Fence laws in Ames, Iowa
What the Ames municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Ames sets no rule of its own, the Iowa rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Ames, Iowa, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Ames states no distance from a neighbor line and one from a street, and the answer turns on whether the line faces a street and what sits along the same side of it. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from an interior property line.
- How tall
- Ames applies its fence standards in every zoning district except general industrial, research and innovation, and planned industrial, and it applies them to walls, fences and screens of all types whether open, solid, wood, metal, wire, masonry or earthen, and the answer turns on the setback, whether it abuts a street, and what sits across the road. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a front setback or front yard.
- Permits
- Iowa has a state building code and it does not switch on by itself.
- Pool barriers
- Chapter 135I sets the Iowa rules for swimming pools, spas and spray pads.
- Spite fences
- Ames has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Ames does not name a grade for an ordinary fence, and instead spends its measuring rule on the case that causes the arguments. The figure is 20 feet, for depth of finished grade behind the wall needed before it stops counting as a berm.
- Corner lots
- Ames sizes its visibility triangle by posted speed and then halves it for control, which gives the largest corner area in this project and one of the most responsive, and the answer turns on the posted speed of the street and whether the corner is controlled. The figure is 100 feet, for leg of the visibility triangle on a street posted above thirty.
- Retaining walls
- Ames leaves retaining walls to the 2024 International Residential Code. It reaches houses, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories, and the structures beside them only.
- Materials
- Ames opens by refusing to let the definition of a fence do any work, and the answer turns on the district and the kind of wire.
- Livestock
- Iowa names six builds that count as a lawful fence. The figure is 10 feet, for post spacing for a three rail lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Ames?
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Ames answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the line faces a street and what sits along the same side of it.
Ames states no distance from a neighbor line and one from a street. To take a side or rear setback fence from four feet up to six where it abuts a street right-of-way, the fence has to stand at least five feet from that property line, and the five foot strip left over is not left as bare ground: it has to carry one landscape tree for every fifty lineal feet and two high or three low shrubs for every ten lineal feet. That makes the extra two feet of height cost both the land and the planting. The second condition is about the neighbors rather than the owner, because the six feet is only available where the lot does not abut the front yard of any other residential property along the same side of the street, so a fence that would face somebody front door stays at four feet however far back it sits.
The fence is at least five (5) feet from the property line abutting a street right-of- way. Within this five (5) foot area, landscaping is required consisting of one landscape tree for every 50 lineal feet and two high or three low shrubs for every ten lineal feet of area to be planted.
The answer turns on whether the line faces a street and what sits along the same side of it.
- a neighbor line
- No distance stated. 0 ft
- six feet beside a street
- Five feet back, and planted. 5 ft
- the planting inside that strip
- A tree every fifty feet. 50 ft
- facing somebody front yard
- Four feet, whatever the setback.
Also on fences on the property line in Ames
- set in state lawIowa treats a fence on a boundary as a shared job. When one owner asks in writing, the law makes each owner of the touching land build and keep up the partition fence, or pay a share toward it. The duty runs the whole year, not part of it. Iowa Code 359A.1AIowa · Statute
- set in state lawIowa hands boundary fence fights to local officials called fence viewers. The township trustees for the place where the argument starts are the fence viewers, and they can hear and settle every question in the dispute. Iowa Code 359A.2AIowa · Statute
- set in state lawThe fence viewers give everyone in the dispute five days of written notice before a hearing. The notice gives the time and place and lists what will be decided. It also names the fence viewers and says whether any of them reported a conflict of interest. Iowa Code 359A.3Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawAfter the hearing the fence viewers write an order. It gives each owner the part of the fence to build, keep up, rebuild, trim or pay for. It also sets the value of that work and the deadline to finish it or pay. Iowa Code 359A.4Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawIowa lets a fence sit right on the boundary. A person building one may lay it on the line so part of it stands on each side, and keeps the same right to take it down as if the whole fence stood on one lot. Iowa Code 359A.16Iowa · Statute
- set in state lawIowa names six kinds of fence that count as a lawful fence. One is a wire, rail or board fence with its bottom line sixteen to twenty inches off the ground and its top line between forty eight and fifty four inches high. Fence viewers may also accept any other fence they judge equal to the six. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Ames?
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Ames answers this, but the answer changes depending on the setback, whether it abuts a street, and what sits across the road.
Ames applies its fence standards in every zoning district except general industrial, research and innovation, and planned industrial, and it applies them to walls, fences and screens of all types whether open, solid, wood, metal, wire, masonry or earthen. Four feet is the figure in a front setback and a front yard. Six feet is the figure in a side or rear setback. Any setback abutting a street right-of-way drops back to four feet, and buying six there takes two conditions together: the lot must not abut the front yard of any other residential property on the same side of the street, and the fence must stand at least five feet from the property line with planting inside that strip. Outside every setback the ceiling rises to eight feet, except that no part of a front yard may carry a fence over four feet.
The maximum height of fences in any setback abutting a street right -of-way is four (4) feet, except that up to six (6) feet of fence is allowed in any side or rear setback if:
The answer turns on the setback, whether it abuts a street, and what sits across the road.
- a front setback or front yard
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a side or rear setback
- Six feet. 6 ft
- outside every setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a setback beside a street
- Four feet, or six with a planted strip.
Also on fence height in Ames
- no rule, documents checkedIowa sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence chapter gives heights only as specs for a lawful farm fence, and the state building code as adopted deletes the permit sections and never mentions fences at all. Height for a yard fence comes from city ordinance. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Ames?
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Iowa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Iowa has a state building code and it does not switch on by itself. It applies in a city or county only after the local governing body passes an ordinance accepting it and files a certified copy with the state commissioner. A place that adopted the code may later vote to withdraw from it.
This one is Iowa law, not Ames law. All Iowa findings
The state building code is applicable in each governmental subdivision of the state in which the governing body has enacted an ordinance accepting the applicability of the code and has filed a certified copy of the ordinance in the office of the commissioner.
Also on permits in Ames
- set in state lawThe Iowa state building code adopts the 2024 International Residential Code for houses, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories, plus the structures beside them. The state version of the International Building Code covers everything else. Iowa Admin. Code 481-301.8Iowa · Building code
- set in state lawIowa strips the permit chapters out of the residential code it adopts. Sections R103 through R114 are deleted, and those are the sections that create the building department, the permit itself, and the list of work that needs no permit. The state building code text carries no fence permit rule and no fence height, so the local jurisdiction settles the permit question for a fence. The state version of the International Building Code deletes its sections 103, 104 and 105 the same way. Iowa Admin. Code 481-301.8(2)Iowa · Building code
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence standards set applicability, type, location, height, retaining walls, the visibility triangle and prohibited materials, and never mention a permit, an application, a fee or an inspection. No fence permit appears in the article. Two discretionary powers sit near it and both belong to the traffic engineer rather than a building official. Where topography, street alignment or another physical condition makes a corner unusual, the city traffic engineer may require alternative dimensions to the visibility triangle as part of site development plan approval. And the traffic engineer may determine that some other permanent or temporary structure or item counts as a visual obstruction inside the triangle. The city does publish a fence standards handout for permit applicants, which reproduces this section, so a permit route exists somewhere outside the zoning article; where it sits was not read for this page. Section 29.408(2)Ames · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Ames
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Iowa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Chapter 135I sets the Iowa rules for swimming pools, spas and spray pads. It reaches pools run by state and local government, by businesses and by private groups, and it names hotels, motels, camps, apartments, condominiums and country clubs. A pool meant for one family at a home falls outside the chapter.
This one is Iowa law, not Ames law. All Iowa findings
This chapter does not apply to facilities intended for single family use
Also on pool barriers in Ames
- set in state lawA pool covered by chapter 135I has to be ringed by a fence, wall, building or a mix of those, at least four feet high and built of lasting material. The rule leaves out a wading pool that is drained when not in use, and it leaves out a spray pad. Iowa Admin. Code 481-485.4(4)Iowa · Agency guidance
- set in state lawThe same Iowa rule limits the gaps in a pool barrier. No opening may let a four inch ball pass, and the barrier cannot be easy for a toddler to climb. The lowest horizontal support that can be reached from outside sits at least forty five inches above the ground. Iowa Admin. Code 481-485.4(4)Iowa · Agency guidance
Spite fence laws in Ames
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Ames law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Iowa has no spite fence law. The fence chapter and the nuisance chapter never mention a fence built to annoy a neighbor, and neither one sets a height that turns a fence into a legal wrong. Section 657.1 gives only a general test covering anything that blocks the free use of property, and section 657.2 lists twelve named nuisances, none of them a boundary fence.
This one is Iowa law, not Ames law. All Iowa findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Iowa Code ch. 359AIowa Legislature
- Iowa Code 657.1Iowa Legislature
- Iowa Code 657.2Iowa Legislature
How fence height is measured in Ames
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Ames answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Ames does not name a grade for an ordinary fence, and instead spends its measuring rule on the case that causes the arguments. Where a fence sits on a retaining wall or a supporting embankment, the height limits apply only to the part of the wall above the finished grade of the retained embankment, so the wall itself is not counted, but only on a condition: the finished grade at the top of the wall has to extend at least twenty feet back, or where less than twenty feet is available, all the way to the principal structure. If it does not, the whole thing is treated as an earthen berm and the fence height limit applies to the lot of it. That turns the question into one about how much usable ground the wall creates, which is a better test than height alone, because a narrow ledge on top of a wall is a wall with a fence on it rather than a raised yard.
In the case of retaining walls and supporting embankments, the above requirements shall apply only to that part of the wall above finished grade of the retained embankment, provided that the finished grade at the top of the wall or embankment extends at least 20 feet
20 ftdepth of finished grade behind the wall needed before it stops counting as a berm
Also on how height is measured in Ames
- set in state lawIowa names the ground, for the one kind of fence it regulates. Section 359A.18 lists what counts as a lawful fence, and the rail, wire or board version puts the lowest piece sixteen to twenty inches from the ground and the top piece between forty eight and fifty four inches high. The ground is the starting point and the statute prints it. This is a livestock fence rule and it never reaches a yard. A city fence height comes from the city, since section 414.1 lets a city set the height of buildings and other structures without naming a surface. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Ames
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Ames answers this, but the answer changes depending on the posted speed of the street and whether the corner is controlled.
Ames sizes its visibility triangle by posted speed and then halves it for control, which gives the largest corner area in this project and one of the most responsive. A street posted above thirty miles an hour gets a hundred foot leg. A street posted at thirty or under gets fifty. Either leg is halved where the street has a stop sign, a yield sign or a traffic signal, so a controlled corner on a fast street still gets fifty feet. The legs are measured from where the back of the curb lines, or the pavement edges where there is no curb, would meet if extended. Inside it, nothing may significantly obstruct vision between three and ten feet above the curb grade, and the code lists what counts: any fence, wall, shrub, berm or sign over three feet, any evergreen tree, any deciduous tree with branches in that band, parked vehicles, and anything else the traffic engineer names. A conforming building is not an obstruction.
The legs of the triangle are based on the posted speed limit of that street. A street with a posted speed limit of greater than 30 miles per hour shall have a 100 -foot leg. A street with a posted speed limit of up to and including 30 miles per hour shall have a 50-foot leg.
The answer turns on the posted speed of the street and whether the corner is controlled.
- a street over thirty miles an hour
- A hundred foot leg. 100 ft
- a slower street
- Fifty feet. 50 ft
- a stop sign or a signal
- The leg is halved.
- what may stand inside
- Nothing over three feet, up to ten. 3 ft
Also on corner visibility in Ames
- set in state lawIowa gives obstructions in a road their own chapter, and it names fences. Chapter 318 bars putting an obstruction inside a highway right of way and lists the placing of fences as one of the examples, alongside crops, ditches, billboards and debris. Section 318.6 then calls anything placed there a public nuisance. The chapter is about the public strip and carries no triangle, no angle and no height. City zoning power comes from chapter 414 and county zoning from chapter 335, and that is where a corner clearance rule on a private lot is written in Iowa. Iowa Code 318.3Iowa · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Ames
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Ames does not set this. It leaves it to the 2024 International Residential Code.
Iowa adopts the 2024 International Residential Code for houses, duplexes and townhouses up to three stories and the structures beside them, then lists the changes it makes. None of those changes touch a wall that holds back earth, so the model code carries that rule unchanged. Iowa does delete sections R103 through R114, which is where the model code keeps the permit chapter and the list of work that needs no permit. So the foundation and retaining wall chapter stays in force while the permit call belongs to the city or county.
This one is Iowa law, not Ames law. All Iowa findings
The provisions of the International Residential Code, 2024 edition, published by the International Code Council, located at www.iccsafe.org, are hereby adopted by reference as the requirements for construction
The code hands this to the 2024 International Residential Code, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Ames
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Ames answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the kind of wire.
Ames opens by refusing to let the definition of a fence do any work. The standards apply to walls, fences and screens of all types whether open, solid, wood, metal, wire, masonry, earthen or other material, so an earthen berm and a screen of panels are both caught by the same height limits and nothing escapes by being called something else. Against that broad reach, the prohibited list is one line: barbed wire, razor wire, electric and similar types of fences are prohibited. There is no exception for an industrial district, no exception for livestock, and no security plan to apply for, which makes it one of the flattest wire bans in this project. The whole fence section is switched off in the general industrial, research and innovation, and planned industrial districts, so the wire ban does not reach those three either, and what governs there is not stated in this section.
Barbed wire, razor wire, electric, and similar types of fences are prohibited.
The answer turns on the district and the kind of wire.
- barbed, razor or electric wire
- Prohibited, with no exception.
- any other material
- None named, and all are covered.
- an earthen berm
- Treated as a fence.
- the three industrial districts
- The whole section does not apply.
Also on materials in Ames
- set in state lawIowa writes the barbs themselves into the law. One kind of lawful fence is three barbed wires carrying at least thirty six iron barbs of two points each, or twenty six barbs of four points each, on every rod of wire. Another is four wires, two barbed that way and two smooth. A rod is sixteen and a half feet. Iowa Code 359A.18Iowa · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Ames
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Iowa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Iowa names six builds that count as a lawful fence. Three rails on posts no more than ten feet apart. Three boards at least six inches wide and three quarters of an inch thick on posts no more than eight feet apart. Three barbed wires, or four wires with two of them barbed, with the top wire forty eight to fifty four inches up. A wire fence with the bottom line sixteen to twenty inches off the ground and the top line forty eight to fifty four inches up. Four coated high tensile smooth wires on posts no more than two rods apart with the top wire at least forty inches up, a rod being sixteen and a half feet. Or anything the fence viewers judge equal to those.
This one is Iowa law, not Ames law. All Iowa findings
A lawful fence shall consist of: 1. Three rails of good substantial material fastened in or to good substantial posts not more than ten feet apart. 2. Three boards not less than six inches wide and three-quarters of an inch thick, fastened in or to good substantial posts not more than eight feet apart.
10 ftpost spacing for a three rail lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Ames
- set in state lawIowa makes the livestock owner pay for damage from trespassing animals, including the cost of feeding and holding them, and that stays true whether or not the landowner takes the animals in. One thing cancels it. If the animals came through a fence the landowner was supposed to keep up under the fence chapter and did not, the livestock owner owes nothing. The fence chapter hands out those duties, so fence viewers settle the fence half of the question rather than which side owns animals. Iowa Code 169C.4(1)(a)Iowa · Statute
Documents behind this page
16 documents, of which 1 was published by Ames itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.1A
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.2A
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.3
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.4
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.16
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 359A.18
- City of AmesAmes Municipal Code, Chapter 29, Zoning, Article 4, Development Standards, supplement 2026-2
- Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and LicensingIowa Administrative Code, Chapter 481-301 (State Building Code)
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 103A.12
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 135I.2
- Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and LicensingIowa Administrative Code, Chapter 481-485 (Swimming Pools, Spas, and Spray Pads)
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Chapter 359A (Fences)
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 657.1
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Section 657.2
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code 2026, Section 318.3, Obstructions in highway right-of-way
- Iowa LegislatureIowa Code, Chapter 169C, Trespassing or Stray Livestock
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 Ames publishes, plus the Iowa rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Iowa 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