Fence laws in Raleigh, North Carolina
What the Raleigh municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Raleigh sets no rule of its own, the North Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Raleigh, North Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Raleigh has no statute splitting the cost of a fence on the boundary. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- How tall
- Raleigh allows a wall or fence of up to six and a half feet in a front or side street setback, which is taller than most cities permit at the street, and pays for it with transparency: the opacity of anything above four feet may not exceed fifty percent, and the answer turns on which setback the fence stands in and whether it faces a street. The figure is 78 inches, for fence in a front or side street setback.
- Permits
- The approvals the fence section names are all about land the fence would sit on rather than about the fence itself, and the answer turns on which easement or protected area the fence would occupy.
- Pool barriers
- The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests.
- Spite fences
- Raleigh has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Raleigh leaves the measuring rule to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government.
- Corner lots
- Along a thoroughfare Raleigh writes the rule about the view from the road rather than about a sight triangle, and it measures success three years out, and the answer turns on how far the fence is from the thoroughfare and how open it is. The figure is 42 inches, for height allowed near a thoroughfare without screening.
- Retaining walls
- Raleigh regulates the retaining wall a driver actually sees, and the answer turns on how tall the wall is and whether it faces a public right of way. The figure is 10 feet, for uninterrupted retaining wall height.
- Materials
- Raleigh frames its materials rule as a quality standard and then lists what satisfies it: decorative blocks, brick, stone, cast-stone, architectural block, split-faced block, stucco over standard concrete masonry blocks, glass block, wood, wrought iron, composite fencing, wire, PVC vinyl, aluminum, or metal, singly or in combination, and the answer turns on the material and which setback it stands in.
- Livestock
- North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Raleigh?
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Raleigh law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North Carolina had a boundary fence law and threw it out. Chapter 68 still prints the heading Article 2, Division Fences, and the only thing under it says sections 68-6 through 68-14 were repealed by Session Laws 1971, chapter 741. Article 1, Lawful Fences, went at the same time. Nothing took their place, so the state has no rule at all on splitting the cost of a fence on the line.
This one is North Carolina law, not Raleigh law. All North Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina General Assembly
- N.C.G.S. 160D-1110North Carolina General Assembly
Also on fences on the property line in Raleigh
- no rule, documents checkedSection 7.2.8 never addresses the boundary between two lots. It does not say a fence may sit on the property line, does not require the adjoining owner to consent, sets no setback from the line, gives no rule about which side the posts or the finished face go, and says nothing about who pays for a fence between two properties or who keeps it up. Its applicability clause points the other way, covering walls and fences located outside a protective yard or required screening area, so the section is written about what a fence looks like from the street and from a thoroughfare rather than about what it does between neighbors. Where a fence is used to separate two different uses, the protective yard provisions elsewhere in Chapter 7 govern instead of this section. 7.2.8, ApplicabilityRaleigh · Zoning code
How tall can a fence be in Raleigh?
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Raleigh answers this, but the answer changes depending on which setback the fence stands in and whether it faces a street.
Raleigh allows a wall or fence of up to six and a half feet in a front or side street setback, which is taller than most cities permit at the street, and pays for it with transparency: the opacity of anything above four feet may not exceed fifty percent. So the bottom four feet may be solid and the rest has to be half open. In a side or rear setback the limit is eight feet, unless that setback runs along a street, in which case it drops back to six and a half on the same opacity condition. The IH district is carved out of both rules. Alongside the heights sits a length limit that shapes how a long run looks: the maximum length of a continuous, unbroken and uninterrupted fence or wall plane is a hundred feet, and the break has to be made with columns, landscaped areas, transparent sections or a change in material.
Except in an IH district, a wall or fence not more than 6 and one half feet in height may be located in a front or side street setback, provided the opacity of the wall or fence above 4 feet in height does not exceed 50%.
The answer turns on which setback the fence stands in and whether it faces a street.
- a front or side street setback
- Six and a half feet, half open above four. 78 in
- a side or rear setback away from a street
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a continuous fence plane
- A hundred feet before it has to break. 100 ft
Also on fence height in Raleigh
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The fence chapter that once held fence standards was repealed, and what is left is about livestock. The building permit statute draws its line at a dollar amount and names no height at all. The city or county development rules set the limit. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Raleigh?
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Raleigh answers this, but the answer changes depending on which easement or protected area the fence would occupy.
The approvals the fence section names are all about land the fence would sit on rather than about the fence itself. No wall or fence may stand in a City of Raleigh utility easement without the prior written approval of the Public Utilities Director, and the section carries a cross reference confirming that the Director may approve structures inside those easements. No wall or fence may stand in a required drainage easement without the prior written approval of the Engineering Services Director. And no wall or fence may be located within any tree conservation area at all, with no official able to permit it. So two of the three constraints have a route through an office and the third does not.
