Fort Smith, AR

Fort Smith bans casual animal sales citywide but exempts licensed pet stores, kennels, breeders, and shelters operating from a permanent, properly zoned location with a business…

Fort Smith prohibits leaving unattended food out for stray dogs and cats, deer, geese, ducks, raccoons, or other wildlife, with narrow exceptions for owned pets and elevated bird…

Fort Smith allows up to 20 hens or ducks, no roosters, on lots of at least 21,780 square feet, with coops kept 25 feet from neighboring homes.

Fort Smith requires pet dogs and cats past reproductive age to be spayed or neutered unless the animal stays leashed or confined to a secured enclosure at all times.

Keeping more than four dogs over five months old in Fort Smith is prima facie evidence of operating a kennel, triggering zoning limits and a $150 annual license.

Fort Smith makes it unlawful for a dog or cat to run at large; animals must be leashed and under control whenever they're outside a secure enclosure.

Fort Smith prohibits keeping exotic animals, including primates, big cats, wolves, bears, and dozens of other wild species, as pets unless handled by licensed professionals.

Sebastian County has no breed-specific ban; instead Code § 93.15 lets an animal control or police officer declare any animal 'vicious' based on its conduct, such as unprovoked biting…

The Arkansas Apiary Act gives the State Plant Board exclusive authority to regulate honeybee health, registration, and movement. Beekeepers must register colonies and submit to…

Fort Smith bans stopping or parking in fire zones, on marked red or yellow curbs, on sidewalks, or over water meters, with red curbs off-limits at all times.

Fort Smith bans parking RVs, boats, and utility trailers on residential streets or in front/side-yard setbacks, allowing only rear-yard, carport, or short-term guest parking.

Fort Smith bars inoperable, unsightly, disassembled or stripped vehicles from any premises, with limited exceptions for enclosed repair or nonregistered vehicles behind a fence.

Fort Smith exempts electric vehicle charging stations from the zoning code's minimum yard setback requirements citywide.

Fort Smith bans parking on unimproved front or side yards at one- and two-family homes, requiring concrete, asphalt, or brick pavers and capping paved parking area at 40% of the yard.

Fort Smith exempts the commercial downtown zoning district from off-street loading space requirements, but the police chief must approve any loading or unloading activity there.

Fort Smith prohibits parking, standing, or leaving unattended any commercial vehicle over 16,000 lbs GVWR, with three or more axles, or seating 16+ passengers on residential streets or…

Arkansas sets no statewide ceiling on hookup, mileage or storage charges, and it has no statutory drop fee for a driver who returns before the truck leaves. What it does give you…

Fort Smith outlaws bonfires and rubbish fires, including burning leaves, construction debris or demolition debris, anywhere inside city limits, but the fire official may issue permits…

Fort Smith bans bonfires, rubbish fires, and yard-debris burning citywide; only fire-official permits for land clearing, wildlife management, training, or ceremonies allow open…

Arkansas Code § 20-22-701 et seq. governs consumer fireworks sales, permitting, and seasonal use statewide. Retail sales run June 13–July 10 and December 10–January 5; permanent stores…

Arkansas Code § 15-75-101 et seq. establishes the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board with exclusive statewide authority over propane storage, container standards, and dealer licensing…

Fort Smith requires planning commission approval for any home business, with notice to neighbors within 300 feet and authority to condition, limit or deny the license.

Fort Smith requires a conditional use permit for home day cares serving six to 12 children, capping outside staff at one employee who must park on-site.

Fort Smith limits home occupation client visits to appointment-only, capping any home-based business at two patrons on site at once.

Fort Smith bars any sign for a licensed home occupation, so home-based businesses cannot advertise with on-site signage.

Since Act 1040 of 2021 Arkansas has run one of the least restrictive homemade food laws in the country. The Food Freedom Act, A.C.A. § 20-57-501 et seq., exempts homemade food and…

Arkansas has never created a microenterprise home kitchen category, and it has no exemption that lets a private home cook meals to order for paying customers. A.C.A. §…

Fort Smith exempts swimming pool excavation from the separate grading permit, but only when the pool is authorized by a valid building permit, so every residential pool still needs…

Every public swimming pool in Arkansas must hold a written operating permit from the State Health Officer. The Department of Health inspects each pool for compliance before issuing the…

In Fort Smith's design guidelines for new multifamily, commercial, and industrial development, Sec. 27-602-3(F)(2) bans artificial plants in required landscaping: all plant material…

Fort Smith caps weeds and grass on developed lots, fire-zone land, and adjoining rights-of-way at ten inches, with the city empowered to abate and lien noncompliant property.

Removing any tree from a Fort Smith city park or public ground requires prior approval from the parks department's administrative authority under Code § 18-154(c).

Arkansas allows rainwater harvesting statewide for non-potable purposes under Arkansas Code 17-38-201. Systems must be designed by a licensed engineer, include cross-connection…

Fort Smith treats leaf blowers and other lawn equipment as a 'transient sound source' and caps their peak noise at 20 decibels above the zone's standard limit rather than banning…

Fort Smith cites owners whose dogs bark or howl loudly enough to disturb neighbors, using a three-complaints-in-90-days threshold by day and direct officer observation at night.

Amplified music or sound equipment that's plainly audible 150 feet away between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. is automatically deemed an unlawful noise disturbance in Fort Smith.

Fort Smith caps ambient noise by zone and time: 60 dB(A) day / 55 dB(A) night in residential areas, and 75 dB(A) day / 70 dB(A) night in commercial zones.

Construction projects in Fort Smith must stay within industrial-zone noise limits, 80 dB(A) daytime, 75 dB(A) at night, for as long as the building permit allows work.

Fort Smith only requires a building permit for a residential fence taller than six feet or a masonry wall taller than four feet.

Fort Smith allows wood, metal tubing, wrought iron, stone, masonry, and chainlink residential fencing, but bans barbed wire, chicken wire, chain, broken glass, and other non-fencing…

Arkansas Code 2-39-105 governs partition fences statewide. When a neighbor encloses adjoining land using an existing fence as a partition, both owners share maintenance and repair…

Arkansas Act 313 of 2025 requires every municipality to permit at least one accessory dwelling unit by right on residential lots and prohibits cities from imposing parking…

A factory-built tiny home sold in Arkansas is a manufactured home under the Arkansas Manufactured Homes Standards Act. It must move through a licensed dealer and a certified installer…

Arkansas requires short-term rental operators to collect state sales tax (6.5%) and a 2% statewide tourism tax on all lodging rentals under 30 days, regardless of platform or local…

Every Fort Smith residential customer can get a free city recycle cart for curbside pickup, with cardboard, paper, plastics, aluminum, and tin commingled and collected every other week.

Fort Smith residents can't roll garbage and recycling carts to the curb before noon the day before pickup, and empty carts must be back off the right-of-way by midnight on collection…

Fort Smith residential customers get one free dial-a-truck pickup of up to five bulky items every three months, plus a separate paid brush-collection service for material too big for…

New commercial and multifamily development in Fort Smith must show dumpster location and a screening plan on its development plan before the city issues a building permit.

The City of Fort Smith collects residential garbage once a week and picks up recyclables and yard waste every other week, on a schedule the city administrator sets.

Fort Smith picks up yard waste every other week and offers a paid brush service for bulkier limbs and trimmings.

Dumping solid waste or animal carcasses anywhere in Fort Smith without the city administrator's advance written approval is unlawful, backed by fines that climb with each repeat…

Fort Smith limits garage, yard, porch, and patio sales to one per address every six months, with each permit capped at three calendar days.

Fort Smith requires a special event permit for parades, athletic events, and other events that block city streets, sidewalks, or right-of-way.

Fort Smith requires a parks and recreation department permit before any public assembly or special event of 50 or more people on city park property, plus a $500 damage deposit and, for…

Fort Smith exempts block parties from the full special-event permit process, but still requires a street closing permit from police at least ten business days ahead.

Fort Smith's zoning code lets restaurant patios operate by right within 300 feet of a home in nearly every commercial zone, as long as outdoor seats don't exceed half the indoor seat…

Fort Smith treats a street fair as a regulated special event requiring a police-issued permit filed at least 45 days before the event, with insurance and fees.

Private use of a Fort Smith public right-of-way or easement, sheds, fences, signs, landscaping, needs a temporary revocable license approved by the city administrator under Code § 22-8.

Fort Smith bans businesses from displaying merchandise, movable signs, or showcases on a sidewalk, street, or right-of-way, or attaching them so they infringe on one.

In Fort Smith's Residential Single-Family Low-Density district (RS-1), buildings can cover no more than 30 percent of a lot: one point on a citywide scale that runs from 10 percent in…

Fort Smith sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district in Table 27-404-A, ranging from 20 feet in dense residential zones to 50 feet in rural-estate districts.

Fort Smith caps most single-family residential buildings at 35 feet, measured from average ground level at the minimum front setback.

Fort Smith bars any development, building, filling, grading, or land alteration, inside a mapped floodplain or floodway without first obtaining a development permit from the city's…

Fort Smith requires written approval from the Department of Engineering before any storm drainage facility, pipe, channel, ditch, or enclosed structure, is built, altered, or…

In special flood hazard areas, Fort Smith requires new and substantially improved residential structures to elevate their lowest floor at least one foot above the base flood elevation…

Fort Smith requires a grading permit before altering one acre or more of land, or grading within 15 feet of a utility line, and mandates positive drainage, six inches of fall in ten…

Fort Smith requires a $150 annual permit to sell food, beverages, art or crafts from a sidewalk stand downtown, and bans vending on sidewalks narrower than five feet or near doorways…

Fort Smith allows mobile food trucks on private property only in C-2 through C-6 commercial and I-1/I-2 industrial districts, plus form-based code zones; residential zoning is…

Fort Smith requires an annual $150 permit for every mobile food truck or concession trailer, issued to the vehicle owner and valid through December 31 regardless of when it was issued.

Fort Smith closes city parks to activity between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. without the city administrator's prior written authorization, though fishing and boat-ramp use at Fort Smith…

Fort Smith bars minors under 18 from public places after 10:30 p.m. weeknights and 12:30 a.m. weekend mornings, with eight statutory defenses and parental liability.

Fort Smith prohibits overnight camping and sleeping in city parks except in a specifically designated park area, the operative anti-encampment rule in the code since there is no…

Fort Smith caps outdoor light trespass at 0.1 foot-candles onto residentially zoned property and requires shielded fixtures to curb glare and skyglow under the Unified Development…

Fort Smith prohibits property owners and occupants from letting exterior lighting cast glare onto neighboring residential lots, residentially developed property, or adjacent street…

Fort Smith limits digital billboard faces to 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light, an eight-second minimum dwell time, and 1,000 to 1,500 feet of spacing between digital signs.

Fort Smith exempts temporary seasonal light displays using multiple low-wattage bulbs from its glare/light-trespass standard, as long as the display avoids creating a fire hazard or…

Inside Fort Smith's Downtown Form-Based Code district, an attached window sign can cover no more than 25 percent of each window, must skip fluorescent materials, and only goes on the…

Arkansas Code 27-67-304 prohibits political campaign signs and other private signage within state highway rights-of-way. The Arkansas Department of Transportation removes violating…

Fort Smith adopts the 2018 state plumbing and fuel gas codes and requires plumbing work to be done by a state-licensed, city-registered master plumber under an automatic permit, or by…

Fort Smith bans installing or altering electrical wiring in any building without a permit issued to a registered electrical contractor, though an owner-occupant may wire their own…

Fort Smith requires a building permit before you enlarge, alter, repair, or change the occupancy of any building, per the city's own amendment to the adopted building code's…

Fort Smith's UDO defines 'tattoo/body piercing parlor' as any shop principally in the business of permanent skin marking or piercing, and permits that use by right only in Commercial…

Sexually oriented businesses in Fort Smith are confined to C-5, I-2, and I-3 zoning districts and must sit at least 1,000 feet from churches, schools, parks, homes, and other adult…

Fort Smith secondhand-article buyers must log every purchase in a daily register and hand a signed copy to police within 24 hours, plus get parental consent before buying from a minor.

Fort Smith's Unified Development Ordinance treats tobacco and smoke shops as a distinct retail use, permitted by right only in the MEOS district and Commercial C-1 through C-6 and…

Fort Smith's home occupation rules bar any outdoor activity, storage or display, so home-based auto repair must stay entirely inside: no driveway wrenching or outdoor tool storage.

Fort Smith bars convicted felons from pawnbroker licenses and requires everyone else to hold a city occupation license before loaning money against pledged property.

Fort Smith's design guidelines make xeriscaping voluntary, suggesting homeowners keep turf grass to a maximum of 80 percent of pervious yard area if they choose to reduce lawn coverage.

Fort Smith requires every building, new or existing, to be kept in a safe and sanitary condition, with the owner directly responsible for maintenance under the city's unsafe-structures…

Fort Smith requires any business doing residential door-to-door selling or soliciting to register with the city collector and pay a $150 fee before starting.

Fort Smith bars door-to-door sellers and solicitors from approaching any home or business posted with a "no solicitation" sign, and limits all residential canvassing to 8 a.m.-7 p.m…

Fort Smith prohibits smoking, vaping, and all tobacco use in city-owned parks and recreational facilities under Sec. 18-82, with fines escalating from $25 to $250 per repeat offense.

Fort Smith bars open alcohol containers on public rights-of-way except inside an activated entertainment district, where drinks must be in a 16-ounce cup with no glass, bottles, or…

Fort Smith's UDO defines 'data center' broadly enough to cover blockchain and cryptocurrency-mining facilities, then confines the use to industrial zoning: a conditional use in…

Sebastian County regulates cryptocurrency mining as a 'data center' under Code § 96.02, requiring neighbor notice, third-party noise studies and an attenuation plan before…

Data centers in unincorporated Sebastian County may not exceed 65 dBa at the property line from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., or 55 dBa from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Exceeding either limit is a noise…

Fort Smith's tree registry designates landmark and rare trees on public grounds, and Code § 18-155 requires protective fencing before any nearby construction begins.

Fort Smith's extraterritorial open zone (ETJ Open-1) permits truck farms by right and agricultural operations as a conditional use just outside city limits.

Arkansas Code 2-4-101 et seq. shields farms and agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits when operations existed before nearby non-farm land uses. The law protects established…

Fort Smith levies a 3 percent tax on gross receipts from hotel, motel, and short-term rental stays under 30 days, funding the city's advertising and promotion budget.

Arkansas prohibits all home cultivation of marijuana, including by registered medical patients. Amendment 98 and Title 5 Chapter 64 make any unlicensed cannabis growing a felony. Only…

Commercial drone operations in Arkansas require FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot certification and compliance with state critical-infrastructure and privacy laws. Federal preemption controls…

Act 643 of 2017 reserves wage regulation to the state, barring Arkansas cities and counties from setting a local minimum wage above the state rate. Local wage ordinances are void and…

Arkansas issues concealed handgun carry licenses through Arkansas State Police. Enhanced licenses allow carry in additional locations. Permitless carry is also recognized for…

Arkansas law preempts cities and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition, and components. Local rules conflicting with state law are void, with limited exceptions for public…

Arkansas permits open carry of handguns by qualifying adults under state interpretation of Act 746. Local governments cannot restrict open carry beyond state law due to firearms…

Arkansas allows lawful adults to carry handguns in personal vehicles without a license under state law. Local governments cannot impose additional vehicle-carry restrictions due to…

Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 100 confines casino gaming to four locations statewide: Southland in Crittenden County, Oaklawn in Garland County, and one Racing Commission-awarded…

Arkansas allows charitable bingo and raffles only under Ark. Code Ann. § 23-114-101 et seq., administered by the Department of Finance and Administration under DFA Rule 2007-4. A…

Arkansas legalized sports wagering under Amendment 100, but only casino licensees may take the action. Racing Commission Rule 23 CAR § 358-2002 bars anyone from operating a race book…

Arkansas has no homeowners' association act, so an Arkansas HOA's meeting and record duties come from the Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1993, Ark. Code § 4-33-101 et seq., if…

Act 1106 of 2003, approved April 7, 2003, makes it unlawful for a homeowner's association, property owner's association or any other private entity in Arkansas to adopt a rule or enter…

