Waco, TX

Waco requires every property under five acres to be cleared entirely of brush, while larger tracts must be kept clear within 100 feet of a right-of-way or property line. The rule is…

A backyard stove, oven or barbecue pit used outdoors in Waco must sit at least 10 feet from any adjoining building; an open cooking fire not built in a pit needs 50 feet from the…

Waco bans burning grass, weeds, brush, or any other material anywhere within city limits unless the fire marshal has issued a permit and the burn follows the permit's conditions. A…

Waco prohibits the use of fireworks within city limits except by licensed professionals with permits. Texas state law allows certain fireworks in unincorporated areas, but Waco's city…

Selling, transporting, dispensing, or storing propane (LP-gas) in Texas requires a license from the Railroad Commission of Texas under Natural Resources Code Chapter 113. Only the…

Waco bans barbed wire on any fence built along a street, alley, avenue or lane inside the city, and the same rule applies to repairing an existing barbed wire fence on those lines. The…

Waco requires a registered professional engineer to design any retaining wall built as part of site development, under the grading and drainage standards in Chapter 28. The same…

Any fence, wall or hedge that touches Waco's public right-of-way needs a permit first: Section 25-54(b) makes it unlawful to erect, alter or repair a fence, wall, hedge or other…

Texas law does not require neighbor consent before building a fence on your property, but Waco's code requires fences to be within property lines and sets standards for shared boundary…

Waco's zoning ordinance sets maximum fence heights in residential areas. Front yard fences are typically limited to 4 feet, while side and rear yard fences may be up to 8 feet.

A Waco pet shop can only sell or display dogs and cats that came from an animal shelter or an animal welfare group, never from a breeder or broker. Section 5-131 also bars breeders and…

Backyard fowl and rabbits must be kept in an actual pen, coop, or hutch, not just a fenced yard, and that structure has to sit at least 50 feet from any residence besides the owner's…

City code requires every dog or cat within Waco's corporate limits to be spayed or neutered, with proof kept by the owner. Sec. 5-210 carves out five narrow exceptions, including…

Waco's general at-large law bans letting any animal roam free off its owner's property, but Section 5-92 carves out real room for cats: a vaccinated, tagged cat, a cat identifiable by…

Every dog and cat within Waco's corporate limits must carry a microchip. Shelter animals are chipped before release or adoption, and any impounded dog or cat without one gets chipped…

A veterinary clinic isn't a permitted-by-right use in Waco's R-E or R-1B single-family districts; it requires a special permit from the city council, and the code specifically bars any…

Waco requires all dogs to be on a leash or under direct control when off the owner's property. Dogs running at large are subject to impoundment by Animal Services.

Waco allows beekeeping in residential areas subject to regulations on hive placement, number of colonies, and distance from property lines and public areas.

Waco outright bans keeping a wild animal as a pet. Section 5-95 makes it unlawful to possess, keep, or control any wild animal or wildlife in the city, and separately bans selling…

Waco classifies a dog as dangerous using the state definition in Texas Health and Safety Code § 822.041, and Sec. 5-152.1 folds all of Chapter 822, Subchapter D into city law. Once…

Texas has no standalone hoarding statute; officers use Health & Safety Code Chapter 821 to seize animals deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, and a court can divest the owner…

Texas lets hunters bait and feed game animals, including deer, on private property statewide. Baiting is unlawful on most public land, for wild turkey in the East Zone, and for all…

Waco does not require every short-term rental to be an owner's primary residence. The licensing code creates three rental types, and only "short-term rental type I" and "bed and…

Every licensed bed and breakfast or short-term rental in Waco must have a "designated operator" who lives in McLennan County and stays available at all times the property is rented…

Waco caps overnight occupancy in every licensed bed and breakfast and short-term rental at two adults per bedroom plus two additional adults per unit, under Code of Ordinances Sec…

Waco requires short-term rental operators to register with the city and obtain necessary permits before operating. STRs must comply with building, fire, and zoning codes.

Short-term rental guests in Waco must comply with the city's noise ordinance. Operators are responsible for ensuring guests do not disturb neighbors, particularly during nighttime…

Waco requires short-term rental operators to collect and remit hotel occupancy tax (HOT) on all stays under 30 days. The combined state and local rate applies to all STR bookings.

Waco requires short-term rental properties to provide adequate off-street parking for guests. Overflow parking on residential streets must comply with the city's street parking…

Waco's accessory dwelling unit rules require the property owner to live in either the primary house or the ADU, confirmed by a notarized affidavit recorded with the McLennan County…

A shed or detached storage building in Waco must clear five feet from the principal house and three feet from every lot line under Sec. 28-906(7), and once built it counts toward the…

Waco requires the owner of a lot with an accessory dwelling unit in a single-family district to sign and record a notarized affidavit affirming they occupy either the primary house or…

Waco allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot, capped at one bedroom and 500 square feet or 30 percent of the primary home's floor area, whichever is greater, with its…

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to…

A Waco home business can't host more patrons or employees at once than the International Residential Code's occupancy limit for the dwelling allows, and it can't push traffic more than…

Waco allows a home occupation in any residential district only as a secondary use invisible from the street, one that alters nothing about the house's residential look, keeps…

Waco's zoning code treats a small home daycare, a 'registered family home' caring for up to six children (12 counting the caretaker's own and after-school siblings), as a home…

Waco generally prohibits exterior signage for home-based businesses in residential areas. The home must maintain its residential appearance with no visible commercial indicators.

Texas does not license cottage food at all. Health and Safety Code Section 437.0191(a) declares that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment, and…

Waco prohibits parking or standing any commercial vehicle, oversize vehicle, trailer, boat, or boat trailer on a public street, highway, alley, or right-of-way anywhere in the city…

Waco police may impound any abandoned motor vehicle without prior notice to the owner or lienholders under Section 25-216, using the state definition of 'abandoned motor vehicle' from…

Waco's traffic code caps how long a vehicle may sit in a marked curb loading zone: three minutes in a passenger zone, 15 minutes if the zone serves a hotel, and 30 minutes in a freight…

Waco bars parking any vehicle in the front or side corner yard of a single-family home unless it sits on an all-weather surface defined in the zoning code, or on an existing compacted…

Waco's fire code amendments bar electric vehicle chargers from inside any building unless it's an approved parking garage location, and those garage stations need a sprinkler system, a…

Waco's traffic code makes it a criminal offense to paint or place any sign or marker on a city curb, sidewalk, alley, street or common area designating a reserve, no-parking, loading…

Waco restricts parking of large commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods. Heavy trucks and commercial equipment should not be stored on residential streets or properties in…

Waco regulates on-street parking through its traffic ordinances. Vehicles must observe posted signs, time limits, and restrictions near intersections, fire hydrants, and crosswalks.

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

Waco's site development standards require developers to preserve existing mature trees (six inches or greater in caliper) and a named list of native species, from live oak and bald…

Waco has no citywide tree-protection ordinance. Its only codified tree-preservation rule sits in the Brazos River Corridor overlay district, where developers earn landscape credit for…

Waco property owners can't let a tree canopy hang low over the street: Section 25-52 requires any limb that overhangs the strip between the property line and curbline to be trimmed to…

Waco Code of Ordinances section 16-61 bars weeds, grass, or other vegetation from growing over 12 inches anywhere inside the city limits. Code Compliance gives seven days to cut it…

Waco's Water Conservation and Drought/Emergency Contingency Plan imposes mandatory landscape watering days once the city manager declares a drought stage. Under Stage 1, triggered when…

Texas Property Code 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning rainwater harvesting systems, and Health & Safety Code 341.042 sets statewide standards for harvested rainwater used as a…

Waco bans amplified sound from equipment in or on a motor vehicle when it exceeds the citywide ceilings, 85 dBA daytime and 80 dBA nighttime on residential property, measured at or…

A dog that barks, whines, howls, or makes noise excessively and continuously enough to disturb a person of ordinary sensibilities is a nuisance animal under Section 5-96. An Animal…

