Wyoming Ordinances (2026)

Wyoming requires beekeepers to register colonies with the State Department of Agriculture under the apiary statutes. The state inspects for diseases and pests, and registration requirements apply uniformly statewide.

Wyoming livestock laws require brand inspections, disease control, and fencing standards statewide. The Wyoming Livestock Board administers brand recording and movement permits that municipalities cannot override.

Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulates possession of live wildlife statewide. Many native and exotic species require permits, and several are prohibited as personal pets, with state law preempting municipal allowances.

Wyoming Game and Fish Commission holds exclusive jurisdiction over wildlife. State law and Commission regulations restrict feeding big game animals such as deer, elk, and moose, particularly where it creates conflicts or disease risk.

Wyoming has no legal framework for marijuana dispensaries. State law prohibits the sale, distribution, and commercial cultivation of cannabis, preventing any Wyoming city or county from licensing or zoning marijuana retail establishments.

Wyoming criminalizes the cultivation, possession, and use of marijuana for both recreational and medical purposes. State drug laws preempt municipalities from authorizing personal home cultivation anywhere in Wyoming.

Wyoming sets a statewide minimum wage and preempts cities and counties from enacting higher local minimum wages, ensuring uniform pay floor rules across the state.

Wyoming has no statewide paid sick or family leave mandate, and the state's labor framework limits local authority to impose paid leave on private employers.

Wyoming has not enacted predictive or fair scheduling laws and the state labor framework leaves little authority for local governments to impose scheduling mandates.

Wyoming requires erosion and sediment controls on construction sites under WYPDES Construction General Permits issued by DEQ. These statewide standards apply to qualifying sites regardless of city or county boundaries.

Wyoming participates in the National Flood Insurance Program through community-level floodplain ordinances coordinated by the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. Minimum NFIP standards apply uniformly to development in Special Flood Hazard Areas across participating jurisdictions.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality administers the Wyoming Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which requires state permits for construction, industrial, and municipal stormwater discharges. WYPDES requirements apply statewide and supersede inconsistent local stormwater rules.

Wyoming is a statewide fence-out jurisdiction, meaning landowners must fence livestock out of their property to recover damages, and adjoining owners share lawful partition fence costs equally under state law.

Wyoming Statute 35-10-201 et seq. establishes the statewide fireworks framework. Recent legislation preempts cities and counties from prohibiting consumer fireworks between noon and midnight on July 4, except during active fire bans.

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality regulates open burning statewide under WAQSR Chapter 10, Section 2. Burning of refuse, trade waste, and vegetative materials requires authorization, with universal exemptions for cooking and recreation.

Wyoming adopted the International Fire Code Chapter 61 and NFPA 58 statewide for propane and liquefied petroleum gas storage. Standards apply universally to installation, container size, separation distances, and required permits.

Wyoming Statutes 35-9-301 through 35-9-304 grant county commissioners exclusive authority to declare fire closures during extreme fire danger. The state also adopted the 2021 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code statewide.

Wyoming allows permitless concealed carry for residents 21 and older and issues optional shall-issue permits recognized for reciprocity in many other states.

Wyoming law preempts cities, towns and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition, and accessories beyond what state statute provides, ensuring uniform gun rules statewide.

Wyoming permits open carry of handguns and long guns by adults legally allowed to possess firearms, with no permit requirement and broad statewide preemption.

Wyoming allows law abiding adults to carry concealed firearms in their vehicles without a permit under W.S. 6-8-104, and statewide preemption bars cities and counties from imposing inconsistent vehicle carry rules on residents and visitors traveling Wyoming roads.

Wyoming Department of Agriculture Consumer Health Services licenses mobile food establishments under the state food safety code. State licensing applies statewide, while municipalities handle additional zoning and vending permits.

The Wyoming Food Freedom Act allows direct producer-to-consumer sales of most homemade foods without state licensing, inspection, or local permits. It explicitly preempts city and county regulation of qualifying transactions across the state.

Wyoming Department of Family Services licenses all family child care homes serving more than two unrelated children. State licensing rules establish ratios, safety standards, and background checks that apply uniformly statewide and limit local zoning interference.

Wyoming has not enacted a statute requiring private employers or public contractors to use the federal E-Verify employment eligibility system. Use of E-Verify in Wyoming remains voluntary except where required by federal contracts or federal law.

Wyoming has not enacted a statewide sanctuary policy or a statewide ban on sanctuary jurisdictions. Cooperation with federal immigration authorities is generally a matter of local sheriff and police discretion within federal constitutional limits.

Wyoming's prior appropriation doctrine treats precipitation as state water once it joins natural collections. Residential rooftop rainwater collection is generally permitted for domestic use, but the underlying authority remains the state water rights framework.

Wyoming's Constitution declares all natural waters property of the state, and Title 41 vests administration in the State Engineer under prior appropriation. Outdoor watering rights flow from this universal framework rather than purely local rules.

The Wyoming Weed and Pest Control Act establishes a uniform statewide system of county weed and pest districts that designate noxious weeds, levy taxes, and require landowners, including municipalities, to control listed species on all property.

Wyoming statutes govern when motor vehicles are deemed abandoned, how law enforcement initiates removal, the impound notice process, and how abandoned-vehicle titles are issued. These rules apply uniformly across cities, counties, and unincorporated areas.

Wyoming limits county zoning over bona fide agricultural operations, preserving farm and ranch use rights even within county-adopted land use plans.

Wyoming's Right to Farm Act under Title 11 Chapter 44 shields established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits when conducted using accepted practices.

Wyoming imposes a universal 5% statewide lodging tax plus 4% state sales tax on short-term rentals under 30 days. Operators must register with the Wyoming Department of Revenue and remit collections regardless of municipality.

Wyoming has no statewide plastic bag ban or preemption, allowing cities and counties to choose whether to regulate single-use carryout bags through ordinances.

Wyoming has no statewide ban on expanded polystyrene foam containers and leaves regulation to local governments and federal food-service safety standards.

Wyoming imposes no statewide restriction on plastic straws, leaving food-service straw policies to operators and any local ordinances that cities choose to adopt.

Wyoming law sets the minimum age to purchase or possess tobacco, vapor, and nicotine products at 21, mirroring federal Tobacco 21 enforcement requirements.

Wyoming has not enacted a statewide ban on flavored tobacco or vape products, leaving sales lawful subject to federal restrictions on certain pre-filled flavored cartridges.

Wyoming requires retailers selling vapor products and e-cigarettes to verify customer age, follow Tobacco 21 rules, and comply with state youth-access enforcement statutes.

Wyoming Statutes Title 35, Chapter 11, Article 5 establishes universal solid waste rules. Lead-acid batteries are banned from landfill disposal statewide and must be recycled regardless of local ordinance.