Fence laws in Fayetteville, Arkansas
What the Fayetteville municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Fayetteville sets no rule of its own, the Arkansas rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Fayetteville, Arkansas, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The section opens by placing fences where a setback would otherwise keep them out. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line for a fence.
- How tall
- Fayetteville sets no maximum fence height anywhere in Section 164.09, and the only figure it gives is thirty inches, and the answer turns on whether the fence stands in front of the house and how solid it is. The figure is 30 inches, for height to which a fence in front of the principal facade may be solid.
- Permits
- A fence seven feet tall or less needs no building permit in Fayetteville, and the answer turns on the height of the fence and whether the lot is in an overlay district.
- Pool barriers
- A fence around a public or commercial pool in Arkansas stands at least four feet high, with limits on the gaps at its sides and under it. The figure is 4 feet, for minimum height of the barrier around a public or commercial pool.
- Spite fences
- Fayetteville has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Arkansas measures one kind of fence from the ground and says so. The figure is 20 inches, for bottom wire of a lawful fence in a small stock fencing district, measured above the ground. It reaches a lawful fence inside a small stock fencing district only.
- Corner lots
- Fayetteville writes no triangle and no distance. The figure is 30 inches, for height above which something permanent may not impede vision in a required setback.
- Retaining walls
- Fayetteville leaves retaining walls to the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Volume III, which is the International Residential Code with Arkansas changes.
- Materials
- Fayetteville states its two material rules by visibility rather than by district, and the answer turns on what the fence is made of and whether it can be seen from the street.
- Livestock
- A field kept for livestock in Arkansas has to be fenced.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Fayetteville?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Fayetteville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The section opens by placing fences where a setback would otherwise keep them out. Subject to Section 166.12, fences, walls and vegetation may be permitted in any required building setback, in any required setback area, or along the edge of any setback, provided they do not materially impede vision between vehicular or pedestrian traffic. So no distance from a property line applies to a fence in Fayetteville and the only condition on where it stands is what a driver or a person on foot can see past it. Vegetation is treated identically to a fence throughout, which means a hedge planted on a boundary is governed by the same sentence. Elsewhere in the chapter, in a zero lot line development, walls, fences and customary yard accessories are expressly permitted inside the five foot maintenance area that has to be kept along a structure built close to a line.
fences, walls, and vegetation may be permitted in any required building setback or any required setback area, or along the edge of any setback, provided the fence, wall, or vegetation does not materially impede vision, as determined by the Zoning and Development Administrator, between vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
0 ftsetback stated from a property line for a fence
How tall can a fence be in Fayetteville?
Compare fence height across all 50 states
Fayetteville answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence stands in front of the house and how solid it is.
Fayetteville sets no maximum fence height anywhere in Section 164.09, and the only figure it gives is thirty inches. That thirty inches is a limit on solidity rather than on height: a fence in front of the principal facade of a building may be solid up to thirty inches, and any part of it above thirty inches may not obstruct the view of that facade from the right-of-way. So a five foot wrought iron fence across a front yard is fine and a five foot board fence is not, and the test is whether the house can still be seen rather than how tall the fence is. Behind the facade nothing in the section states a height at all. The practical ceiling comes from the permit counter instead, where a fence of seven feet or less needs no building permit and anything taller does.
Fences located in front of the principal façade of a building may be solid up to 30 inches in height. Any part of a fence which exceeds 30 inches in height shall not obstruct the view of the principal façade from the right-of-way.
The answer turns on whether the fence stands in front of the house and how solid it is.
- a solid fence in front of the house
- Thirty inches. 30 in
- an open fence in front
- Taller, if the house is still visible.
- behind the facade
- No height stated.
- the permit threshold
- Seven feet. 7 ft
Also on fence height in Fayetteville
- no rule, documents checkedArkansas sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The city sets it. The one code the state does adopt is the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, run by the State Fire Marshal, and it gives no fence height. Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building CodesArkansas · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Fayetteville?
Compare permits across all 50 states
Fayetteville answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence and whether the lot is in an overlay district.
A fence seven feet tall or less needs no building permit in Fayetteville. Anything taller takes an application to the Building Safety Division. Because the zoning code sets no height limit of its own, seven feet works as the practical line for an ordinary back yard fence even though it is a permit threshold rather than a maximum. Two other things travel with the answer. The Planning Division decides whether a fence impedes vision between vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which is the judgment the zoning section leaves to the Zoning and Development Administrator. And additional restrictions may apply where the property sits in the Downtown Design Overlay District or the I-540 Overlay District, which are the two places where the chain link and razor wire rules bite hardest.
