Dunwoody, GA

Dunwoody requires a tree removal permit for hardwoods 10 inches or larger, softwoods 20 inches or larger, and understory trees 6 inches or larger on non-residential, mixed-use and…

Dunwoody requires every property owner, tenant or occupant to keep weeds and undergrowth cut, naming weeds over ten inches as a nuisance, and lets the city mow an unmowed lot itself…

When a water shortage or potential shortage threatens DeKalb County's water system, County Code § 25-31(b) lets the chief executive restrict unessential uses such as lawn watering and…

Unincorporated DeKalb County bars dead or hazardous trees, shrubs and weeds that block sidewalks, streets, traffic signs or fire hydrants under the county's property maintenance code.

Dunwoody bans barbed wire, razor wire, and electrically charged fencing on any single-family dwelling lot, and prohibits chain-link fencing with plastic, vinyl, or wood inserts…

Retaining walls in Dunwoody's single-dwelling residential districts follow a tiered approval system: up to four feet is allowed as of right, four to eight feet needs an administrative…

In Dunwoody's residential districts, fences and walls in a street yard top out at four feet, rising to eight feet along a collector or arterial street and to six feet on corner lots…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, fences up to eight feet high need no building permit under § 7-30(d)(1)(A); taller fences and retaining walls over four feet still require one.

Dunwoody's zoning code recognizes two kinds of home-based work: Type A, with no employees or visitors, allowed by right, and Type B, which permits one nonresident employee or in-person…

Type B home occupations in Dunwoody, the category covering tutors, therapists and photographers who see clients at home, may receive customers only from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday…

A child day care facility in a Dunwoody home may serve up to six children and cannot use more than 50 percent of the home's floor area. Section 27-137(d) requires 30 square feet of…

DeKalb County bans any exterior evidence of a home occupation, meaning no business signage, displays or visible business activity is permitted from outside the residence.

Since July 1, 2025 a Georgia cottage food operator needs no state license and pays no state fee. House Bill 398 added Article 19 to Chapter 2 of Title 26, and under O.C.G.A. § 26-2-472…

Georgia has no microenterprise home kitchen permit and no exemption that lets a private house serve cooked meals. The Department of Public Health food service rules make it unlawful to…

Dunwoody allows up to six hens per lot in single-family residential districts, but only on lots of 10,000 square feet or larger and only after the owner obtains zoning approval from…

Dunwoody prohibits owning, keeping or housing a "hazardous animal," venomous or large predatory species, within city limits unless the police chief grants prior written approval based…

Dunwoody bans letting any dog or other animal run at large in the city and requires owners to keep animals under restraint and control at all times off their own property, whether by…

Dunwoody bans pet shops from selling dogs or cats outright; a shop may only offer them for adoption through a partnership with an animal care facility or a registered rescue, under…

Dunwoody has no breed-name ban; instead it classifies any dog or animal as "dangerous" or "potentially dangerous" through a municipal court hearing under Section 6-15, then imposes…

Dunwoody requires owners of dogs and cats adopted from DeKalb County or any other adoption agency to have them sterilized, and separately requires sterilization of any dog or cat a…

Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics in unincorporated DeKalb County must sit at least 100 feet from residential property, cannot board patients except for medical treatment, and…

DeKalb County has no ordinance labeled hoarding, but its general Neglect ban covers hoarding-type conditions: exposing animals to unsanitary conditions or failing to provide food…

DeKalb County requires a microchip only for animals classified as dangerous or vicious, or owned by someone convicted of animal abandonment, cruelty, or neglect, not for pets generally.

Unincorporated DeKalb County exempts vaccinated, sterilized, ear-tipped community cats from licensing and stray rules, letting caretakers return TNR cats to where they were trapped…

Unincorporated DeKalb County permits backyard beekeeping under zoning code § 4.2.7(J), which caps hives at two apiary colonies per one-quarter (0.25) acre, requires a minimum 10-foot…

A designated zone of unincorporated DeKalb west of I-285 and near Wesley Chapel Road is a bird sanctuary where trapping, hunting or shooting any bird or nest is banned outright.

Georgia lets you feed deer and other wildlife on private land, but DNR Rule 391-4-2-.60(1) makes it unlawful to place bait or any wildlife food on a state Wildlife Management Area.

Private, restricted-access EV chargers are allowed as an accessory use in every Dunwoody zoning district by right, and public chargers are permitted accessory to nonresidential uses…

Dunwoody's traffic code bars parking that blocks the free movement of traffic on a street. Under section 30-108, a parked vehicle must leave at least ten feet of roadway width open…

Dunwoody does not set a single citywide overnight parking ban; instead, section 30-123 lets the city prohibit parking during specific hours on specific streets. Where DeKalb County has…

Dunwoody caps how long an RV, camper, boat or boat trailer can sit on a residential street. Section 30-120(c) limits parking or standing of these vehicles to one hour at any time of…

Dunwoody bars leaving a commercial motor vehicle, recreational vehicle or trailer parked or abandoned on a street or public right-of-way for more than 72 consecutive hours. Under…

In Dunwoody's residential districts, only licensed motorcycles and passenger vehicles not used as a common or contract carrier may park outside an enclosed building. Commercial motor…

Dunwoody lets the public works department designate passenger and freight curb loading zones and post the hours they apply. Inside a marked freight zone, section 30-116 limits trucks…

Residents in eligible unincorporated DeKalb neighborhoods can petition to create a residential permit parking area under Code § 17-154, letting permit-holders park beyond posted street…

Unincorporated DeKalb bars parking a trailer or RV in front of the house, and keeps them 10 feet off the side and rear lot lines.

DeKalb County Code § 17-148 reserves an 80-foot no-parking zone at bus stops in unincorporated DeKalb County. Every zone must be marked by signs, and in congested areas the curb itself…

Georgia caps what private-property tow companies can charge under DPS Rule 570-38-7-.13 and Statewide Maximum Rate Tariff No. 5. Removal fees top out at $228 for vehicles under 10,000…

Dunwoody bars construction noise, from pile drivers to nailers, before 7:30 a.m. or after 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, before 8:00 a.m. or after 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and entirely on…

Dunwoody's noise ordinance makes it unlawful to keep any animal or bird whose frequent or long continued noise disturbs the comfort or repose of people nearby. City Code § 18-19(b)(5)…

Dunwoody's noise ordinance bars unnecessary horn use, exhaust discharged without an effective muffler, and any vehicle so out of repair or loaded that it creates loud grating, grinding…

Dunwoody's noise ordinance bans loudspeakers, sound amplifiers and similar devices used to cast sound onto public streets for commercial advertising or to draw attention to a building…

Dunwoody bars landscape contractors from running motorized mowers, mechanical blowers or other loud equipment before 7:30 a.m. or after 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, before 8:00 a.m. or after…

Dunwoody treats loud radios, phonographs and similar sound devices between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays, and between midnight and 7:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays, as prima…

DeKalb County requires every aircraft using DeKalb-Peachtree Airport to keep takeoffs and landings over populated neighborhoods to a minimum and to climb out as quickly as its safe…

Unincorporated DeKalb County caps sound at 70 dB(A) in commercial areas and 80 dB(A) in industrial areas, while mixed-use developments run on a clock: 70 dB(A) or 73 dB(C) from 7:01…

Dunwoody prohibits all open burning of yard waste citywide, including brush, leaves, grass and clippings, under City Code § 22-1. The ban applies everywhere within city limits, with no…

Every guest room in a DeKalb County hotel, motel or extended-stay hotel must have a hard-wired, tamper-resistant smoke detector powered for at least ten years, installed and approved…

Unincorporated DeKalb County bars consumer fireworks before 10 a.m. and after 9 p.m., with extended hours on July 4, New Year's and other set holidays under § 16-311.

Since July 1, 2021, Georgia no longer requires a Forestry Commission permit or notification to burn hand-piled natural vegetation where it was cut, though statewide safety rules, local…

Georgia regulates propane storage statewide through the Safety Fire Commissioner under the Liquefied Petroleum Safety Act, adopting NFPA 58 standards for residential and commercial…

The Georgia Forestry Commission has statewide wildfire suppression authority and may declare burn bans, restrict outdoor activities, and recover suppression costs from negligent…

Dunwoody bans accessory buildings and sheds from front yards entirely and requires at least 10 feet of separation from the main house unless the shed sits within the principal…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, the property owner must live in either the main house or the accessory dwelling unit and hold a homestead exemption before an ADU is allowed.

