation department or the city's contractor collects residential garbage not less than once each week. The city supplies one container for…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, bulky waste and tree limbs from homes and apartments go beside the sidewalk and curb or in a place the sanitation department approves. Limbs are cut to…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, leaves and grass clippings go out in containers on the collection day the sanitation superintendent sets. From October 1 to May 1, amounts above three…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, it is unlawful to dump refuse on any property other than a garbage dump, to deposit refuse on a street, alley, sidewalk, park or another person's…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, garbage cans and approved containers go where the sanitation department directs, on the days and between the hours it designates, and must be secured…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a large removable container such as a dumpster replaces garbage cans only with the sanitation superintendent's approval, and the property is then…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the sanitation department or its contractor collects residential garbage at least once each week, and the city supplies one container for garbage and…

Alabama imposes no mandatory recycling on residents or businesses. Under the Solid Wastes and Recyclable Materials Management Act, every county and municipality must file an…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, construction disturbing one acre or more needs an ADEM general stormwater permit, a copy filed with city engineering before work starts, and a…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, no person may discharge anything other than stormwater into the municipal storm drain system or watercourses, and illicit connections are prohibited…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the floodplain ordinance in City Code §§ 25-29 through 25-34 covers all FEMA special flood hazard areas and any other areas the city designates, and…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, City Code § 25-32(b)1 requires the lowest floor, including the basement, of new construction and substantial improvements in A, AE and AH flood zones…

Alabama's Coastal Area Management Program, administered by ADEM under Code §9-7, regulates development in Mobile and Baldwin counties' coastal zones, requiring permits for construction…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, § 16-14 makes it unlawful to store inoperable vehicles, discarded household furnishings, scrap or junk on residential or commercial property unless…

Section 16-14 of the Decatur City Code reaches any real property in the city, built on or vacant, but exempts land in its natural condition and rural tracts more than 100 feet from any…

Section 16-17 of the Decatur City Code makes it unlawful to sell or peddle produce or other merchandise from a vehicle, pushcart or other device on any public street, alley, parking…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every mobile food vending unit needs its own city business license displayed in view, a posted county health department permit, a fire marshal…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, mobile food vending is allowed on approved public or semipublic property, on private property outside residential zones when ancillary to a business…

The City of Decatur, Alabama, taxes room rentals to transients at 7 percent of the room charge, adds 3 percent for recreation and economic development, and adds $2.00 per rented room…

Section 16-20 of the Decatur City Code makes anyone buying precious metals or precious stones in the city or its police jurisdiction notify the chief of police by letter before…

A pawnbroker or title loan business in the City of Decatur, Alabama, must hold its State of Alabama license and pay a city license of $350 plus one-twentieth of one percent of gross…

The City of Decatur, Alabama prohibits the operation of a sexually oriented business in the city and its police jurisdiction. Chapter 2.6 defines eleven covered business types, from…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, minor or major auto repair is on the list of uses that shall not be home occupations in residential districts. The same list bars painting of vehicles…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, wrecker operators need a city business license and a police-issued inspection permit for every truck. Operators on the police rotation list cannot…

Alabama regulates the retail sale of vapor products and electronic nicotine devices through Code Section 28-11-13, requiring permits, age verification, and restricted youth marketing.

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, an occupant can post a sign reading No Solicitation or No Trespassing, and every solicitor must then leave immediately. Chapter 16.5 also bars ringing…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a commercial solicitor must hold a solicitor's permit before going door to door, carry it together with a copy of the city business license, and wear a…

Every business that buys a license in the City of Decatur, Alabama, is sorted into one or more sectors of the North American Industrial Classification System under § 14-35. When two…

A fair, carnival or circus in the City of Decatur, Alabama, pays a $2,000 license for each week or partial week, with no proration, under Decatur City Code § 14-38(29). The operator…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a licensed restaurant inside the two described downtown areas can use the public sidewalk in front of it only under a revocable annual license approved…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, no one can hold, form or take part in a parade without a permit from the chief of police. A parade means five or more people moving between locations…

A garage sale in the City of Decatur, Alabama, cannot run longer than three consecutive days, and no person or residential lot can host more than two garage sales in one calendar year…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, exterior lighting at covered parking areas must be fitted with cutoffs so the light level at any adjoining roadway or residential property line does…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, City Code § 25-32(d)4 requires the lowest floor in flood areas without base flood elevation data to sit at least three feet above the highest adjacent…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, planting a tree or shrub in a public street, parkway or other public place is unlawful without written permission from the forestry program. Permit…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Sec. 25-5 makes it unlawful to begin excavation or construction of any building or structure, including accessory structures, until the building…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a permit holder whose work fails inspection must correct it on notice from the building director and request re-inspection. Each re-inspection costs…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Sec. 7-56 amends Section R315.2 of the adopted 2009 International Residential Code. An existing dwelling unit must have carbon monoxide alarms located…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Sec. 7-71 adopts the 2009 International Plumbing Code with local amendments. The plumbing permit fee has a $25 minimum, then 1 percent of the first…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Sec. 7-121 adopts the 2008 National Electric Code, and Sec. 7-122 sets the electrical permit fee at a $25.00 minimum, then 1 percent of the first…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, new off-premise signs, the code's term for billboards, are not permitted within the city limits, except directional signs. A billboard that is…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, signs erected in connection with generally recognized holidays are permitted without a building permit and must be removed no later than ten days after…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, signs erected in connection with elections or political campaigns are permitted without a building permit up to six square feet in a residential…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a building, structure, site, object or work of art becomes a designated historic property only by city council ordinance, after the historic…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, a transportation network vehicle driver cannot answer a street hail, cannot pick up or discharge a passenger at a designated taxicab stand, and cannot…

