Fence laws in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
What the Winston-Salem municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Winston-Salem sets no rule of its own, the North Carolina rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- The UDO settles where a fence may stand by classifying it rather than by regulating it.
- How tall
- Winston-Salem sets no maximum fence height. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Permits
- North Carolina decides its home permit rule by price, not by height.
- 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
- Winston-Salem has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Winston-Salem leaves the measuring rule to a zoning regulation adopted by a local government.
- Corner lots
- Winston-Salem handles visibility with recorded easements rather than with a triangle stated in the text, and the answer turns on what the recorded plat shows for the lot. The figure is 30 inches, for vegetation height in a line-of-sight easement.
- Retaining walls
- Winston-Salem leaves retaining walls to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council.
- Materials
- North Carolina sets one standard for a battery charged security fence and takes the question away from cities. The figure is 5 feet, for minimum height of the non-electric fence or wall that has to surround a battery-charged security fence. It reaches battery charged security fences on land that is not zoned for homes only only.
- Livestock
- North Carolina puts the duty on the livestock owner everywhere in the state.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Winston-Salem?
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Winston-Salem answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
The UDO settles where a fence may stand by classifying it rather than by regulating it. Improvements permitted in required yards include landscape features, and that list names walls and fences alongside ornamental pools, planting boxes, sculpture, birdbaths, open terraces, at-grade slab patios, driveways, walkways and handicapped ramps. The single condition attached to all of them is that there is no interference with any recorded sight easement. So a fence may occupy the required front, side or rear yard of a Winston-Salem lot, right up to the boundary, with no consent from the neighbor, no setback, no rule about which way the good side faces and no allocation of cost. The sight easement is the only thing that can stop it, and that easement is a line drawn on the recorded plat rather than a rule in the ordinance.
The following improvements are permitted in required yards provided there is no interference with any recorded sight easement:
4.1.4, Improvements Permitted in Required Yards
Also on fences on the property line in Winston-Salem
- no rule, documents checkedNorth 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. N.C.G.S. ch. 68North Carolina · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Winston-Salem?
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Winston-Salem law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
North 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.
This one is North Carolina law, not Winston-Salem 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 fence height in Winston-Salem
- no rule, documents checkedThe Winston-Salem UDO never puts a height on a residential fence. The supplementary dimensional requirements list a fence among the improvements permitted in a required yard and stop there, the structures permitted above the height limits are chimneys, towers, silos and the like rather than fences, and the encroachment list that follows covers porches, decks, bay windows, eaves and stairs without reaching a fence. Every fence height the ordinance does state is tied to a particular use: a six foot security fence inside a required buffer for one use, a four foot enclosure round an outdoor play area for a child care use, a five foot security fence for another. A thirty-six inch minimum applies to a streetyard fence in nonresidential development, and that is a floor for a required screen rather than a ceiling for a private fence. What is missing is the number a homeowner wants, and it is missing throughout. 4.1.4, Supplementary Dimensional RequirementsWinston-Salem · Zoning code
Do I need a permit for a fence in Winston-Salem?
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North 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.
This one is North Carolina law, not Winston-Salem law. All North Carolina findings
No permit issued under Article 9 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes is required for any construction, installation, repair, replacement, or alteration costing forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less and performed in accordance with the current edition of the North Carolina State Building Code in any single-family residence, farm building, or commercial building
Pool fence requirements in Winston-Salem
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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 Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem
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Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem
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Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem
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Winston-Salem answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the recorded plat shows for the lot.
Winston-Salem handles visibility with recorded easements rather than with a triangle stated in the text. Sight triangles for corner lots and driveways are shown on recorded plats in accordance with city infrastructure development standards or North Carolina Department of Transportation standards, so the dimensions for a given lot live on that lot plat and in the engineering standards, not in the zoning ordinance. The fence rule then hooks into that by permitting a fence in a required yard only where it does not interfere with a recorded sight easement. The one line-of-sight dimension the ordinance itself states covers a different situation, a private access easement shared by more than one property: it has to provide a ten foot by seventy foot line-of-sight triangle where it meets the public road, and vegetation inside that easement may not exceed thirty inches.
provide a ten-foot by seventy-foot line-of-sight triangle at its intersection with the public road. Vegetation within the line-of-sight easement shall not exceed 30 inches in height.
3.2.9, Minor Subdivisions, with 7.4, Street Standards
The answer turns on what the recorded plat shows for the lot.
- a corner lot or driveway
- The sight triangle is the one recorded on the plat.
- a shared private access easement
- Ten feet by seventy, with planting under thirty inches. 30 in
- a fence in a required yard
- It may not interfere with a recorded sight easement.
Also on corner visibility in Winston-Salem
- 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 Winston-Salem
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Winston-Salem does not set this. It leaves it to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council.
North 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.
This one is North Carolina law, not Winston-Salem law. All North Carolina findings
The Building Code Council and Residential Code Council may prepare and adopt, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, a North Carolina State Building Code.
The code hands this to the North Carolina Residential Code, a volume of the North Carolina State Building Code adopted by the Residential Code Council, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Winston-Salem
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North Carolina answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
North 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.
This one is North Carolina law, not Winston-Salem law. All North Carolina findings
(5) Is surrounded by a non-electric perimeter fence or wall that is not less than 5 feet in height. (6) Is 10 feet in height or 2 feet higher than the non-electric perimeter fence or wall, whichever is higher. (7) Is marked with conspicuous warning signs that are located on the battery-charged security fence at not more than 30-foot intervals and read: "WARNING-ELECTRIC FENCE".
5 ftminimum height of the non-electric fence or wall that has to surround a battery-charged security fence
Also on materials in Winston-Salem
- no rule, documents checkedThe UDO names no permitted or prohibited material for an ordinary residential fence. Barbed wire, razor wire and electrification are prohibited only where the ordinance is writing about a specific use, in the sentence requiring a six foot security fence inside a required buffer for that use, and the prohibition is attached to that fence rather than stated generally. The materials that are specified belong to required screens rather than to private fences: a streetyard fence or wall has to be opaque and built of masonry, stone, wooden material, or the same material as the principal building. Nothing in the ordinance tells a homeowner what a back yard fence may be made of, which side of it has to be finished, or whether chain link is acceptable. 4.1.4, Improvements Permitted in Required YardsWinston-Salem · Zoning code
Livestock and boundary fence law in Winston-Salem
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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 Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem
- 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 Winston-Salem 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 Winston-SalemWinston-Salem/Forsyth County Unified Development Ordinances (UDO ClearCode), last updated 17 August 2026
- 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 Winston-Salem 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