No wall or fence can be located within any City of Raleigh utility easement without prior written approval of the Public Utilities Director.
The answer turns on which easement or protected area the fence would occupy.
- a city utility easement
- Written approval from the Public Utilities Director.
- a required drainage easement
- Written approval from the Engineering Services Director.
- a tree conservation area
- No fence at all.
Also on permits in Raleigh
- set in state lawNorth Carolina decides its home permit rule by price, not by height. Work on a single family home that costs forty thousand dollars or less and is done to the current State Building Code needs no permit. A short list of exceptions is left out of that, such as work on load bearing structures or changes to plumbing, heating or electrical systems. An ordinary yard fence costs far less than forty thousand dollars and hits none of those exceptions. N.C.G.S. 160D-1110(c)North Carolina · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Raleigh
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The North Carolina pool safety statute is for public pools, and its scope section leaves out a private pool at a single family home used only by the people living there and their guests. It goes further than most states. The pool stays outside the statute even when guests book it through a rental app or pay a fee. One condition comes with that. Where money changes hands for access, the pool has to be kept in good and safe working order. The fence rule for a pool at a house comes from the North Carolina State Building Code instead.
This one is North Carolina law, not Raleigh law. All North Carolina findings
A private pool serving a single family dwelling and used only by the residents of the dwelling and their guests, regardless of whether their guests gain use of the private pool through a sharing economy platform or pay a fee for its use.
Spite fence laws in Raleigh
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Raleigh law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North Carolina has no spite fence law. What is left of the fence chapter covers livestock running loose, penning up stray animals, and the ponies on the Outer Banks. It names no height and says nothing about why a fence went up. The building permit statute does not cover it either. A claim about a fence built to annoy a neighbor rests on nuisance law made by judges, and on city and county zoning.
This one is North Carolina law, not Raleigh law. All North Carolina findings
Documents read before writing that:
- N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina General Assembly
- N.C.G.S. 160D-1110North Carolina General Assembly
How fence height is measured in Raleigh
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Raleigh does not set this. It leaves it to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government.
North Carolina never says where a fence height is measured from. What is left of Chapter 68 is about stock law fences and penned animals, and it carries no measuring rule. G.S. 160D-702 lets a local government set the height of buildings and other structures. The same section blocks a local government from controlling some design details of a house, and then puts height back outside that block, so height stays a local power. The point the measuring starts from goes with it.
This one is North Carolina law, not Raleigh law. All North Carolina findings
a zoning regulation may regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures; the percentage of lots that may be occupied; the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces; the density of population; the location and use of buildings, structures, and land
The code hands this to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence rules for corner lots in Raleigh
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Raleigh answers this, but the answer changes depending on how far the fence is from the thoroughfare and how open it is.
Along a thoroughfare Raleigh writes the rule about the view from the road rather than about a sight triangle, and it measures success three years out. A fence or wall within twenty feet of a thoroughfare right-of-way has to be either under forty-two inches tall, or set at least fifteen feet back from the edge of the right-of-way and screened with evergreen planting dense enough that no more than a quarter of its surface area will still be visible from the thoroughfare within three years. Between twenty and forty feet out, anything over forty-two inches has to be planted so that no more than a third of its surface is visible on the same timescale, with up to forty percent of that planting deciduous. A decorative fence more than half open is exempt from all of it. The section itself states no intersection triangle.
A fence or wall located within 20 feet of a Thoroughfare right-of-way shall either be less than 42 inches in height; or situated at least 15 feet from the edge of the right-of-way and be screened with evergreen planting materials, so that no more than one-fourth of the fence or wall surface area will be visible from the Thoroughfare within 3 years of erection of the fence or wall.
7.2.8, Fences and Walls Adjacent to Thoroughfares
The answer turns on how far the fence is from the thoroughfare and how open it is.
- within twenty feet of a thoroughfare
- Under forty-two inches, or set back and planted out. 42 in
- between twenty and forty feet out
- Planted so a third is visible at most in three years.
- a decorative fence over half open
- Exempt from the thoroughfare provisions.
Also on corner visibility in Raleigh
- left to the townNorth Carolina has no clear view triangle in state law. Chapter 160D gathers local development power in one place and lets a local government set the height of structures and the size of yards and open spaces, so a corner rule comes from there. Chapter 136, the highways chapter, covers something else. It talks about seeing past a sign only for political signs put in the right of way, and it sets sight distance standards for driveway permits. Neither one is a rule about a fence on private land. G.S. 160D-702North Carolina · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Raleigh
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Raleigh answers this, but the answer changes depending on how tall the wall is and whether it faces a public right of way.