Alabama has no general statute putting golf carts or low-speed vehicles on public roads. The only statewide scheme, Ala. Code §§ 11-73-1 to 11-73-7, applies by its own terms in Class 2…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, the zoning code caps building coverage at 25 to 35 percent of the gross development in Planned Residential Development districts (Sec. 25-10.1) and at…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, every structure must provide the yard its district specifies, and Sec. 25-14 adds rules for corner lots and neighbor averaging. R-1 requires 40 feet…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, Sec. 25-15 holds every structure to the height its zoning district lists. Homes top out at 35 feet and 2½ stories in R-1 through R-4, 50 feet in the…

In the City of Decatur, Alabama, farming is a by-right use in the AG-1 and AG-2 Agricultural Districts, where Sec. 25-12.1 allows livestock, poultry, dairying and apiaries on lots of…

Alabama Code Section 6-5-127 protects established farms from nuisance lawsuits when surrounding non-agricultural land use changes, supporting long-term agricultural operations.

Alabama's Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act (Ala. Code § 25-7-40 et seq.) preempts cities and counties from setting a local minimum wage. Alabama has no state minimum wage, so…

Alabama allows permitless concealed carry of handguns for lawful adults, while still issuing optional permits for reciprocity, with state preemption blocking local restrictions.

Alabama law preempts most local firearm regulations, reserving authority over guns, ammunition, and accessories exclusively to the state legislature under Code Section 13A-11-61.3.

Alabama has no statewide charitable gaming law. Nonprofit bingo is legal only in the roughly 18 counties that adopted their own constitutional amendment authorizing it, Jefferson…

Alabama makes being a player in unlawful gambling a Class C misdemeanor, but Ala. Code § 13A-12-21(b) gives players a defense if they were in a "social game in a private place." The…

Alabama has no legalized sports betting. Wagering on the outcome of a sporting event is "gambling" under Ala. Code § 13A-12-20(4), and a bettor who knowingly advances or profits from…

Under the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act, an association has a lien on each lot for unpaid assessments, plus interest and costs the declaration allows. The lien is recorded in…

An Alabama homeowners' association governed by Ala. Code § 35-20-13 must hand over ten named categories of records to any member or potential purchaser who asks in writing, within a…

Alabama sets no maximum dollar figure for a homeowners' association fine. Ala. Code § 35-20-11 lets a board assess only "reasonable penalties," only to the extent the declaration and…

An Alabama homeowners' association governed by the Alabama Homeowners' Association Act cannot foreclose on its own. Ala. Code § 35-20-12 requires it to give the lot owner 30 days'…

The Alabama Legislature has never written a checkpoint statute. Searching the Code of Alabama on the Legislature's ALISON database returns zero sections containing roadblock…

Alabama never enacted an express right to record police, so the question is answered by the definitions in its eavesdropping article. Section 13A-11-30(1) defines eavesdropping as…

Alabama Code § 15-5-30 lets a named list of officers stop a person who is abroad in a public place on reasonable suspicion of a felony or other public offense and demand three things…

Alabama has no statute telling officers to ask for consent, to warn you that you may refuse, or to log the answer, and a full-text search of the Code returns nothing at all for the…

Alabama prohibits the sale of tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products to anyone under 21 under Code Section 28-11-13, aligning with federal Tobacco 21 law.

Alabama counts auxiliary lamps one by one rather than leaving them to a general glare rule. Section 32-5-241(a) permits not more than one spot lamp, not more than two fog lamps mounted…

Alabama is one of the few states whose code says the words dash camera. Section 32-5A-350.1(g)(5), added by the 2023 hands-free act, exempts from the distracted-driving offense the use…

Lane splitting and lane filtering are illegal in Alabama with no exception for stopped or slow traffic. Ala. Code § 32-5A-242(c) says no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes…

Alabama has no statute that names license plate covers, tinted shields or frames. A full-text search of the Code of Alabama on the Legislature's own code database returns zero sections…

No section of the Code of Alabama mentions a radar detector. The ban that does apply to commercial drivers arrives indirectly: § 32-9A-2(a)(1) makes it an offense to operate a…

Alabama never sets a studded-tire season. Ala. Code § 32-5-210(b) instead bans every block, stud, flange, cleat or spike made of any material other than rubber that projects beyond the…

Alabama's tint chapter carries its own numbers, so nothing has to be looked up in an inspection regulation. Section 32-5C-2(a)(2) forbids operating a vehicle registered in this state…