Fence laws in Edmond, Oklahoma
What the Edmond municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Edmond sets no rule of its own, the Oklahoma rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Edmond, Oklahoma, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Neighbors in Oklahoma share the job of keeping up the fence and the boundary markers between them, in equal parts.
- How tall
- Edmond leaves fence height to Title 22, the zoning ordinance, which publishes no residential fence height.
- Permits
- Edmond adopts the International Residential Code for one and two family dwellings and then rewrites its permit section in its own words, and the answer turns on whether the fence is treated as a structure by the building official.
- 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
- Edmond 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
- Edmond protects a band rather than setting a ceiling. The figure is 25 feet, for side of the sight triangle along the right-of-way or curb.
- Retaining walls
- Edmond 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
- For an ordinary house fence Edmond names no material and bans none, which follows from the height gap: the code never reaches the fence itself, and the answer turns on what sits behind the fence and what sits next to it. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum sight-proof fence where a use abuts single family residential.
- 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 Edmond?
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Oklahoma answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Neighbors 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.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Edmond law. All Oklahoma findings
Coterminous owners are mutually bound equally to maintain: 1. The boundaries and monuments between them. 2. The fences between them, unless one of them chooses to let his land lie open as a public common, in which case, if he afterwards encloses it, he must refund to the other a just proportion of the value, at that time, of any division fence made by the latter.
Also on fences on the property line in Edmond
- no rule, documents checkedEdmond defines a yard as the unobstructed, unoccupied open area between the furthest projection of a structure and the property line, then spends several pages on what may stand in one anyway. Open eaves, cornices and windowsills get two feet. An open patio cover gets twenty feet into the rear yard as long as it stays out of a utility or drainage easement and the right-of-way. A fireplace gets two feet. Advertising signs and structures may sit in a required yard provided nothing reaches into the right-of-way or the sight triangle. Canopies, fuel pumps and underground tanks each get their own distances. A fence is not on that list and no distance anywhere in the section is measured from a lot line to a fence, so how close a fence may come to a neighbor is not answered. The only fence distance in the code is the screening rule, which runs a commercial fence along the lot line rather than back from it. Section 22.5.3(C)Edmond · Zoning code
How tall can a fence be in Edmond?
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Edmond does not set this. It leaves it to Title 22, the zoning ordinance, which publishes no residential fence height.
Edmond states the rule for fences in one sentence and that sentence is a pointer: all fences comply with the design requirements in Title 22. Title 22 is the zoning ordinance and it does not publish a residential fence height. Its two dimensional tables at 22.5.1 and 22.5.2 set yards and a maximum building height by district and never mention a fence. Its measurements and exceptions section lists what may project into a required yard, naming eaves, patio covers, fireplaces and advertising signs, and does not name a fence. Its accessory use section covers storm shelters, swimming pools, portable toilets and the raising of animals, and sets a fence height only for a pool enclosure. The word fence appears in Title 22 mostly in screening rules written for commercial and industrial property next to houses. So the delegation lands nowhere, and the height a house fence may be is set by the building department rather than printed in the code.
All fences will be in compliance with the design requirements as stated in City Municipal Code Title 22.
The code hands this to Title 22, the zoning ordinance, which publishes no residential fence height, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on fence height in Edmond
- 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 Edmond?
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Edmond answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence is treated as a structure by the building official.
Edmond adopts the International Residential Code for one and two family dwellings and then rewrites its permit section in its own words. As amended, an owner or an authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a building or structure, or to cause that work to be done, applies to the building official first and gets the permit. The section adds a collection rule that has nothing to do with fences and everything to do with paperwork: no new permit is issued to a permit holder who has unpaid fees on a current permit. The application carries a site plan showing the size and location of new construction and existing structures and the distances from lot lines. The fee sits in the schedule at 16.06.150 rather than in the section. Whether a garden fence counts as a structure here is a call the building official makes, since the amended text draws no line by height or material.
R105.1 Required. Any owner or owner’s authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be performed, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit.
The answer turns on whether the fence is treated as a structure by the building official.
- a building or structure
- An application, then a permit.
- unpaid fees elsewhere
- No new permit at all.
- the application
- A site plan with distances from lot lines.
- a height or material threshold
- None written into the amendment.
Also on permits in Edmond
- 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 Edmond
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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 Edmond 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 Edmond
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Edmond 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 Edmond 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 Edmond
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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 Edmond 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 Edmond
- no rule, documents checkedThe measurements section is careful about everything except the fence. Building height is the vertical distance from the lowest finished grade at the base of a structure to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, the mean height between eaves and ridge on a gable, shed, hip or gambrel roof, or the highest point of a mansard. Lot area is the horizontal land area within the lot lines, and lot width is measured between the side lines along a line parallel to the street line at the minimum yard distance. The sight triangle has its own datum in the crowns of the adjacent rights-of-way. None of that reaches a fence, because the section sets no fence height to measure. So a berm is not addressed, a fence on a retaining wall is not addressed, and a fence stepping down a slope is not addressed, and the question of what a fence is measured from has no answer in the code. Section 22.5.3(D)Edmond · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Edmond
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Edmond answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Edmond protects a band rather than setting a ceiling. A sight triangle is established at every intersection, based on the right-of-way on a public street, with sides running twenty five feet along the right-of-way or curb from the projected corner. Where the curb bends as the intersection is approached, the tangents at the points of beginning for the corner curve are projected to find where the sides start. Inside that triangle no construction, planting or grading may interfere between three and seven feet above the crowns of the adjacent rights-of-way, unless the Planning Director approves it. A four foot fence would sit in the band and a ten foot wall would pass through it, so the rule reaches the middle of a fence and not its base or its top. Trees are allowed where the limbs and foliage are trimmed clear of the space, as long as they do not create a traffic hazard.
No construction, planting or grading shall be permitted to interfere with the sight triangle between the heights of three and seven feet as measured from the crowns of the adjacent public rights-of-way, except as approved by the Planning Director.
25 ftside of the sight triangle along the right-of-way or curb
Also on corner visibility in Edmond
- 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 Edmond
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Edmond 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 Edmond 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 Edmond
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Edmond answers this, but the answer changes depending on what sits behind the fence and what sits next to it.
For an ordinary house fence Edmond names no material and bans none, which follows from the height gap: the code never reaches the fence itself. Where it does get specific is at the edge of a residential neighborhood, and there it writes performance rather than a list. A use falling under the sensitive border standards has to put up sight-proof fencing at least six feet high on any side abutting single family, unless the Forester approves a tree preservation area instead. Parking for more than six vehicles is screened from residential property by an opaque ornamental fence or wall of at least six feet and no more than eight, kept in good condition along the lot line or paving line and stopping at the abutting residential street yard setback. A salvage yard is enclosed by a sight-proof fence as tall as it takes to hide the pile. A swimming pool takes a permanent wall or fence of at least four feet.
Fencing. Any applicable use shall require sight-proof fencing, no less than six feet in height, on any portion of the property which abuts single family residential unless an approved tree preservation area is provided in accordance with subsection 22.6.1(D), if approved by Forester for screening purposes.
The answer turns on what sits behind the fence and what sits next to it.
- an ordinary house fence
- No material named or banned.
- a use abutting single family
- Sight-proof, six feet at least. 6 ft
- parking for more than six cars
- Opaque and ornamental, six to eight feet. 8 ft
- a swimming pool
- A wall or fence of four feet. 4 ft
Also on materials in Edmond
- 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 Edmond
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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 Edmond 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
11 documents, of which 4 were published by Edmond itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 60, Property, Section 70
- City of EdmondEdmond Municipal Code, Title 22, Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 5, District Density and Dimensional Standards
- City of EdmondEdmond Municipal Code, Title 21, Subdivisions
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 59, Professions and Occupations, Sections 1000.20 to 1000.29, Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act
- City of EdmondEdmond Municipal Code, Title 16, Buildings and Construction, Chapter 16.06, Residential Code
- 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
- City of EdmondEdmond Municipal Code, Title 22, Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 6, Site Design Standards
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 Edmond 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