Fence laws in Arkansas
What Arkansas statutes and statewide codes say about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line.
Arkansas fence laws at a glance
| Topic | What the record says | Figure | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fences on the property line | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Fence height | Silent | no figure | Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building Codes |
| Permits | Stated | no figure | Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building Codes |
| Pool barriers | Stated | 4 ft | Arkansas Department of Health, Swimming Pool FAQs |
| Spite fences | Silent | no figure | Ark. Code Title 2, Chapter 39, as amended by Act 594 of 2023 |
| How height is measured | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Corner visibility | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Retaining walls | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Materials | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Agricultural fencing | Stated | no figure | Ark. Code § 2-39-101, as amended by Act 594 of 2023 |
Fence laws in Arkansas, question by question
Who owns the fence between two properties in Arkansas?
Not researched yet for Arkansas. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
How tall can a fence be in Arkansas?
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Arkansas sets no statewide limit on residential fence height. Height is set by municipal ordinance. The code the state does adopt is the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, administered by the State Fire Marshal, and neither the state code adoption page nor the fire marshal page states a fence height.
Documents read before writing that:
- Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building CodesArkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- Division of Emergency Management, State Fire Marshal's OfficeArkansas Department of Public Safety
Do I need a permit for a fence in Arkansas?
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Arkansas has no separate statewide building code. The building code is one volume of the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, which the State Fire Marshal adopts. The Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board describes that code as a three volume set, with the residential volume as Volume III.
The Arkansas Building Code is adopted by the State Fire Marshal's office. It is a part of the Fire Prevention Code.
Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building Codes
Also on permits in Arkansas
- StatedAct 267 of 2023 took battery-charged fences away from local permit power. A city or county cannot require a permit for one on top of the alarm system permit or license it already issues, cannot impose installation or operating requirements on one, and cannot ban one outright. The section reaches only fences on property a city or county has not designated for residential use, and it does not apply to a fence used for agricultural or aquacultural purposes. Ark. Code § 17-40-108(b)Arkansas · Statute
- StatedThe same 2023 section caps how tall a battery-charged fence can be. Ten feet is the ceiling, or two feet above the nonelectric perimeter fence or wall it sits inside, whichever of those two is taller. The fence is also completely surrounded by a nonelectric perimeter fence or wall of at least five feet, and it carries warning signs reading WARNING ELECTRIC FENCE at intervals of no more than thirty feet. Ark. Code § 17-40-108(a)(2)(F)Arkansas · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Arkansas
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
The Arkansas Department of Health reviews plans for public and commercial pools and sets the barrier rule for them. A barrier of at least four feet surrounds the pool, with limits on the gaps at its sides and under it. The same page states that the department does not regulate single family residential pools, which are left to local rules.
The barrier shall not be less than four feet in height.
Arkansas Department of Health, Swimming Pool FAQs
4 ftminimum height of the barrier around a public or commercial pool
Spite fence laws in Arkansas
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Arkansas has no spite fence statute. The 2023 act that rewrote the state fencing chapter covers what a fence is, what a livestock enclosure needs, how sufficiency is judged and what follows when livestock break through one, and it sets no height trigger and no rule about a fence raised out of malice. The 2023 act on battery-charged fences is the only other recent Arkansas fence law and deals with local permit power. A fence built to annoy a neighbor is a general nuisance question in Arkansas.
Documents read before writing that:
- Ark. Code Title 2, Chapter 39, as amended by Act 594 of 2023Arkansas General Assembly
- Ark. Code § 17-40-108Arkansas General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Arkansas
Not researched yet for Arkansas. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence rules for corner lots in Arkansas
Not researched yet for Arkansas. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Retaining wall rules in Arkansas
Not researched yet for Arkansas. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence materials allowed in Arkansas
Not researched yet for Arkansas. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Livestock and boundary fence law in Arkansas
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Act 594 of 2023 rewrote the Arkansas fencing chapter. The opening section keeps the enclosure rule in one line: a field or ground kept as a livestock enclosure is enclosed with a fence. The same act repealed the old law on fencing districts.
All fields and grounds kept for livestock enclosures shall be enclosed
Ark. Code § 2-39-101, as amended by Act 594 of 2023
Also on agricultural fencing in Arkansas
- StatedThe same 2023 act replaced the old description of a fence with a plain definition. A fence is a structure acting as a boundary or barrier that limits human, livestock or vehicle movement into or out of an area. The act also defined livestock for the whole chapter as cattle, bison, horses, sheep, goats, asses, mules and swine. Ark. Code § 2-39-102, as amended by Act 594 of 2023Arkansas · Statute
- StatedArkansas puts no dimensions on a sufficient fence. Sufficiency is decided instead by people who go and look at it. On a complaint to a justice of the peace, three disinterested householders of the neighborhood who are not related to either party view the fence where the trespass happened and take a memorandum of it, and their account is evidence at trial on whether the fence was lawful. Ark. Code § 2-39-106, as amended by Act 594 of 2023Arkansas · Statute
Documents behind this page
5 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- Arkansas Department of Labor and LicensingBuilding Codes, Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board
- Arkansas Department of Public SafetyState Fire Marshal's Office
- Arkansas General AssemblyAct 267 of the Regular Session of 2023, House Bill 1406, An Act Concerning the Regulation of Certain Battery-Charged Fences by Municipalities and Counties
- Arkansas Department of HealthSwimming Pool FAQs
- Arkansas General AssemblyAct 594 of the Regular Session of 2023, House Bill 1677, An Act to Amend the Law Regarding Livestock, Livestock Running at Large and Fencing
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean