Fence laws in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
What the Broken Arrow municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Broken Arrow sets no rule of its own, the Oklahoma rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Broken Arrow does not set a setback so much as create a strip for the fence to live in, and the answer turns on whether the fence is required, and whether it sits in a floodplain or a drainage easement. The figure is 3 feet, for least width of the fence easement along the property boundary.
- How tall
- Broken Arrow is one of the few cities in this project that requires a fence rather than merely permitting one, and the answer turns on what the lot abuts, the use and which yard the fence is in. The figure is 6 feet, for least height of a required residential screening fence.
- Permits
- Broken Arrow does not require a fence permit in this section and requires a plan instead, and the answer turns on what the lot abuts and how much of the fence is being replaced. The figure is 50 percent, for share of a fence whose repair triggers full compliance.
- Pool barriers
- An outdoor pool in Oklahoma that is open to the public gets a barrier equal to a 6 foot high woven wire fence. The figure is 6 feet, for barrier height around an outdoor public bathing place open to the general public.
- Spite fences
- Broken Arrow has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Oklahoma names the ground in its fence statute, and only for the bottom of the fence. The figure is 54 inches, for height of a lawful fence, with no datum stated. It reaches a lawful fence under the fence viewer article of the animals title only.
- Corner lots
- Broken Arrow writes its corner rule for one specific situation rather than for every corner, and the answer turns on whether the corner lot rear yard abuts a neighboring side yard. The figure is 30 feet, for each leg of the traffic visibility triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Broken Arrow leaves retaining walls to the International Residential Code, 2018 edition, as amended and modified by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission in OAC 748:20-6.
- Materials
- Where the ordinance requires a fence, that fence has to be opaque and built of durable, easily maintained materials such as masonry, vinyl, or treated, stained or painted wood sections, and chain link, wire mesh and similar products are prohibited, and the answer turns on whether the fence is required by the ordinance and what street it faces.
- Livestock
- Oklahoma writes out what a lawful fence for livestock is. The figure is 54 inches, for height of a lawful fence for restraining livestock.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Broken Arrow?
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Broken Arrow answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is required, and whether it sits in a floodplain or a drainage easement.
Broken Arrow does not set a setback so much as create a strip for the fence to live in. Every required fence or wall has to sit inside a fence easement at least three feet wide running along the property boundary, and that easement may form part of a wider landscape easement or reserve, which means the land for the fence is reserved at platting rather than argued about later. No fence may be built in a street right-of-way, whether the right-of-way is held as an easement or in fee. In residential districts a fence may be built on the property lines and in side and rear yards. Flood and drainage land is handled separately: nothing but an open split rail or barbed wire fence may go in a hundred year floodplain, and the same two are the only fences allowed in a drainage easement outside the floodplain without the written approval of the Floodplain Administrator.
Fences shall not be constructed in the street right-of-way, whether such right-of-way is held as an easement or in fee. All required fences and walls shall be located within a minimum three foot wide fence easement adjoining the property boundary.
The answer turns on whether the fence is required, and whether it sits in a floodplain or a drainage easement.
- a required fence
- Inside a three foot fence easement. 3 ft
- a residential lot line
- On the line. 0 ft
- the street right-of-way
- No fence at all.
- a floodplain or drainage easement
- Split rail or barbed wire only.
Also on fences on the property line in Broken Arrow
- set in state lawNeighbors in Oklahoma share the job of keeping up the fence and the boundary markers between them, in equal parts. One neighbor can step out of that by leaving the land open, with no fence around it, as a public common. If that neighbor later encloses the land, a fair share of what the other one's fence is worth at that time has to be paid back. 60 O.S. § 70Oklahoma · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Broken Arrow?
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Broken Arrow answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the lot abuts, the use and which yard the fence is in.
Broken Arrow is one of the few cities in this project that requires a fence rather than merely permitting one. Every residential use abutting an arterial or collector street or a highway has to install and maintain a screening fence on the side facing that road, at least six feet tall and up to eight where it adjoins a highway, and a platted single or two family subdivision has to set up a mandatory homeowners association to own and maintain it forever. Industrial uses abutting the same roads are reviewed at site plan and their fences run between eight and ten feet. In the other direction the code is strict at the front of a house: no fence higher than thirty six inches may be built in any front yard in a single family or two family development. Side and rear yards are not given a figure at all, so the front yard limit and the required screens carry the section.
All residential uses that abut any arterial or collector street or highway shall install and maintain fences that comply with this Section on the side(s) of the property that abut such street or highway. These fences shall be at least six feet in height, and a maximum of eight feet in height if adjoining a highway.
The answer turns on what the lot abuts, the use and which yard the fence is in.
- a house backing onto an arterial
- Six feet, required. 6 ft
- the same fence beside a highway
- Up to eight feet. 8 ft
- a front yard at a house
- Thirty six inches. 36 in
- an industrial screen
- Eight to ten feet. 10 ft
Also on fence height in Broken Arrow
- no rule, documents checkedOklahoma sets no statewide limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The property title on boundary fences deals with shared upkeep and not with size. The building code statute hands the choice of a code to a state commission and lets cities and counties go stricter, and it names no fence height. The one height in Oklahoma fence law is the 54 inch lawful fence, which describes a fence built to hold stock rather than a cap on a yard fence. Cities and counties set the limit at a house. 60 O.S. § 70Oklahoma · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Broken Arrow?
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Broken Arrow answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the lot abuts and how much of the fence is being replaced.
Broken Arrow does not require a fence permit in this section and requires a plan instead. Where a residential use abuts an arterial or collector street or a highway, a fence plan showing compliance has to be submitted with the landscape plan, and an industrial screening fence is reviewed as part of the site plan. The rule that catches owners is about repair rather than construction: an existing lawful fence may continue for its useful life, but replacing it, or repairing more than fifty percent of it, requires the whole fence to be brought up to the current design standards. Two discretionary powers exist. The Director may permit alternative support posts at site or landscape plan review where they meet or exceed the wind load capability of the listed materials, and the Planning Commission may approve a fence that is not uniform in height.
Any existing fence otherwise lawful at the time of construction and thereafter maintained may continue throughout its useful life; however, the replacement of such fence or other repair of more than 50 percent of the fencing, shall require the replacement or repair of the entire fence to conform to the standards listed in Subsection 4-3-8.C.
The answer turns on what the lot abuts and how much of the fence is being replaced.
- a required screening fence
- A fence plan with the landscape plan.
- repairing over half of one
- The whole fence has to conform. 50%
- an unlisted post material
- The Director may accept it.
- a fence out of compliance
- Thirty days from notice to fix it. 30 days
Also on permits in Broken Arrow
- set in state lawOne state body picks the building code for all of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission reviews and adopts the codes for homes and commercial buildings, and what it adopts is the least a build has to meet anywhere in the state. Cities, counties and state agencies work from those minimums and may write stricter rules of their own. The statute itself names no fence and no permit exemption. 59 O.S. § 1000.23Oklahoma · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Broken Arrow
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Oklahoma answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
An outdoor pool in Oklahoma that is open to the public gets a barrier equal to a 6 foot high woven wire fence. An outdoor pool that is not open to the general public gets a barrier at least 4 feet tall, entered only through gates that close and latch on their own, and it cannot block a clear view of the water. A decorative barrier can have no opening wider than 4 inches, and no barrier may be built in a way that turns it into a ladder. The rules come from the State Department of Health and cover public bathing places.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Broken Arrow law. All Oklahoma findings
Outdoor pools open to general public such as municipal pools and pools used by organizations (YWCA, YMCA, etc.), shall be enclosed by a suitable barrier equal to a six (6) foot high woven wire fence.