Waco's airport overlay district divides land around the airport into three noise contour rings, AO-1, AO-2, and AO-3, based on yearly day-night average sound level (Ldn) readings, and…

Waco regulates noise under Chapter 16 of the Code of Ordinances. The city prohibits unreasonable noise that disturbs the peace and quiet of residents, with stricter enforcement during…

Waco restricts construction noise in residential areas during nighttime and early morning hours. Construction activities generating loud noise are generally permitted during standard…

Waco requires all residential swimming pools to be enclosed by a barrier fence at least 48 inches high with self-closing, self-latching gates. These requirements follow the…

Waco regulates above-ground pools similarly to in-ground pools regarding barrier requirements and safety standards. Pools above a certain size require permits.

Waco requires every marina or dock built on Lake Brazos to be constructed in accordance with all federal, state, and city requirements, per Chapter 17's lakes article. Zoning…

Waco requires anyone disturbing an acre or more, or a smaller site inside a larger development, to file a stormwater pollution prevention plan and run erosion controls like silt…

Waco requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) for any residential, commercial, or industrial development disturbing one acre or more, including sites under an acre that…

In Waco's FEMA special flood hazard areas, new and substantially improved homes must have their lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to two feet or more above the base flood…

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work…

Texas Water Code Section 16.3145 orders the governing body of every Texas city and county to adopt the floodplain-management ordinances or orders needed to qualify for the National…

Once electrical work is finished, the contractor must call the building official for a final inspection under Sec. 6-136, with the fuses or breaker installed and no wiring concealed…

Waco requires an owner to submit a written lead-hazard removal plan within 90 days of notice once a city or state investigation confirms lead-based paint or soil lead hazards tied to a…

Waco's security code requires every new or substantially built residence to lock up tight. Exterior swinging doors need a single-cylinder deadbolt with a one-inch throw, sliding patio…

No one may perform electrical work in Waco without holding a state-issued electrician's license and a city permit for the specific job. Sec. 6-90 requires the state license, Sec. 6-126…

Plumbing work in Waco requires both a state plumber's license and a city permit. Sec. 6-236 bars any plumbing installation, repair, or alteration without a building-official permit…

Waco adopted the 2024 International Residential Code but struck the code's mandatory fire-sprinkler chapter for houses. Sec. 6-29(4) deletes IRC Section R309.2, so one- and two-family…

Waco requires a building permit before anyone may construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, or demolish a building or structure. The city adopts the 2024 International Building and…

Waco regulates the illumination of digital off-premises signs (electronic billboards) under Sec. 28-1077 of the zoning code. Each message must hold for at least eight seconds, dim…

Within Waco's Brazos River Corridor overlay district, Section 28-809.1(e) requires that all outdoor lighting be shielded or constructed so no direct light escapes upward past the…

In the Brazos River Corridor overlay, Section 28-809.1(c) caps how much light a commercial or industrial property can throw onto a neighbor's land, measured with a light meter held…

Waco prohibits possessing an open alcoholic beverage in any designated neighborhood or community park, a list that covers two dozen named parks including Pioneer Park, Kendrick Park…

Waco extends its smoke-free rule outdoors: smoking is banned in every city park and playground and at any public event on city property, plus within 15 feet of the doors, windows or…

Waco makes it unlawful to loiter, remain, wander, or prowl near any public or private place for the purpose of engaging in drug-related activity under the Texas Controlled Substances…

Waco's traffic code treats skateboards, roller skates and other "toy vehicles" as a street hazard: Section 25-9(b) bans riding one on any street in the city outright, the sole…

It is a criminal offense in Waco to urinate or defecate in or on a public area, or anywhere in public view, under city code. "Public area" is defined broadly to include sidewalks…

Waco makes it a criminal offense to solicit money in an aggressive manner anywhere in public, meaning intimidating, threatening, or obstructive conduct toward the person being asked…

Waco requires every premises to be kept free of rodents and rodent harborage, with the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District able to enter, inspect, and order corrective action…

Waco requires anyone who handles, prepares, cooks, serves, or stores food at a food establishment to hold a food handler certificate within 30 days of starting the job. The permit…

Waco's fire code flatly bars open flame cooking devices and charcoal burners from the patios and balconies of apartment and condo buildings, and even off the patio they must stay at…

Run a smoker, stove or barbecue pit inside a building, garage, carport or other enclosure in Waco and it needs a smoke pipe or vent reaching at least three feet above the roofline…

Waco gives each service unit one free bulky waste pickup per month, capped at eight cubic yards, about a pile six feet wide, six feet high and six feet long. Residents must call the…

Waco lets residential and commercial customers rent roll-off containers from ten to 40 cubic yards through Solid Waste Services, but every container must sit on private property on a…

Waco's nuisance code makes it unlawful to throw or dump litter, junk, rubbish or garbage on any occupied, unoccupied or vacant privately owned property in the city, per Sec. 16-96, and…

Waco requires every residential, commercial, industrial and institutional property within city limits to maintain solid waste collection service under City Code Sec. 21-2; owners…

Once Waco recyclables hit an authorized blue cart or drop-off container, City Code Sec. 21-8 makes them city property by operation of law, and Sec. 21-10 turns removing them back out…

Waco issues each single-family or duplex household one grey 95-gallon trash cart under Sec. 21-22, and every bag of trash inside it must be a securely tied disposable plastic bag; yard…

Waco gives single-family, duplex and quadriplex households up to two green carts, plus as many as 20 biodegradable paper yard-waste bags per collection day, under Sec. 21-23, but…

Waco requires carts and brush at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on collection day but not before 6:00 p.m. the evening prior, and everything must be off the curb by 11:59:59 p.m. that night…

Waco's blue recycling carts accept only paper, metals and #1-#2 plastic bottles, cups and jars under City Code Sec. 21-25; residents get up to two 95-gallon carts per household but…

Waco pawnbrokers, along with secondhand stores, salvage dealers, and junk dealers, cannot accept used merchandise between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and must hold every item unaltered in…

Waco's zoning code treats a "smoke shop" (any premises where tobacco or vaping products account for more than 20 percent of floor space or sales) as a use requiring locational…

Waco requires metal recycling entities, junk dealers, and secondhand dealers to log every regulated-metal purchase in a police-approved, real-time electronic database, verify the…

Waco's wrecker ordinance bars tow operators from moving a wrecked vehicle from an accident scene without the owner's consent unless a police officer directs the removal for safety or…

Operating a sexually oriented business in Waco requires a city license from the building official, and the establishment must sit at least 600 feet from homes, schools, churches…

Waco outright bans game rooms: Section 13-72 makes it a crime to operate a game room anywhere in the city, in any zoning district, and to keep an amusement redemption machine or…

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on…

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place…

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code §…

Waco puts the job of keeping an abutting sidewalk, curb and driveway safe on the property owner or person using it, not the city. If a defect causes an injury or damages someone's…

Anyone who wants to build, repair, or replace a sidewalk, curb, gutter, driveway or other concrete work on public property in Waco needs a permit from the city engineer first. The…

Waco makes it unlawful to store, sell, or offer for sale any personal property from or upon a city street, sidewalk, alley, park, or other public property. Code Sec. 22-2 covers…

Waco makes it a criminal offense to camp on designated public property, including sidewalks, streets, rights-of-way, parks, and other city-owned or controlled land. Camping is defined…

Waco does not sort e-bikes into DMV-style Class 1/2/3 tiers; instead Chapter 25 defines an "electric bicycle" as any bike with a motor that cannot exceed 20 mph without pedaling and…

Waco requires shared mobility devices like rental scooters to be parked against the curb, in a support rack, or against a building without blocking pedestrians, and bans riding them on…

Waco operates no red-light cameras. Texas outlawed photographic traffic signal enforcement statewide in 2019, so no Waco intersection issues camera-based citations and the city runs no…

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic…

Waco waives up to $1,000 in city fees for one neighborhood block party a year, but only if the sponsoring neighborhood association gets consent from at least 60 percent of property…

Waco parks close to the public between midnight and 6:00 a.m., so any gathering that runs past midnight needs advance sign-off from the parks and recreation commission. Code Sec…

A Waco street fair or festival becomes a regulated 'special event' the moment it draws 50 or more attendees and sells merchandise, food or drinks, or sets up a stage, booth or portable…

Waco makes it a criminal offense to organize, join, or aid a parade or special event on city streets, sidewalks, or parks without first applying for and receiving a permit from the…

Waco's Minimum Building Standards Code declares any unsafe, unsanitary, or unsecured vacant building illegal and lets the Building Standards Commission order repair, securing, or…

Waco prohibits dumping or letting litter, junk, rubbish, or garbage pile up on any lot, whether occupied, unoccupied, or vacant. Code Sec. 16-96 sets the owner's or occupant's duty…

Waco's Downtown District overlay sets hard numbers for new and substantially renovated buildings: a minimum 22-foot height for one-story buildings, a three-story cap above the tallest…

In Waco's C (commercial) and M (industrial) zoning districts, detached on-premises signs facing a primary arterial street or limited-access freeway get a size bonus under Sec…

Waco allows digital off-premises billboards only under strict operating rules: each message must hold for at least eight seconds, changes must complete in two seconds and switch the…

Waco limits garage, yard and estate sale signage to two two-square-foot signs, one at the sale property and one on a consenting neighbor's lot, or both at the sale site itself, and…

Texas Election Code 259.003 and Election Code Section 259.002 protect political signs on private residential property. Cities cannot regulate compliant signs at any time, and HOAs…

Waco's zoning code lists 'agricultural operations' as a use permitted by right, not by special permit, in the R-E, R-1A and R-1B single-family districts. Chapter 28's definitions…

The Texas Right to Farm Act, Agriculture Code Chapter 251, protects established agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits and local regulations after one year of operation. HB…

Waco sets minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks separately for each zoning district; in the R-E single-family district, a house needs at least a 35-foot front yard, two 25-foot…

Waco caps how much of a lot can be covered by buildings and pavement, with the limit set by zoning district: 75 percent in all R (residential) districts and for residential uses in O…

Waco caps structure height at the maximum set for each zoning district, but Section 28-903 carves out exceptions: public buildings and institutions can reach 70 feet with wider yards…

Waco treats rooftop and yard-mounted solar collecting equipment as a permitted accessory obstruction rather than a separate use, so any array placed in a required side or rear yard…

Section 202.010 of the Texas Property Code voids any homeowners association rule that bans or restricts installing a solar energy device, a term that under Tax Code Section 171.107…

Waco caps garage and yard sales at two per property per calendar year, each running no more than three consecutive days, and restricts who can hold one, per Sec. 28-930 of the zoning…

Waco limits door-to-door peddling and solicitation to the hours between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. Homeowners can opt out entirely by posting a small "no…

Anyone who wants to peddle goods or solicit door-to-door on private property in Waco must first get a permit from the city secretary's office, unless a resident specifically invited…

Waco taxes hotel occupancy at 7 percent of the room charge whenever that charge is $2.00 or more per day, and the code's definition of 'hotel' expressly reaches short-term rental…

Waco doesn't leave street-tree choice up to chance: Section 25-50 names the exact species approved for the parkway strip between curb and property line, sorted into large, medium and…

Waco bans mobile food vending without a public open air vending permit from the Inspection Services Department. Trucks routed for a health permit go to the Waco-McLennan County Public…

Waco's open-air vending rules limit where a mobile food unit or roadside vendor can set up: no vending facility may sit in the sight-distance zone of an intersection, within 100 feet…

Under Texas Health & Safety Code Section 437.0045, a county, city, or public health district may require a food truck permit only if the Department of State Health Services would…

Waco exempts air conditioning units from its general noise ordinance as long as they stay under 65 dB(A) on residential property or 75 dB(A) on nonresidential property, measured about…

Waco levies its own occupation tax on every person pursuing a business, calling or profession the state also taxes, set at one-fourth of whatever the state occupation tax would be, due…

Waco parks close to the public between midnight and 6 a.m. every night, and it is unlawful to remain, walk, wander, stroll, or play in a park during those hours. Officers must give a…

