Solano County Beekeeping Regulations

The county animal chapter sets no beekeeping standards. Its only mention of bees expressly excepts honey-producing bees from the definition of a wild animal, which keeps beekeeping outside the wild and exotic animal licensing regime.

Hive limit: No hive count or setback appears anywhere in the animals chapter.

Note: Solano County does not regulate beekeeping in its animals chapter. We read the whole chapter and bees appear exactly once, in a definition, and the mention is in your favour. The code defines a wild animal to include any species venomous to human beings by bite, sting or touch, and then expressly excepts honey-producing bees. That single phrase matters more than it looks, because keeping a wild or exotic animal in this county needs an annual licence, an inspection certificate and a public notice posted around your neighbourhood. Without the exception, a stinging insect would arguably fall inside all of that. So the practical effect is that a beekeeper in unincorporated Solano is not caught by the exotic animal permit system at all. Two limits on what this card can tell you. We have read the animals chapter but not the county zoning code, and beekeeping is frequently regulated through a zoning use class rather than an animals title, so ask the planning department what your parcel allows. And an earlier compilation recorded that apiculture is treated as an agricultural operation on agriculturally zoned land under Chapter 2.2; that is probably right but we have not re-read it, so treat it as a lead rather than a finding. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner, and in Solano that office also runs animal control.

• Honey-producing bees are expressly excepted from the definition of a wild animal, which otherwise captures any species venomous to human beings whether by bite, sting, touch or other means. 4-11(mm)(5)
• Keeping a wild or exotic animal requires an annual licence, an inspection certificate and a public notice posted in the vicinity. Because honey-producing bees are excepted from the wild animal definition, beekeeping does not fall within this regime. 4-85(a), 4-89, 4-92
• The animals chapter applies to all unincorporated territory within the county. 4-10

Benicia repealed its beekeeping section in 2015 and has set no rules since. Nothing in the code now regulates hives.

Hive limit: None. The section that set them was repealed.

Note: Benicia used to have a beekeeping section and repealed it in 2015, so the city now sets no hive count, setback or permit. The rest of the animal keeping chapter deals with birds, fowl, rabbits and livestock and says nothing about bees. Treat that as an absence of local regulation rather than an express permission, and confirm with the city if you are planning anything at scale. State registration with the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner still applies.

• The section headed "Bee keeping" was repealed by Ordinance 15-04 and now contains no provisions. 6.32.060
• The remaining animal keeping limits in the chapter apply to birds, fowl, rabbits, pigs and livestock and do not mention bees. Ch. 6.32

A permit from the Community Development Director, two hives per parcel, ten feet from side property lines and fifty feet from other people’s dwellings.

Hive limit: Two hives per lot or parcel.

Note: Dixon requires a permit from the Community Development Director before you keep any bees, and the application is signed under penalty of perjury. The working numbers are two hives, ten feet from a side property line, fifty feet from anyone else’s home, nothing in a required setback, a six-foot solid fence within thirty feet of the hives with the entrances facing your own building, and water on site at all times. Register with the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner as well. The provision people trip on is the allergy rule: no hive within two hundred feet of a home occupied by someone systemically allergic to bee stings, and none at all on an adjoining lot. Usefully, Dixon only counts a neighbour who has actually given you reasonable proof with medical documentation, so it is not a rule you can breach without knowing. Neighbouring Suisun City uses almost the same chapter.

• No person may keep or maintain any hive of bees on any lot or parcel within the city without first obtaining a permit from the Community Development Director. 7.04.020
• The applicant must declare under penalty of perjury that the hive location conforms, and will at all times conform, to each of the criteria. No more than two hives on any lot or parcel, and the owner’s name, address and the locations of all hives must be registered with the office of the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner. 7.04.030
• No hive within ten feet of any side property line, or within fifty feet of any dwelling unit other than the one occupied by the person maintaining the hives, and no hive within any required front or side setback. 7.04.030
• Hives must face a house or building on the premises and be surrounded by a solid fence at least six feet high, located no farther than thirty feet from the hives, which may be open on the side facing that building. A constant water supply adequate to the needs of all hives must be maintained on the premises. 7.04.030
• No hive within two hundred feet of a dwelling occupied by any person who has provided the applicant with reasonable proof that they are systemically allergic to bee stings, and no hive on any lot or parcel adjoining one occupied by such a person. Property owners claiming to be systemically allergic must submit medical documentation of the condition. 7.04.030
• The Director grants a permit only if all the criteria in the chapter are met, and must otherwise deny it. 7.04.100—7.04.110

Two hives per lot with an administrative permit, ten feet from a side property line and fifty feet from other people's dwellings, entrances facing a building on your own land behind a six foot solid fence. Agricultural and industrial districts need no permit if hives are 150 feet from dwellings and 100 feet from a public street.

Hive limit: Two hives per lot or parcel, in both the permit track and the agricultural track.

Note: Fairfield has a full beekeeping article and, for a city, a fairly generous one, but it runs on a permit so start there. In a residential area you need an administrative permit from the planning and development department before any hive goes on the lot, and on the application you declare under penalty of perjury that your site meets every criterion. The criteria are two hives per lot, registration of your name and hive locations with the Solano County agriculture commission, ten feet from any side property line, fifty feet from anyone else's dwelling, nothing in a required front or side setback, and a constant water supply. The siting rule is the distinctive one and it is worth picturing: your hive entrances must face a house or building on your own property, and the hives must sit behind a solid fence at least six feet tall and within thirty feet of them, with the fence open only on the side facing that building. The bees are pointed inward, at you, rather than merely screened from the neighbour. Two criteria will surprise you. No hive may be within 200 feet of a dwelling occupied by anyone systemically allergic to bee stings, and no hive at all on a lot adjoining one where such a person lives. You cannot realistically know that, and it can change when someone moves in. Which is why the next section matters more than any other: those two requirements and the fifty foot dwelling setback all fall away if you file the written consent of your adjoining neighbours with the planning director. Get that consent, in writing, before you apply, and understand that a neighbour can revoke it later on thirty days notice. If your land is in the agricultural, industrial, manufacturing, NRC or PD districts, you do not need a permit at all, provided the hives are more than 150 feet from any dwelling other than your own and at least 100 feet from a public street; registration, setbacks and water still apply. Last, a duty people miss: if a wild swarm sets up in a wall or a shed on your property, you may not simply leave it there.

• No person may keep or maintain any hive of bees on any lot or parcel in the city without first obtaining a permit under this article. 3.43
• No more than two hives on any lot or parcel, and the owner's name, address and the location of all hives must be registered with the Solano County agriculture commission. The applicant declares conformity under penalty of perjury. 3.44(1)-(2)
• No hive within ten feet of any side property line, or within fifty feet of any dwelling unit other than the one occupied by the beekeeper. No hive in any required front or side setback. 3.44(3)-(4)
• All hives must be oriented so their entrances face a house or building on the premises, and must be surrounded by a solid fence at least six feet high located no farther than thirty feet from the hives. The fence may be open on the side facing that house or building. 3.44(5)
• A constant water supply adequate to the needs of all hives on the premises must be maintained there. 3.44(6)
• No hive within 200 feet of a dwelling occupied by any person systemically allergic to bee stings, and no hive on any lot adjoining a lot occupied by such a person. 3.44(7)-(8)
• The requirements at § 3.44(3), (7) and (8), and the distance restriction in § 3.46, do not apply if the beekeeper files the written consent of the residents of the adjoining properties or dwelling units with the director of planning and development. Consent may be revoked by the grantor or a successor resident on at least thirty days written notice. 3.47
• Hives may be kept without a permit on lots in these districts, excluding lots in residential or commercial legal nonconforming use, provided they are more than 150 feet from any dwelling other than the one on the same lot and at least 100 feet from any public street, roadway or public access. The registration, setback and water requirements still apply. 3.46
• No person may keep, maintain or allow to remain on any lot they own or reside on any wild swarm of bees, meaning any colony established in anything other than a hive. 3.58
• Bees are defined as honey-producing insects of the species Apis mellifera including adults, eggs, larvae and pupae, together with materials deposited into hives, except honey and rendered beeswax. 3.42

No local beekeeping rule found in the municipal code. State registration with the county agricultural commissioner still applies.

Note: Searched against the live code in 2026 with no result, so this card no longer reads as unknown. Three caveats are worth carrying, each learned from a real California code this year. A code can regulate bees without naming them, by folding beekeeping into a defined use class such as "agriculture" or "animal husbandry" and then regulating that class in a zoning table. Vocabulary can hide a rule outright, "bee culture" being the most obscure term found so far. And obligations can sit outside the animals and zoning titles entirely, including apiary provisions in wildland-urban interface fire codes. Check Solano County’s own card as well as this one, since county and city rules differ and the county’s may be the one that binds you. California still requires apiary registration with the county agricultural commissioner.

An administrative permit from the planning director is required. Two hives per lot, 10 feet from side property lines and 50 feet from other people’s dwellings.

Hive limit: Two hives per lot or parcel. No permit is needed in the agricultural and manufacturing districts.

Note: Two provisions here have no equivalent anywhere else in this dataset and are easy to fall foul of: you may not keep bees within 200 feet of a dwelling occupied by anyone systemically allergic to bee stings, and you may not keep them at all on a lot that adjoins such a person’s property, however far the hives are. The code does not say how you are meant to find this out. The saving grace is § 6.20.024, which lets a neighbour waive both in writing, so the practical move is to talk to the neighbours before you apply. If your land is zoned agricultural or manufacturing, § 6.20.020 skips the permit entirely.

• No person may keep or maintain any hive of bees on any lot or parcel in the city without first obtaining a permit under this chapter. 6.20.008
• No more than two hives on any lot or parcel, and the owner’s name, address and the location of all hives must be registered with the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner. 6.20.012(A)-(B)
• No hive within 10 feet of any side property line, within 50 feet of any dwelling unit other than the beekeeper’s own, or within any required front or side setback. 6.20.012(C)-(D)
• Hives must face a house or building on the premises and be surrounded by a solid fence at least 6 feet high and no more than 30 feet from the hives, which may be open on the side facing that building. A constant water supply adequate for all hives must be kept on the premises. 6.20.012(E)-(F)
• No hive within 200 feet of a dwelling occupied by any person systemically allergic to bee stings, and no hive on any lot that adjoins a parcel occupied by such a person. 6.20.012(G)-(H)
• Hives may be kept without a permit on lots zoned agricultural or manufacturing, provided they are more than 150 feet from any dwelling other than the one on the same lot and at least 150 feet from any public street, roadway or public access. County registration, the setback rule and the water supply requirement still apply. 6.20.020
• The dwelling separation and both allergy provisions do not apply if the beekeeper files the written consent of the affected adjoining residents with the planning director. Consent may be revoked on 30 days’ written notice. 6.20.024
• Wild swarms that establish themselves anywhere other than a hive may not be allowed to remain. 6.20.068

Two hives on a parcel of at least 20,000 square feet, under a beekeeping permit from Community Development, kept 20 feet from side property lines and 100 feet from other dwellings.

Hive limit: Two hives per property, and none on a parcel under 20,000 square feet of gross area.

Note: Vacaville is one of the few codes that says out loud why it is regulating rather than banning: the chapter opens by recognising the value of bees to Solano County agriculture. In practice the gate is the land. You need a parcel of at least 20,000 square feet, a little under half an acre, and then two hives, 20 feet off the side line and 100 feet from anyone else’s home. The permit itself is more proportionate than most: it is only required if your hives are within 150 feet of a dwelling or 100 feet of a road, so a well set back apiary on a large parcel needs no permit at all. Applications go to Community Development and must be signed by the owner and any tenant.

• The chapter regulates the keeping of bees to advance public health, safety and welfare while recognising the value of bees to the agriculture industry of Solano County. 6.24.010
• A beekeeping permit is required, except where hives are situated more than 150 feet from any existing dwelling and not less than 100 feet from any public highway, street, roadway or alley. Keepers already maintaining hives when the chapter took effect had 180 days either to obtain a permit or to remove the hives. 6.24.030
• No more than two hives on any property, none on a parcel of less than 20,000 square feet of total gross area, and the owner’s name, address and the location of all hives must be registered with the Community Development Department. 6.24.030(A)-(C)
• No hive within 20 feet of any side property line, or within 100 feet of any dwelling unit other than one occupied by the beekeeper or others residing on the same property. 6.24.030(D)
• A written application for a beekeeping permit is filed with the Community Development Department, signed by the owner and any lawful tenant of the property. 6.24.040

Three colonies per parcel, 10 feet from rear and side property lines, 40 feet from the front, and 20 feet from habitable structures on adjacent properties. No permit, but each colony must be registered with the county.

Hive limit: Three colonies per lot. A transient swarm may be held up to 45 days. More are possible by variance.

Note: Vallejo writes its beekeeping rules in two places and you need both: Chapter 7.38 gives you three colonies and the 10 ft and 40 ft setbacks, while the zoning code at § 16.306.04 quietly adds a 20 ft separation from habitable structures on neighbouring properties. No permit is required if you fit inside those numbers, but every colony must be registered with the county. If you need more colonies or tighter setbacks, the variance route is genuinely open, and unusually the city must send your application to the local beekeeping association as well as the county agricultural commissioner.

• Keeping bees is unlawful except in compliance with this chapter. Keeping by an educational or research institution for study, observation or other scientific purposes is exempt. 7.38.010
• Each colony must be in a separate movable frame hive, kept disease free, and requeened following aggressive behaviour. A constant and plentiful supply of fresh water must be kept within 10 feet of all hives at all times. 7.38.020
• Each colony must be registered with the county agricultural commissioner. 7.38.020(D)
• No more than three colonies per lot, except that transient swarms may be kept up to 45 days. No hive within 10 feet of any rear or side property line where the adjoining property is occupied, or within 40 feet of the front property line, measured from the sidewalk boundary furthest from the street. 7.38.030(A)-(B)
• Zoning permits a maximum of three hives subject to Ch. 7.38 and adds that hives must be at least 20 feet from habitable structures on adjacent properties. The director may approve reduced setbacks through a minor use permit. 16.306.04
• The zoning administrator may grant a variance for more colonies or modified setbacks. The application goes to the county agricultural commissioner and the beekeeping association for review, and neighbours within 300 feet are notified for a hive-count variance, or the immediately adjacent owners for a setback variance, unless they have already given written permission. 7.38.030(C)
• Beekeepers must comply with state bee management and honey production law, Division 13 of the Food and Agricultural Code beginning at section 29001. 7.38.050