6 ftbarrier height around an outdoor public bathing place open to the general public
Spite fence laws in Broken Arrow
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Broken Arrow law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Oklahoma has no spite fence law. The property title that covers boundary fences says nothing about a fence built to annoy a neighbor and sets no height at all. The nuisance title has no fence rule either. A claim about a spite fence in Oklahoma runs on the general nuisance law and on court rulings.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Broken Arrow law. All Oklahoma findings
Documents read before writing that:
- 60 O.S. §§ 69 to 78Oklahoma Legislature
- 50 O.S. §§ 1 to 44Oklahoma Legislature
How fence height is measured in Broken Arrow
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Oklahoma answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Oklahoma names the ground in its fence statute, and only for the bottom of the fence. Section 154 puts the lowest rail, wire or board between sixteen and twenty inches from the ground, then sets the whole fence at fifty four inches in height without saying fifty four inches from what. That rule describes a lawful fence built to hold stock. For a fence at a house, the city ordinance written under title 11 sets both the height and the point it is counted from.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Broken Arrow law. All Oklahoma findings
Provided, that the lowest or bottom rail, wire or board shall not be more than twenty (20) or less than sixteen (16) inches from the ground, and that such fence shall be fifty-four (54) inches in height
54 inheight of a lawful fence, with no datum stated
Also on how height is measured in Broken Arrow
- no rule, documents checkedThe fence section states six feet, eight feet, ten feet and thirty six inches and never says what any of them is measured from. No grade is named for a fence, and a fence built on a retaining wall is not addressed. Berms are addressed, but as a design element rather than as ground: a landscaped berm may be used as one of the visual breaks in a long fence, and it has to stand between thirty and forty eight inches tall and carry dense evergreens, canopy or ornamental trees, tall grasses or shrubs. Nothing says whether a fence on top of such a berm is measured from the top or the bottom of it. Two other measurements are exact and horizontal: a continuous unbroken fence plane may run no more than sixty feet, and a steel support post has to be at least two and three eighths inches in outside diameter. Section 4-3-8.BBroken Arrow · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Broken Arrow
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Broken Arrow answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the corner lot rear yard abuts a neighboring side yard.
Broken Arrow writes its corner rule for one specific situation rather than for every corner. Where the owner of a corner lot builds a fence in the side and rear yards, and the rear part of those yards abuts the side yard of a neighboring lot, any fence built between the building setback line and the property line has to be constructed so as to create a clear traffic visibility triangle, illustrated in a figure in the ordinance. The triangle measures thirty feet in each direction, aligned to the property line and starting from a point marked A in that figure. Two things follow from the drafting. The rule is stated as a duty to create a clear triangle rather than as a height limit, so no ceiling is given for what may stand inside it, and the triangle is aligned to the property line rather than to a curb or a pavement edge.
If the owner of a corner lot constructs a fence within a side yard and rear yard in accordance with this Section, and if the rear portion of these yards abut the side yard of a neighboring lot, then any such fence built between the building setback line and the property line must be so constructed as to create a clear traffic visibility triangle as shown in Figure 4-3-8-1, Corner Lot Fence. The traffic visibility triangle shall measure "D" thirty feet in each direction and be aligned to the property line, starting from “Point A”.
The answer turns on whether the corner lot rear yard abuts a neighboring side yard.
- the triangle
- Thirty feet each way. 30 ft
- what it is aligned to
- The property line.
- the height inside it
- Not stated; it has to be clear.
- a corner lot not abutting a side yard
- The rule does not apply.
Also on corner visibility in Broken Arrow
- left to the townOklahoma has no state rule for the clear view at a corner. Title 11 lets a city government control the height and size of buildings and other structures and the size of yards and open spaces, so a corner triangle can only come from a city ordinance written under that power. Title 69, the roads and bridges title, uses the words sight distance only in the part describing how a turnpike is designed, which is about the road and not about what stands on a corner lot. 11 O.S. 43-101Oklahoma · Zoning code
Retaining wall rules in Broken Arrow
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Broken Arrow does not set this. It leaves it to the International Residential Code, 2018 edition, as amended and modified by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission in OAC 748:20-6.
Oklahoma writes no retaining wall rule of its own. The Uniform Building Code Commission adopted the 2018 International Residential Code as the statewide minimum for one and two family homes and townhouses, and took in chapter 1 of that book, which holds the list of work that needs no permit. So the test for a wall that holds back earth comes from the adopted book, and a city or county may set a stricter rule on top of it.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Broken Arrow law. All Oklahoma findings
the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (the "OUBCC") hereby adopts the International Residential Code®, 2018 Edition (IRC® 2018) as amended and modified in this subchapter to be the statewide minimum code for residential construction within the State of Oklahoma for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses
The code hands this to the International Residential Code, 2018 edition, as amended and modified by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission in OAC 748:20-6, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Broken Arrow
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Broken Arrow answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is required by the ordinance and what street it faces.
Where the ordinance requires a fence, that fence has to be opaque and built of durable, easily maintained materials such as masonry, vinyl, or treated, stained or painted wood sections, and chain link, wire mesh and similar products are prohibited. The specification then goes to the post rather than the panel, which almost no other code does. A required fence needs vertical support posts of permanent building material: schedule-40 galvanized steel at least two and three eighths inches in outside diameter, a masonry column of at least a square foot, or dual-extruded PVC, with footings of concrete or equivalent, and the Director may accept an alternative that meets or exceeds the wind load capability of those. Along an arterial street the posts have to be masonry, full stop. The finished side faces outward with all braces and supports inside.
Where fencing is required by this Ordinance, such fencing and walls shall be opaque and shall be constructed of durable, easily maintained materials such as, but not limited to, masonry, vinyl, or treated, stained or painted wood sections. Chain link, wire mesh, or other similar products shall be prohibited.
The answer turns on whether the fence is required by the ordinance and what street it faces.
- a required fence
- Opaque, durable, no chain link.
- the posts
- Steel, masonry or extruded PVC on concrete.
- a fence along an arterial
- Masonry posts.
- the finished side
- It faces away from the development.
Also on materials in Broken Arrow
- set in state lawBarb wire is a legal way to build a fence in Oklahoma, and the statute says how. A barb wire lawful fence takes three barb wires, or four wires with two of them barbed. Posts go no more than two rods apart when two stays are used between them, or one rod apart with no stays, and a rod is sixteen and a half feet. The top wire sits fifty four to fifty eight inches up and the bottom wire sixteen to twenty inches off the ground. The same section sets a separate standard for a rail or board fence. 4 O.S. 154Oklahoma · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Broken Arrow
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Oklahoma answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Oklahoma writes out what a lawful fence for livestock is. A rail or board fence stands 54 inches tall, with the bottom rail no more than 20 and no less than 16 inches off the ground. A barbed wire fence may run three barbed wires, or four wires with two of them barbed, and the top wire sits 54 to 58 inches up. Fence viewers may accept any other fence they judge equal to that. An owner who leaves land open as a common does not pay toward a fence on the line until the land is enclosed or put to some other use.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Broken Arrow law. All Oklahoma findings
Provided, that the lowest or bottom rail, wire or board shall not be more than twenty (20) or less than sixteen (16) inches from the ground, and that such fence shall be fifty-four (54) inches in height, except that a barb wire fence may consist of three barb wires, or four wires, two of which shall be barbed
54 inheight of a lawful fence for restraining livestock
Documents behind this page
8 documents, of which 1 was published by Broken Arrow itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 60, Property, Section 70
- City of Broken ArrowBroken Arrow Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 4, Site Development, Division 4-3, Landscaping, Screening, and Tree Preservation, Section 4-3-8, Fence Requirements, effective July 1, 2025
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 59, Professions and Occupations, Sections 1000.20 to 1000.29, Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act
- Oklahoma State Department of HealthOklahoma Administrative Code Title 310, Chapter 315, Public Bathing Place Facility Standards, permanent final adoption
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 50, Nuisances, Sections 1 to 44
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 4, Animals
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 11, Cities and Towns, Article 43, Municipal Planning and Zoning
- Oklahoma Uniform Building Code CommissionOklahoma Administrative Code, Title 748, Chapter 20, Subchapter 6, IRC 2018, Permanent Rule effective September 14, 2022
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 Broken Arrow publishes, plus the Oklahoma rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Oklahoma 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