Raleigh regulates the retaining wall a driver actually sees. Where a freestanding retaining wall runs generally parallel to, faces towards and stands within thirty feet of a public right of way, it may not exceed a continuous uninterrupted height of ten feet above grade or the adjacent curb level, or the center crown of the street where there is no curb, whichever is higher. The ordinance then rules out the usual softener by name, saying average grade is not applied in determining that height. More height is available only with terracing, at a minimum two foot step back for each additional ten feet of wall. A wall of at least ten feet also triggers a type C2 Street Protective Yard, and the step back area has to carry shrubs to the quantity of a type C3 Street Protective Yard. Walls associated with culverts, stream crossings or transportation improvements such as bridge overpasses are outside the rule.
A freestanding retaining wall may not exceed a continuous, uninterrupted height of 10 feet above grade or adjacent curb level (or if no curb exists, from the center crown of the street), whichever is higher.
The answer turns on how tall the wall is and whether it faces a public right of way.
- a wall facing a right of way within thirty feet
- Ten feet of continuous height. 10 ft
- more height than that
- A two foot step back for each additional ten feet. 2 ft
- a culvert, stream crossing or bridge structure
- Outside the rule.
Also on retaining walls in Raleigh
- left to the townNorth Carolina prints no retaining wall rule in its General Statutes. The Building Code Council and the Residential Code Council write and adopt the North Carolina State Building Code, and one of its volumes is the North Carolina Residential Code. Whether a wall that holds back earth needs a permit, and how it has to be built, both sit in that volume and not in the statute. N.C.G.S. 143-138(a)North Carolina · Statute
Fence materials allowed in Raleigh
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Raleigh answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and which setback it stands in.
Raleigh frames its materials rule as a quality standard and then lists what satisfies it: decorative blocks, brick, stone, cast-stone, architectural block, split-faced block, stucco over standard concrete masonry blocks, glass block, wood, wrought iron, composite fencing, wire, PVC vinyl, aluminum, or metal, singly or in combination. Chain link is not on that list and is separately prohibited in any front or side street setback except in the IH district, so it survives behind the house but not at the street. Barbed wire and concertina wire are pushed out to Section 13-3011 of the city code rather than settled here. A decorative fence more than half open is exempt from the thoroughfare screening provisions, which is the one place the code trades openness for relief.
Fences and walls must be constructed of high quality materials including 1 or a combination of the following: decorative blocks; brick; stone; cast-stone; architectural block; split-faced block; stucco over standard concrete masonry blocks; glass block; wood; wrought iron; composite fencing; wire; PVC vinyl; aluminum; or metal.
The answer turns on the material and which setback it stands in.
- any fence or wall
- One or a combination of the listed materials.
- chain link at the street
- Not allowed in a front or side street setback.
- barbed or concertina wire
- Governed by Section 13-3011 instead.
Also on materials in Raleigh
- set in state lawNorth Carolina sets one standard for a battery charged security fence and takes the question away from cities. The fence ties into a monitored alarm, sits on land not set aside for homes, and runs off a battery of no more than 12 volts. Its charger has to meet the International Electrotechnical Commission standard. It stands inside a fence or wall that carries no current and is at least 5 feet tall, reaches 10 feet, and carries WARNING-ELECTRIC FENCE signs no more than 30 feet apart. A city may not ban one on land that is not zoned for homes only. N.C.G.S. 160A-194.1North Carolina · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Raleigh
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state. Letting livestock run loose is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Livestock here means horses and other animals like them, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas and swine. Anyone may catch and pen an animal found running loose and get back the cost of keeping it plus any damage, and none of that depends on whether the land was fenced.
This one is North Carolina law, not Raleigh law. All North Carolina findings
If any person shall allow his livestock to run at large, he shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
Also on agricultural fencing in Raleigh
- no rule, documents checkedNorth Carolina no longer says what a lawful fence is anywhere in state law. Chapter 68 is called Fences and Stock Law, and sections 68-1 through 68-14, where the old fence specification sat, were repealed in 1969 and 1971. What is left is the livestock law, the process for penning and selling a stray animal, and the Outer Banks sections. None of them set a height, a wire count, a board count or a post spacing. Money owed under the chapter does not depend on the land being fenced, so there is nothing left for a fence standard to hang on. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Raleigh itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Article 11, Building Permits
- City of RaleighRaleigh Unified Development Ordinance, Section 7.2.8, Walls and Fences
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 130A, Article 8, Part 10, Public Swimming Pools
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160D, Local Planning and Development Regulation
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 143, Article 9, Section 143-138, North Carolina State Building Code
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160A, Section 160A-194.1, Regulation of battery-charged security fences
- North Carolina General AssemblyNorth Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 68, Fences and Stock Law, Article 3, Livestock Law
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 Raleigh publishes, plus the North Carolina rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in North Carolina 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