A fence that is 7 feet tall or less does not require a building permit. Fences cannot impede vision between vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which is determined by the Planning Division.
Do I need a building permit for a fence?
The answer turns on the height of the fence and whether the lot is in an overlay district.
- seven feet or less
- No building permit.
- taller than seven feet
- An application to Building Safety.
- a vision question
- The Planning Division decides.
- the downtown or I-540 overlays
- More restrictions apply.
Also on permits in Fayetteville
- set in state lawArkansas has no separate statewide building code. The building rules are one part of the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, which the State Fire Marshal adopts. That code comes in three volumes, and Volume III is the one for houses. Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building CodesArkansas · Building code
- set in state lawA city or county in Arkansas cannot require its own permit for a battery charged fence. Act 267 of 2023 says so: no permit beyond the alarm system permit or license the city already issues, no rules of its own on how the fence is put in or run, and no outright ban. The law covers only fences on land the city or county has not set aside for homes, and it leaves out a fence used for farming or fish farming. Ark. Code § 17-40-108(b)Arkansas · Statute
- set in state lawA battery charged fence in Arkansas tops out at ten feet, or two feet above the plain fence or wall around it, whichever of those two is taller. The same 2023 law requires that plain fence or wall to ring it completely and stand at least five feet high. Warning signs reading WARNING ELECTRIC FENCE go up no more than thirty feet apart. Ark. Code § 17-40-108(a)(2)(F)Arkansas · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Fayetteville
Compare pool barriers across all 50 states
Arkansas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A fence around a public or commercial pool in Arkansas stands at least four feet high, with limits on the gaps at its sides and under it. The Department of Health reviews the plans and sets that rule. The same page says the department does not cover a pool at a single family home, which is left to local rules.
This one is Arkansas law, not Fayetteville law. All Arkansas findings
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 Fayetteville
Compare spite fences across all 50 states
Fayetteville law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Arkansas has no spite fence law. The 2023 act that rewrote the state fencing chapter covers what a fence is, what a livestock pen needs, and who judges whether a fence is good enough. It sets no height and says nothing about a fence put up out of spite. The only other recent Arkansas fence law is the 2023 act on battery charged fences, which is about local permit power. So a fence built to annoy a neighbor is a plain nuisance question here.
This one is Arkansas law, not Fayetteville law. All Arkansas findings
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 Fayetteville
Compare how height is measured across all 50 states
Arkansas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Arkansas measures one kind of fence from the ground and says so. Section 14-386-203 describes a lawful fence inside a small stock fencing district. The bottom barbed wire sits twenty inches above the ground, the next wires are spaced up from there, and a rail version puts the top rail four and one half feet above the ground. Nothing applies that starting point to a fence at a house. The Arkansas Fire Prevention Code is sold rather than posted, and the state does not put the Arkansas Code itself online for free, so another measuring rule somewhere in state law has not been ruled out.
This one is Arkansas law, not Fayetteville law. All Arkansas findings
wire twenty inches (20″ ) above the ground, the second wire ten inches (10 ″ )
Ark. Code 14-386-203, as set out in Act 594 of 2023
20 inbottom wire of a lawful fence in a small stock fencing district, measured above the ground
Also on how height is measured in Fayetteville
- no rule, documents checkedSection 164.09 uses two figures, both thirty inches, and neither carries a datum. Nothing says whether the thirty inches is read from the ground the fence stands on, from the level of the street, or from an average across the lot. A berm is not addressed, although vegetation is governed by the same sentence as a fence. A fence standing on a retaining wall is not addressed. A fence stepping down a slope is not addressed, and nothing says whose side of a boundary the height is read from. The gap matters less here than in most cities because the section sets no maximum fence height at all, so there is only the thirty inch line to anchor. The seven foot permit threshold sits in the city’s planning FAQ rather than in the code and carries no datum either. Section 164.09Fayetteville · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Fayetteville
Compare corner visibility across all 50 states
Fayetteville answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Fayetteville writes no triangle and no distance. In any required setback or required setback area, nothing permanent over two and a half feet high may be installed which materially impedes vision between vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and whether it does is determined by the Zoning and Development Administrator. Two things make this different from the usual corner rule. It covers pedestrians as well as vehicles, so a fence that hides somebody stepping onto a sidewalk is caught the same way one that hides a car is. And it applies across every required setback rather than only at an intersection, so the whole front and street side of a lot is subject to it rather than a triangle at the corner. The word materially leaves room for a fence that blocks some view without being a problem, and the section as a whole is subject to the provisions of Section 166.12.
In any required setback or any required setback area, nothing permanent over 2½ feet (30 inches) high may be installed which materially impedes vision between vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
30 inheight above which something permanent may not impede vision in a required setback
Retaining wall rules in Fayetteville
Compare retaining walls across all 50 states
Fayetteville does not set this. It leaves it to the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Volume III, which is the International Residential Code with Arkansas changes.
Arkansas writes no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. One code runs statewide, the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, adopted by the State Fire Marshal and applied even in the country and outside any city. It comes in three volumes and Volume III is the one for houses. Volume III is the International Residential Code with Arkansas changes, so the height at which a wall of that kind needs a permit comes from that outside code text, which Arkansas does not post.
This one is Arkansas law, not Fayetteville law. All Arkansas findings
The Code is based on the International Fire, Building, and Residential Codes, with some Arkansas changes.
Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, Building Codes
The code hands this to the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Volume III, which is the International Residential Code with Arkansas changes, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Fayetteville
Compare materials across all 50 states
Fayetteville answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence is made of and whether it can be seen from the street.
Fayetteville states its two material rules by visibility rather than by district. Razor wire and barbed wire fences are prohibited if visible from a street right-of-way or from a residence, with an exception for barbed wire used for agricultural purposes, so the same fence can be lawful behind a building and unlawful across the front of it. Chain link is prohibited where it stands closer to the street than the front of the building, and then single-family residential uses outside the Downtown Design Overlay District are exempted from that, which leaves the chain link ban aimed at businesses and at downtown houses. The section opens by saying fences may be permitted for screening, security or aesthetic purposes, which is a statement of what a fence is for rather than a list of what it may be built from, and no other material is named.
Razor and/or barbed wire fences are prohibited if visible from the street right-of-way or a residence, unless and except barbed wire fences that are used for agricultural purposes.
The answer turns on what the fence is made of and whether it can be seen from the street.
- razor or barbed wire in view
- Prohibited.
- barbed wire on a farm
- Allowed.
- chain link in front of a building
- Prohibited.
- a house outside the downtown overlay
- Exempt from the chain link rule.
Also on materials in Fayetteville
- set in state lawArkansas puts the battery charged fence in the law about alarm systems, and the definition there is what sets the standard. It covers where the fence may sit, the battery behind it, the plain fence around it and the warning signs on it. Ark. Code Ann. 17-40-108Arkansas · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Fayetteville
Compare agricultural fencing across all 50 states
Arkansas answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A field kept for livestock in Arkansas has to be fenced. That one line opens the state fencing chapter, which Act 594 of 2023 rewrote. The same act repealed the old law on fencing districts.
This one is Arkansas law, not Fayetteville law. All Arkansas findings
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 Fayetteville
- set in state lawArkansas law defines a fence as a structure acting as a boundary or barrier that limits people, livestock or vehicles moving into or out of an area. The 2023 act put that definition in place of the old description. The same act defined livestock for the whole chapter as cattle, bison, horses, sheep, goats, donkeys, mules and hogs. Ark. Code § 2-39-102, as amended by Act 594 of 2023Arkansas · Statute
- set in state lawArkansas puts no sizes on a fence that counts as good enough. People decide that by going out and looking at it. On a complaint to a justice of the peace, three neighbors who have no stake in the case and are not related to either side go look at the fence where the animals got through. They write down what they saw, and that 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
7 documents, of which 2 were published by Fayetteville itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- City of FayettevilleFayetteville Code of Ordinances, Title XV, Unified Development Code, Chapter 164, Supplemental Zoning Regulations, Section 164.09
- 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
- City of Fayetteville Planning DivisionCity of Fayetteville, Frequently Asked Questions, Planning
- 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
A city ordinance is not the only rule that reaches a fence. The zoning district a parcel sits in can change the height allowed on it, and so can an overlay district, a recorded easement, a fire hazard severity zone or a coastal zone. A homeowner association can be stricter than the city and nothing in the municipal code will say so. None of those appear here.
The rules above are the ones Fayetteville publishes, plus the Arkansas rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Arkansas has the state layer in full.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, ordinances are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean