Fence laws in Tulsa, Oklahoma
What the Tulsa municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Tulsa sets no rule of its own, the Oklahoma rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Tulsa, Oklahoma, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Tulsa organizes its fence rules entirely around required setbacks and never states a distance from a property line, and the answer turns on which required setback the fence stands in. The figure is 0 feet, for setback stated from a property line.
- How tall
- Tulsa states its rule in two clauses, and the answer turns on the kind of setback, the district and the shape of the lot. The figure is 8 feet, for fence or wall within a required building setback.
- Permits
- One state body picks the building code for all of Oklahoma.
- 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
- Tulsa has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Tulsa answers all three measuring questions in one paragraph. The figure is 12 inches, for height a fence post may exceed the highest connected part of the fence.
- Corner lots
- Tulsa leaves corner clearance to Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances. The figure is 4 feet, for fence height in a required street setback, which governs in the absence of a stated triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Tulsa 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
- Tulsa names only two kinds of fencing and handles each by a different test, and the answer turns on the district, the size of the parcel and how high the conductors sit. The figure is 8 feet, for lowest height for electric fence conductors on a small parcel.
- 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 Tulsa?
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Tulsa answers this, but the answer changes depending on which required setback the fence stands in.
Tulsa organizes its fence rules entirely around required setbacks and never states a distance from a property line. A fence within a required building setback is capped at eight feet and one within a required street setback at four, which regulates how tall a fence may be in a strip rather than how far it has to stand from the edge of that strip, so a fence may sit on the line provided it keeps to the height for the setback it occupies. Two lot shapes get their own treatment in the same sentence, the corner lot and the double frontage lot, and both are about a line facing a street rather than a line facing a neighbor. Everything else is handled by cross-reference: the sight-distance triangle rules sit in Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances, and the board of adjustment may modify the fence regulations by special exception.
The board of adjustment is authorized to modify these fence and wall regulations in accordance with the special exception procedures of Section 70.120. See Section 90.170A. for fence and wall measurements. See also Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances for sight-distance triangle requirements.
The answer turns on which required setback the fence stands in.
- a neighbor line
- No distance stated. 0 ft
- a building setback
- Eight feet allowed inside it.
- a street setback
- Four feet inside it.
- a sight-distance triangle
- Governed by Title 24.
Also on fences on the property line in Tulsa
- 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 Tulsa?
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Tulsa answers this, but the answer changes depending on the kind of setback, the district and the shape of the lot.
Tulsa states its rule in two clauses. A fence or wall inside a required building setback may not exceed eight feet, and inside a required street setback it drops to four. Then comes a carve-out that is unusually generous. In the residentially zoned districts, fences up to eight feet are permitted in the side street setback of a detached house or a duplex on a corner lot, and in the street setback abutting the rear lot line of a house or duplex on a double frontage lot. Those are exactly the two situations where a house has a street where it would rather have a back yard, and Tulsa gives both the full eight feet where most cities cut them to four. The board of adjustment may modify any of these figures through the special exception procedure, so the numbers are a starting point rather than a ceiling.
Fences and walls within required building setbacks may not exceed eight (8) feet in height, except that in required street setbacks fences and walls may not exceed four (4) feet in height. However, in R-zoned districts, fences up to eight (8) feet in height are permitted in side street setbacks of detached houses or duplexes located on corner lots and in street setbacks abutting the rear lot line of houses or duplexes located on double frontage lots.
The answer turns on the kind of setback, the district and the shape of the lot.
- a required building setback
- Eight feet. 8 ft
- a required street setback
- Four feet. 4 ft
- a corner lot side street
- Eight feet at a house or duplex.
- the board of adjustment
- It may modify any of it.
Also on fence height in Tulsa
- 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 Tulsa?
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Oklahoma answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
One 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.
This one is Oklahoma law, not Tulsa law. All Oklahoma findings
The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission shall have the power and the duty to review and adopt all codes and standards for residential and commercial construction to be used by all entities within this state. Codes and standards adopted by the Commission shall be the minimum standards for residential and commercial construction in this state.
Also on permits in Tulsa
- no rule, documents checkedThe fences and walls section of the Tulsa zoning code sets heights, an electric charger rule and a wire rule, and never mentions an application, a fee, an inspection or a height at which review begins. No fence permit appears in it. What the section does provide, twice, is a route to relief rather than a route to permission. The board of adjustment may modify the fence and wall regulations under the special exception procedure of Section 70.120, and barbed or razor wire outside the agricultural and industrial districts may be approved the same way. Both are discretionary decisions on a fence that does not comply, not a permit for one that does. Whether an ordinary Tulsa fence needs a building permit is a question for the building code, a separate title of the ordinances that was not read for this page. Section 45.080Tulsa · Zoning code
Pool fence requirements in Tulsa
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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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa
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Tulsa 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa
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Tulsa answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tulsa answers all three measuring questions in one paragraph. Height is the vertical distance from the average finished grade on the inside of the fence to the top, so the owner side supplies the datum and an average smooths out a slope rather than judging the run at its worst point. A fence on top of a wall or a landscape feature such as a raised bed is measured to the average finished grade at the base of that wall or feature, which counts the whole thing and closes the loophole most codes leave open. Retaining walls get their own allowance: average finished grade may be measured from the side of the retaining wall that abuts and contacts the earth it supports, so a wall doing real work is not counted against the fence above it. Fence posts may exceed the highest connected part of the fence by up to twelve inches.
The height of fences and walls is measured as vertical distance from the average finished grade on the inside of the fence to the top of the fence or wall. Fences atop walls or landscape features (e.g., raised beds) are measured to average finished grade at the base of the wall or landscape feature. In the case of retaining walls, average finished grade may be measured from the side of the retaining wall abutting and contacting the earth being supported. Fence posts may exceed the height of the highest connected portion of the fence by up to twelve (12) inches.
12 inheight a fence post may exceed the highest connected part of the fence
Also on how height is measured in Tulsa
- set in state lawOklahoma 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. 4 O.S. 4-154Oklahoma · Statute
Fence rules for corner lots in Tulsa
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Tulsa does not set this. It leaves it to Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances.
The Tulsa zoning code states the duty by cross-reference three separate times and never carries the rule itself. The fence section points the reader to Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances for sight-distance triangle requirements, and then makes both the barbed wire allowance in the agricultural and industrial districts and the special exception route for wire elsewhere expressly subject to the limits in that same section. Title 24 is the streets and traffic title rather than the zoning code, and it was not read for this page, so the size of the triangle, the protected band of heights and the treatment of an open fence inside it are not recorded here. What the zoning code does supply near a street is the four foot limit in a required street setback, lifted to eight in a side street setback on a corner lot with a house or duplex, which is the opposite of a corner restriction.
Barbed-wire and razor-wire fencing is permitted as of right in AG, IL, IM, and IH districts, except as limited by Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances.
4 ftfence height in a required street setback, which governs in the absence of a stated triangle
The code hands this to Title 24, Section 103 of the Tulsa Revised Ordinances, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on corner visibility in Tulsa
- 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 Tulsa
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Tulsa 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa
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Tulsa answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district, the size of the parcel and how high the conductors sit.
Tulsa names only two kinds of fencing and handles each by a different test. Electrical fence charger systems are prohibited, with two exceptions turning on the size of the parcel. On ten acres or more the system is allowed outright, provided it is not readily accessible to the public. On less than ten acres it is allowed only where the conductors sit at least eight feet above grade and are still not readily accessible. So the smaller the land, the higher the wire has to be. Barbed wire and razor wire are permitted as of right in the agricultural and the three industrial districts, and prohibited everywhere else unless the board of adjustment approves them through the special exception procedure. Both allowances are made subject to the sight-distance triangle requirements in Title 24 of the city ordinances. No other material is named, listed or banned.
Electrical fence charger systems are prohibited, except for the following: 1. Electrical fence charger systems are allowed on parcels of land with an area of ten (10) acres or more, provided the system is not readily accessible to the public; and 2. Electrical fence charger systems are allowed on parcels of land with an area of less than ten (10) acres, provided that the conductors are located at least eight (8) feet above grade and are not readily accessible to the public.
The answer turns on the district, the size of the parcel and how high the conductors sit.
- an electric charger on ten acres
- Allowed, if the public cannot reach it.
- one on a smaller parcel
- Conductors eight feet up. 8 ft
- barbed or razor wire
- Farm and industrial districts as of right.
- wire anywhere else
- Only by special exception.
Also on materials in Tulsa
- 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 Tulsa
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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 Tulsa 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
9 documents, of which 2 were published by Tulsa itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 60, Property, Section 70
- City of TulsaTulsa Code of Ordinances, Title 42, Zoning Code, Chapter 45, Accessory Uses and Structures, Section 45.080, Fences and walls
- Oklahoma LegislatureOklahoma Statutes, Title 59, Professions and Occupations, Sections 1000.20 to 1000.29, Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act
- City of TulsaTulsa Code of Ordinances, Title 42, Zoning Code, Chapter 90, Measurements, Section 90.170, Other height measurements
- 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 Tulsa 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