Unincorporated DeKalb allows attached, detached or converted accessory dwelling units by right on lots of at least 10,000 square feet, capped at 900 square feet and 24 feet tall.

DeKalb County does not wait for a pattern of misconduct before acting against a short-term rental. Under Code § 4.2.15.C.4, the director of planning and sustainability shall suspend or…

Under Sec. 4.2.15.A of the DeKalb County zoning code, the operator of a bed and breakfast or home stay establishment in the unincorporated county must reside on site, and a home stay…

Unincorporated DeKalb County requires short-term rental permit applicants to state the number and location of on-site parking spaces, though the zoning code sets no fixed per-bedroom…

Unincorporated DeKalb County charges an 8 percent excise tax on every short-term rental stay of 30 days or less. Innkeepers collect the tax from occupants, register with the business…

No one may rent out a dwelling unit as a short-term rental in unincorporated DeKalb County without an annual permit from the county's business license division, and the permit is…

DeKalb County short-term rental owners must pledge to prevent the rental from disrupting the neighborhood, may not advertise the property for parties or special events, and remain…

Unincorporated DeKalb County requires every outdoor pool, in-ground or above-ground, to have a barrier at least five feet tall that keeps children and pets from wandering in…

DeKalb County exempts prefabricated above-ground pools shallower than 24 inches from building permits, though the county's separate pool-barrier rule still applies once it's set up.

Dunwoody's land development code explicitly states the city is not a party to private restrictive covenants and does not regulate or enforce them. HOA rules and CC&Rs remain a private…

In DeKalb's RNC conservation subdivisions, a homeowners' association used to maintain shared greenspace must have mandatory automatic membership, lien authority to collect dues, and…

If a community opts into the Georgia Property Owners' Association Act (O.C.G.A. § 44-3-220 et seq.), unpaid assessments become a lien under § 44-3-232 that the association may…

A Georgia property owners' association must hold a members' meeting at least once a year and give every lot owner 21 days' notice of an annual or regularly scheduled meeting, or seven…

A Georgia property owners' association may fine a lot owner only if its recorded instrument gives it that power, and since July 1, 2024 a fine can never affect voting rights. The…

A Georgia property owners' association whose neighborhood has been submitted to Article 6 of Chapter 3 of Title 44 may record a lien for unpaid assessments and foreclose it in court…

A Georgia property owners' association can adopt a leasing restriction, but only by a two-thirds vote of the association's voting power, and O.C.G.A. Section 44-3-226(a)(2)(B) protects…

Anyone planning a parade, public assemblage, or special event in Dunwoody must get a city permit first under Code of Ordinances § 26-239. Parades are defined as ten or more vehicles…

Neighborhood parades and block parties in Dunwoody are exempt from the city's event permit process under Code of Ordinances § 26-241(2), as long as they stay within the neighborhood…

Anyone holding an activity in a Dunwoody park that requires a permit or ticket, including special events, rentals or signage tied to them, must obtain that permit first; running an…

Unincorporated DeKalb County lets restaurants and coffee shops set up outdoor seating on public or private sidewalks in commercial zones, as long as it's next to the building and…

Street fairs, carnivals and community festivals in unincorporated DeKalb County need a special administrative permit and must sit at least 100 feet from any residential district under…

Dunwoody requires a land-disturbance permit before any land-disturbing activity, with erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plans that meet the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation…

New construction in Dunwoody's future-conditions floodplain must have its lowest floor elevated at least three feet above the base flood elevation, or one foot above the…

Dunwoody requires a stormwater management plan for new development or redevelopment that adds 5,000 square feet or more of impervious surface, or disturbs one acre or more, before any…

Dunwoody's special flood hazard areas follow FEMA's June 15, 1994 flood insurance rate maps citywide. Encroachments into a mapped floodway are prohibited outright, and other floodplain…

Georgia's Coastal Marshlands Protection Act and Shore Protection Act require state permits for development affecting marshes, beaches, and dunes, with authority concentrated in the…

Dunwoody's outdoor water use ordinance limits irrigation to the hours of 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m., but exempts reuse of gray water and use of reclaimed waste water from that daily…

DeKalb County Code § 25-56 makes it unlawful to let water go to waste through leaks, breaks or malfunctions in any pipe or fixture on premises you own or occupy. Owners have 2 business…

Dunwoody city parks close at 11:00 p.m. and open at 6:00 a.m.; entering or remaining in a recreation facility outside those hours without a permit or an authorized scheduled program is…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, Code § 16-44 makes it unlawful for a minor under 17 to remain in a public place or establishment unsupervised by a parent or guardian during curfew…

Dunwoody bans open fires and grills in city parks and recreation facilities except in areas the parks director has marked with signs or equipped with fire rings, or under a written…

Installing poles, pipes, conduits, wires or signs in Dunwoody's public roads or alleys requires a permit and payment of franchise fees the city council sets, under Code § 26-6.

Dunwoody bars placing debris, boxes, displays, signs, goods or plant materials in a street or sidewalk in a way that impedes or endangers traffic, and bars gravel drives or lots that…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, keeping the sidewalk clean and keeping it repaired are two different jobs. Code § 18-38(d) makes owners and tenants of abutting property responsible…

Dunwoody allows building-mounted solar panels on principal and accessory structures as an accessory use, capped at three feet above the district's maximum building height or five feet…

Dunwoody limits how much of a residential lot can be covered by buildings, driveways, patios, pools, and other impervious surfaces. Under City Code § 27-58(b), single-dwelling lots of…

Dunwoody caps residential building height at 35 feet for the principal house and 20 feet for accessory structures across every single-dwelling zoning district, per City Code §…

Dunwoody sets minimum building setbacks by zoning district in City Code § 27-58(b). Street-facing setbacks range from 45 feet in the largest-lot R-150 district down to 5 feet in the…

Dunwoody code enforcement can force owners to repair or demolish dwellings and structures that are unfit for habitation, dilapidated, or tied to drug crime under City Code § 22-22…

DeKalb County bars open storage of inoperable vehicles, appliances, glass, or building trash on unincorporated property, and requires owners to remove abandoned weeds, dead trees…

Dunwoody caps window and door signs at less than 30 percent of the area of a windowpane in every office, commercial and industrial district, and repeats the identical limit for the…

Dunwoody permits electronic message center signs only at gas stations, quasi-public/institutional uses and in the perimeter center overlay district, and City Code § 20-61 requires…

DeKalb County's zoning ordinance allows exactly two temporary signs for a yard sale, both on private property with the owner's permission, never in the public right-of-way or on a…

DeKalb County bans political posters, signs and advertisements in public rights-of-way and on public property, and requires the property owner's written permission before placing them…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, seasonal holiday decorations are excluded from the sign code's definition of a 'sign,' so residents don't need a sign permit to put up lights, wreaths…

Dunwoody enforces the National Electrical Code as a mandatory state minimum standard code for every electrical installation, alteration, repair or replacement, and requires a…

Dunwoody adopts the Georgia-amended International Plumbing Code by ordinance and requires anyone doing plumbing work to first obtain a permit from the building official. A permit…

Dunwoody requires a permit from the building official before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, or demolishing a building or structure, or installing a regulated…

DeKalb doesn't mandate green construction, but in the RSM zoning district, developers who certify buildings for LEED or EarthCraft accreditation earn a 50% density bonus above the base…

DeKalb County Code § 12-24 requires every new multifamily dwelling property in the unincorporated county to be fully sprinklered under NFPA-13 or NFPA-13R, and requires existing…

Hotels, motels, and extended-stay hotels permitted for construction after March 16, 2018 in unincorporated DeKalb County must fit every public-facing entry point with a magnetic or…

DeKalb County requires staged inspections for permitted work, including foundation, framing and final inspections for buildings plus rough-in inspections for electrical, plumbing…

Dunwoody caps food trucks at one per 20,000 square feet of site area, requires them to sit on a lot with an existing principal building, and sets a 100-foot buffer from restaurant…

Food trucks are a permitted use by right in every nonresidential and mixed-use zoning district in Dunwoody, from office (O-I) through industrial (M), under the § 27-72 use table. They…

Unincorporated DeKalb limits sidewalk food-cart vending to noon-8 p.m., pre-packaged snacks and drinks only, a displayed state license, and 15-minute stops on public rights-of-way.

Dunwoody requires owners of four or more rental units to hold an occupation tax certificate, and the city will not issue one until the owner files a code compliance certificate…

Dunwoody's code compliance program requires every multifamily rental unit to pass an inspection against minimum housing standards before it can be occupied. Owners submit a code…

Georgia eviction (a 'dispossessory' action) starts with a demand for possession under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-50; for nonpayment, 2024's Safe at Home Act adds a written notice giving 3…

For a tenancy at will, O.C.G.A. § 44-7-7 requires 60 days' notice from the landlord or 30 days' from the tenant to terminate. Fixed-term leases end on their stated date under their own…

Georgia has no statewide rent control and no limit on how much a landlord may raise rent. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-19, no county or municipality may enact or enforce any ordinance that…

Since the 2024 Safe at Home Act (HB 404), Georgia caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-30.1. The landlord must return the deposit, with an…

Adverse possession in Georgia requires 20 years of possession under O.C.G.A. § 44-5-163, or 7 years under written 'color of title' under § 44-5-164. Mere squatters are trespassers, and…

Dunwoody's secondhand dealer ordinance defines pawnbroker separately from an ordinary secondhand dealer and layers pawnbroker-specific duties on top of the general permit, including a…

Dunwoody bars parking on private residential property without the owner's permission and lets the property owner have a trespassing vehicle towed. Under section 30-6, city police give…

Dunwoody requires anyone who buys, sells or trades regulated secondhand items, including precious metals, gems and pledged goods, to hold a city permit. New dealerships cannot open…

Dunwoody requires a city license to operate or work at a sexually oriented business and bars them within 500 feet of residential zoning, 600 feet of any alcohol-licensed business, and…

Dunwoody's zoning code allows body art establishments, meaning tattoo, piercing, cosmetic tattoo, branding and scarification businesses, only in the C-2 community commercial and M…

Dunwoody requires every massage or spa establishment to hold a separate city license in addition to its occupation tax certificate, pass a ten-year criminal background check on owners…

Dunwoody's home occupation rules flatly prohibit running a vehicle repair business out of a residence. Section 27-168(d)(1) bars any assembly, cleaning, maintenance, or repair of…

Inside the unincorporated Emory Village Overlay District near Emory University, DeKalb County Code § 27-3.22.5(D)(28) flatly bans smoke, tobacco, or vape shops, including cigar bars…

Dunwoody requires a city permit before anyone engages in door-to-door soliciting for a commercial, for-profit transaction, and the solicitor must carry that permit at all times and…

Unincorporated DeKalb County requires a solicitor's permit for door-to-door sales and bans the activity between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. Groups are capped at two solicitors per…

Dunwoody bans aggressive panhandling anywhere in the city and separately bars solicitation for money within 15 feet of a bank, ATM or check-cashing business, on private property after…

City Code § 24-72 lets people smoke outdoors but only at least 20 feet from any entrance to a public place or place of employment where smoking is banned indoors under § 24-70. The…

Dunwoody's traffic code lets bicycles use city sidewalks but bars anyone from riding a bike or propelling skateboards or roller skates in a way that endangers the public or disrupts…

City Code § 24-8 makes it unlawful to be in a place at a time or manner unusual for law-abiding people under circumstances that create justifiable, reasonable alarm for the safety of…

City Code § 24-105 makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate on Dunwoody streets or sidewalks, in the halls or elevators of public or commercial buildings, or on any property open to…

City Code § 24-10 makes it unlawful to possess or control one ounce or less of marijuana anywhere in Dunwoody, including on streets, in parks or other public places. Anyone cited can…

Dunwoody bans drinking alcoholic beverages on city streets, sidewalks, parking areas, and MARTA station grounds, and within 100 feet of any package store, under City Code Section…

Unincorporated DeKalb County requires pedestrians to use a crosswalk when crossing in a business district or on a designated street, and bars crossing anywhere else except at right…

Dunwoody charges an eight percent excise tax on the gross rental charge for every occupancy of a guest room in a hotel, effective January 1, 2018, under city code section 28-56…

Dunwoody residents may hold up to two garage sales per calendar year without any permit, on lots occupied by a residential dwelling unit. A third or later sale in the same year needs…

Dunwoody requires refuse and recycling containers to be hidden from public view. A solid wall or opaque fence at least six feet tall must screen carts from streets and every abutting…

Dunwoody's litter-control ordinance bans dumping, depositing or throwing litter on any public or private property or waters in the city unless it goes into a proper receptacle, the…

Construction dumpsters and other onsite waste-disposal equipment can't sit in the street in unincorporated DeKalb County unless the planning department director signs off and the…

Unincorporated DeKalb County residents get residential refuse collected twice a week by the county, except oversized limb piles that need extra time to load.

Unincorporated DeKalb County residents must keep yard trimmings separate from household trash and set them out in an approved yard-trimmings receptacle, not a plastic bag.

Georgia prohibits disposing of yard trimmings in municipal solid waste landfills. Grass, leaves, and limbs may only go to construction-and-demolition landfills, inert-waste landfills…

Dunwoody's code protects specimen and special trees by size and condition criteria rather than a discretionary landmark list: hardwoods at 24 inches DBH, softwoods at 30 inches…

DeKalb County's tree ordinance protects trees by size rather than species. Under § 14-1, any existing, healthy, living tree measuring eight inches DBH or greater is a 'significant…

New commercial, office and industrial developments in unincorporated DeKalb, plus denser residential projects, must plant street trees and a landscape strip along new or widened roads…

Dunwoody's zoning code requires outdoor lighting fixtures on new development to be aimed and shielded so they don't send glare or stray light across property lines, capping…

Dunwoody's outdoor lighting ordinance is written explicitly to preserve the dark night sky and curb glare. New and expanded developments must use full-cutoff fixtures aimed no higher…

DeKalb County's sign code bars any sign, including illuminated advertising signs, from casting light that glares or blinds or adversely affects traffic or neighbors, and forbids…

Dunwoody's zoning code confines general crop farming to the M industrial district: the § 27-72 use table marks 'Crops, production of' and 'agricultural produce stand' permitted only in…

Georgia's Right to Farm Act in O.C.G.A. 41-1-7 protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits brought by neighbors and changing land uses.

City Code §§ 24-42 through 24-46 bar camping, sleeping or storing personal property in city parks, on public streets, sidewalks and medians, or on public property in a way that blocks…

A DeKalb County investigation into a dwelling charged as dangerous and unfit for human habitation begins once a public authority files the charge, a homeowners association board votes…

DeKalb's chief of police may inspect unincorporated dwellings and rental properties for code violations with consent or a warrant, including inspections that are part of a formally…

DeKalb County amends the International Residential Code to require that roof framing on residential construction in the unincorporated county be tied securely to wall framing with…

DeKalb County food service establishments must employ a Certified Food Safety Manager; skipping that requirement can bring court action or suspension of the food service permit.

DeKalb County Code § 13-162 makes every business building owner in the unincorporated county ratproof their structure and keep it that way, under Chapter 13's rodent control article…

Unincorporated DeKalb County parks let Class I and Class II electric assisted bicycles, capped at 20 mph, use paved county bicycle and shared-use paths, but bar every electric bike…

Motor vehicles can't drive, stop or park in a bicycle lane or path anywhere in unincorporated DeKalb County. Code § 17-268 bars using a bike lane for parking, passing or turning…

Georgia does not have one cart law, it has three vehicle classes with different ceilings. A personal transportation vehicle, the class Georgia created for neighbourhood carts, may only…

DeKalb County's film ordinance defines commercial still photography as filming, so a photo shoot on public property needs the same county permit as a movie or video production.

A film or photo shoot that closes a DeKalb County street, lane or sidewalk needs a planning department filming permit before work begins, whether the shoot is on public or private…

DeKalb County treats film-production sound as a permit element, requiring producers to disclose it and comply with the county's separate noise ordinance during shoots.

DeKalb County can designate a building, structure, site, object or work of art, including monuments, as a protected historic property through its Historic Preservation Commission.

DeKalb County's nighttime noise ordinance bars sound that's plainly audible inside a neighbor's sealed home between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., but Code § 16-303(c)(14) specifically excludes…

Unincorporated DeKalb County treats delivery-truck noise the same way it treats construction noise. Under DeKalb County Code § 16-304(d), deliveries may only be made between 7:00 a.m…

Unincorporated DeKalb County exempts car alarms from its nighttime noise curfew only if the alarm shuts off within 5 minutes of continuous sounding, or 10 minutes if it beeps…

DeKalb County's noise code explicitly defines bass reverberations as regulated sound, so thumping subwoofers and car stereos are covered by the same nighttime plainly-audible standard…

DeKalb County does not regulate home security cameras, but it forces convenience stores and police-designated "monitored businesses" to run a 24/7 video surveillance system meeting…

Unincorporated DeKalb County lets developers in the RSM Small Lot Residential Mix district double their base density by stacking bonuses for public improvements, transit proximity…

Unincorporated DeKalb County classifies each business by its dominant line of activity to set the occupation tax rate on gross receipts, per Code Section 15-28(c).

Georgia restricts cannabis-related retail sales to state-licensed independent pharmacies and dispensary locations approved by the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, with…

Georgia law prohibits home cultivation of marijuana for any purpose, including by registered low-THC oil patients, and this prohibition preempts any conflicting local ordinance…

Georgia law generally reserves authority over the operation of unmanned aircraft systems to the state, limiting cities and counties to property-based and time-place-manner rules…

Georgia prohibits local governments from setting minimum wages above state or federal levels under O.C.G.A. 34-4-3.1, a Title 34 preemption enacted in 2004 and broadened in 2017.

Georgia preempts local governments from requiring private employers to provide paid leave, sick time, or other employment benefits beyond state and federal law.

Georgia preempts local predictable scheduling and fair workweek ordinances, preventing cities and counties from regulating employer shift practices for private workers.

Georgia is a permitless concealed carry state under SB 319 (2022), allowing lawful weapons carriers to carry concealed handguns statewide subject to statutory location restrictions.

Georgia broadly preempts local firearms regulation under O.C.G.A. 16-11-173, reserving authority to the General Assembly while permitting limited local rules at government buildings…

Georgia permits lawful weapons carriers to openly carry handguns in most public places, with statewide preemption limiting local restrictions on open carry.

Georgia permits any lawful weapons carrier or eligible person to carry a handgun in a private vehicle without a permit under O.C.G.A. 16-11-126.

Georgia permits charitable gambling only through two licensed programs: nonprofit raffles licensed by the county sheriff under O.C.G.A. § 16-12-22.1, and nonprofit bingo licensed by…

Georgia allows roadblocks, and for the Georgia State Patrol the written rules sit in the Department of Public Safety Policy Manual at policy 17.16, last revised on October 6, 2025. A…

Georgia has never enacted a statute that expressly gives you the right to film a police officer. What it has is O.C.G.A. 16-11-62, the eavesdropping and surveillance offense, and every…

Georgia's duty to identify is written into the driver licensing code rather than the criminal code. Under O.C.G.A. 40-5-29 every licensee must have the licence in immediate possession…

Georgia has no statute obliging an officer to warn you that you may refuse a vehicle search. What binds the Georgia State Patrol is the Department of Public Safety policy manual at…

Georgia prohibits the sale of tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products to anyone under 21, aligning state law with the federal Tobacco 21 standard.

Georgia counts extra lamps rather than describing them. O.C.G.A. section 40-8-29 allows a vehicle not more than one spotlight, not more than two foglights mounted 12 to 30 inches high…

Georgia is one of the few states whose obstruction statute names the mount and permits it. Since July 1, 2021, O.C.G.A. section 40-8-73(a) lets a driver run a mount for a wireless…

Georgia permits a license plate cover only where the covering material is colorless and transparent, and the same Code section separately forbids attaching any apparatus to the rear of…

No section of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated mentions radar detectors. A full-text search of the Code for the phrase returns zero documents, and searches for jamming and jammer…

Georgia does not run a winter tire calendar. The state's traction requirement lives in O.C.G.A. § 32-6-5 and it switches on only when the Department of Transportation closes or limits…

Georgia tightened its tint law on July 1, 2026. The front side and door windows must now pass at least 28 percent of light, plus or minus 3 percent, down from 32 percent, and for the…