Arkansas has never passed a homeowners' association act, so no statute caps what an Arkansas association may fine you, sets a cure period, or requires a hearing before a monetary…

Arkansas has no homeowners association act and no assessment lien statute of any kind. A full-text search of the Arkansas Code returns no section creating a lien for community…

Arkansas has no statute restricting an association's power to ban or cap leasing. There is no grandfathering for owners already renting, no minimum lease term, no percentage cap on…

The Arkansas Code authorises no sobriety checkpoint and prohibits none: the words checkpoint and roadblock do not appear anywhere in it in a traffic-stop sense, and the Code of…

Arkansas never enacted an express right to record the police, and it never enacted a stand-back distance either. Two other sections do the work. Ark. Code § 5-60-120 makes Arkansas a…

Arkansas never enacted a general duty to give your name to a police officer. The one place refusing to identify yourself is an element of a crime is the loitering offense at Ark. Code…

Arkansas has no statewide golf cart registration and no low-speed vehicle plate. A golf cart may be driven on a city street only if that municipality has adopted an ordinance under…

Arkansas offers two eviction tracks. The civil unlawful-detainer route (Ark. Code 18-60-304) requires 3 days' written notice to quit before suit, with no chance to pay and stay. The…

Arkansas was long the only state with no implied warranty of habitability. A 2021 law (Ark. Code 18-17-502) now imposes minimum standards for leases entered or renewed after Nov. 1…

Arkansas Code 18-17-901 governs eviction grounds statewide under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Landlords may evict for nonpayment, material lease violations, illegal activity…

Arkansas has no statute requiring a landlord to give advance notice (such as 24 hours) before entering an occupied unit. Ark. Code 18-17-602 only obligates the tenant not to…

Ark. Code 18-17-704 lets either party end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice, or a week-to-week tenancy with 7 days. Federal SCRA allows military members to…

Rent control is illegal at the local level in Arkansas. Ark. Code § 14-16-601 bars any local governmental unit, including a county, city, village, or township, from enacting…

Arkansas Act 459 of 2025 strips cities and counties of authority to regulate rental application fees or security deposit amounts on private residential or commercial property, applying…

Arkansas caps a residential security deposit at two months' rent under Ark. Code § 18-16-304. The landlord must return the deposit, with an itemized written notice of any deductions…

Arkansas adverse possession under Ark. Code 18-11-106 requires 7 years of actual or constructive possession with color of title plus payment of ad valorem taxes during that period. A…

Arkansas Code § 14-1-104, enacted by Act 751 of 2021, preempts cities and counties from regulating 'auxiliary containers' including plastic bags. Local taxes, fees, and bans on…

Every Arkansas electric utility must let a customer interconnect a solar net-metering facility through a two-channel bidirectional meter, with rates, terms, and excess-generation…

Arkansas Code 5-27-227 prohibits selling, giving, or furnishing tobacco, vapor, or alternative nicotine products to anyone under 21. Retailers must verify age and post required…

Arkansas does not impose a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vape products beyond federal restrictions on certain cartridge-based e-cigarettes. Sales of flavored products remain…

Arkansas is one of the few states that makes it unlawful to switch auxiliary driving lights on at all unless they fit a closed list. Ark. Code § 27-36-221 permits them only where they…

Arkansas has no dash cam statute, so a camera is judged by two windshield obstruction sections that Act 1251 of 1999 rewrote together. Under Ark. Code § 27-37-304(a)(1)(A) anything…

No Arkansas statute uses the words lane splitting, filtering, or lane sharing, and the General Assembly has never written a motorcycle-specific lane rule of any kind. What governs…

A.C.A. § 27-14-716(c)(1) prohibits placing any type of cover over an Arkansas license plate that makes the plate more difficult to read or that reduces its reflective properties. The…

Arkansas has never written a radar detector law. The phrase does not appear anywhere in the Arkansas Code or in the Code of Arkansas Rules, and neither does any jamming offense. The…

Arkansas lets you run metal studded tires on public highways for five months a year, from November 15 through April 15, and only if the studs protrude no more than one-sixteenth of an…

On 1994 and newer vehicles Arkansas allows aftermarket film down to 25 percent net light transmission on the side windows and side wings beside the driver and immediately behind, and…