Texas HB 1819 (88th Legislature, 2023), codified at Local Government Code 370.008 (originally 370.007), prohibits all Texas municipalities and counties from adopting or enforcing…

Waco's local amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code force landlords to keep every rented dwelling unit at a minimum 68°F in winter and no more than 15 degrees warmer…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction)…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is…

Texas law forbids cities from adopting rent control. A municipality may not establish rent control unless its governing body finds a housing emergency caused by a disaster and the…

Texas places no statutory limit on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. However, the landlord must refund the deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the…

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with…

Waco can designate any building, structure, object, or site as a historic landmark, whether inside or outside a historic district, if it meets any of six criteria in Sec. 28-1139(a)…

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 487 limits cannabis dispensing to state-licensed Compassionate Use Program providers: expanded to as many as 15 organizations by HB 46 (2025). There…

Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 makes it a crime to possess or grow marijuana anywhere in the state. Home cultivation is illegal in every Texas city and county regardless of plant…

Texas Government Code Chapter 423 occupies the field of unmanned aircraft regulation. Cities and counties cannot adopt their own recreational drone ordinances, though limited municipal…

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 expressly preempts municipal and county minimum wage ordinances. The state minimum wage equals the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, and political…

Texas appellate courts have struck down municipal paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio as preempted under the Texas Minimum Wage Act. HB 2127 (2023) further…

Texas authorizes License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry concealed handguns statewide under Government Code Chapter 411. Since 2021, permitless constitutional carry under HB 1927 also…

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances…

Texas authorizes open carry of holstered handguns statewide for adults 21 and older under Penal Code 46.02 and HB 910 (2015). Long guns may be openly carried subject to disorderly…

Texas Penal Code 46.02(a-1) lets any non-prohibited adult carry a handgun inside a personally-owned or leased motor vehicle or watercraft without a License to Carry. Since HB 1927…

Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, unpaid assessments become a lien (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0094), but a Texas HOA may not foreclose that lien without first…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs residential subdivision homeowners associations, not condominium associations and not associations that are themselves subject to the Public…

A Texas HOA enforces its recorded restrictive covenants (Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 202), but Chapter 209 controls the procedure: § 209.006 requires certified-mail notice and a cure…

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown…

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a…

A Texas property owners' association cannot sell your home at a trustee's sale the way a mortgage lender can. Tex. Prop. Code Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a…

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 sets no cap on how much of a subdivision an association can rent out, no minimum lease term, and no grandfather clause: a declaration can still ban…

The Texas Legislature has authorized exactly one vehicle checkpoint program, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. Government Code Section 411.0095 lets the Department of Public…

Texas has never enacted an express statutory right to film police, so the legal boundary for a bystander with a phone is set by the offense of Interference with Public Duties, Texas…

Texas Penal Code Section 38.02 makes it a crime to refuse your name, residence address, or date of birth only after a peace officer has already lawfully arrested you. Being detained on…

No Texas statute obliges a driver to consent to a vehicle search, and none requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What Texas law does require is a paper trail: Article…

The Texas Supreme Court in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) held that Health and Safety Code Section 361.0961 preempts municipal plastic bag bans. Cities and…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 sets the minimum age for purchasing or possessing tobacco and e-cigarette products at 21 statewide, aligned with federal Tobacco 21. Active…

Texas regulates extra lighting by color, count, height and aim rather than by naming underglow. Transportation Code Section 547.305 bars any lamp showing red from directly in front of…

Texas grants no square inches of windshield to a camera. Transportation Code Section 547.613(a)(1) makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material placed on or…

Texas banned motorcycle lane splitting in plain words on September 1, 2023. Transportation Code Section 545.0605(a)(3)(B), added by House Bill 4122 of the 88th Legislature, says the…

Texas outlaws license plate covers in Transportation Code Section 504.945(a)(7), which makes it an offense to display a plate carrying a coating, covering, protective substance or…

Texas does not prohibit owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. The one radar offense in the vehicle equipment chapter, Transportation Code Section…

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block…

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets…