Important Notes from the Tennessee Apiary Act of 1995

The Tennessee Apiary Act of 1995 can be found HERE@ TN.GOV


State Apiarist and Apiculturist:
Michael Studer 

Ellington Agricultural Center 
Box 40627, Melrose Station
440 Hogan Road, Porter Bldg. 
Nashville, TN 37204, 
(615) 837-5342

4-15-105. Registration of apiaries.


(a) Every beekeeper owning one (1) or more colonies of bees shall register each apiary location by January 1, 1996, and every three (3) years thereafter. Upon establishment of a new apiary location, it is the duty of the owners or operators of the apiary to register the new locations within thirty (30) days. Any person, firm, or corporation moving bees into the state shall register all apiary locations within thirty (30) days from the date of the establishment of each apiary.

(b) If an unregistered apiary is found, the state apiarist or any apiary inspector shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner of the bees and notify the beekeeper by means of a registered letter of the registration requirements and the consequences of noncompliance.

(c) The state apiarist shall issue to each beekeeper with one (1) or more registered apiaries a unique registration number that will be used for apiary identification purposes.

44-15-107. Inspection program. 

The state apiarist, assisted by the apiary inspectors identified in this chapter, has the authority and responsibility to establish and implement a program for inspection of apiaries throughout the state for the purpose of detecting regulated bee diseases and pests and for implementing control measures as needed to minimize the adverse impacts of those diseases and pests on the honeybee population in the state. The apiary inspection program will be conducted in accordance with standard procedures that are developed by the state apiarist. The state apiarist may require or supervise the treatment, destruction, or disposition of diseased bees or contaminated bee equipment or bee supplies in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of this chapter. Any apiary inspector duly authorized by the state apiarist has the authority to go upon any public or private property for the purpose of conducting an inspection of an apiary located on that property. The inspector shall make a reasonable effort to notify the beekeeper of a planned inspection prior to the actual inspection.

44-15-112. Used beekeeping equipment. 

No person shall sell or give to any other person any used beekeeping equipment until the equipment has been sanitized by a method approved by the state apiarist. This requirement will not apply to equipment that is occupied by live bees.


44-15-108. Sale or movement of bees.

(a) No bees may be sold, offered for sale, moved, or transported, shipped or delivered within the state, unless they have been inspected by an appropriate official of the state and certified to be apparently free of infectious or contagious regulated bee diseases and pests in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter.

(b) All persons desiring to move bees, hives, slumgums, used beekeeping equipment or appliances into the state must apply to the department for a permit. The application shall be accompanied by a certificate of health certifying that all bees, hives, slumgums, used beekeeping equipment or appliances have been inspected by an authorized official within thirty (30) days prior to transportation into Tennessee, and that the bees, hives, slumgums, used beekeeping equipment or appliances were found apparently free from any regulated diseases or pest.