Fence laws in Tennessee
What Tennessee statutes and statewide codes say about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line.
Fence laws in Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- In Tennessee a neighbor can get out of paying for a shared fence when one side is a farm and the other is not.
- How tall
- Tennessee sets no maximum fence height. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Permits
- Tennessee has no fence permit rule of its own.
- Pool barriers
- Tennessee sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Tennessee has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Tennessee never says what a fence height is measured from. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Corner lots
- Tennessee has one rule about seeing down the road, and it covers a new driveway onto a state highway. It reaches new driveways built inside the right of way of a state highway only.
- Retaining walls
- Tennessee leaves retaining walls to the 2018 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, and its Sections R105.2 and R404. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- Tennessee keeps a list of fences that count as good enough to hold farm animals, and the legislature has only made that list longer. It reaches fencing that holds farm animals only.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Tennessee?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
In Tennessee a neighbor can get out of paying for a shared fence when one side is a farm and the other is not. The owner of the side that is not farmland can say in writing that the fence is not theirs to build or keep up. The notice goes by registered mail with a return receipt, or any other way that gives written proof it arrived, and it counts from the day the farm owner gets it. Once it is delivered, the farm owner cannot be sued over the fence being missing or in bad shape.
the owner of the non-agricultural land may disclaim any responsibility for the erection or maintenance of a partition fence pursuant to § 44-8-202.
Public Chapter 266 of 1999, Section 2, adding a section to T.C.A. Title 44, Chapter 8, Part 2
Also on fences on the property line in Tennessee
- set in state lawThat way out lasts only while the land stays out of farming. The law counts land as non-farm when it is not farmland, has a house on it, and keeps no livestock. The day the land stops fitting that description, the notice stops working. If the farm owner built a fence while it was working, the other owner then pays a fair share of what the fence cost. A fight over the amount goes to the process in section 44-8-204. Public Chapter 266 of 1999, Section 2, subsection (d)Tennessee · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Tennessee?
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Tennessee law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state residential code has no fence rule in it, and the state fence law in Title 44 is about livestock and fences on a property line rather than height. Cities and counties set the limit, and some places have opted out of the state code entirely.
Documents read before writing that:
- Code Adoption HistoryTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
- Codes EnforcementTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
Do I need a permit for a fence in Tennessee?
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Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tennessee has no fence permit rule of its own. It uses the 2018 International Residential Code, with state changes, as the code for one and two family homes across the state, and the Fire Marshal lists that code as taking effect on July 16, 2020. The state changes leave alone the list of work that needs no permit, so that list is model code text and not Tennessee text. Counties and cities can opt out of the state code altogether.
International Residential Code (IRC), 2018 edition, published by the ICC, with amendments;
Pool fence requirements in Tennessee
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Tennessee law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee sets no statewide fence rule for a pool at a house. The state took up the 2018 International Residential Code along with Appendix Q and nothing else. In that edition the pool fence rules sit in Appendix G, which Tennessee left out, so no state height reaches a pool at a home. Cities and counties can still set one.
Documents read before writing that:
- Code Adoption HistoryTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
- Codes EnforcementTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
Spite fence laws in Tennessee
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Tennessee law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee has no spite fence law. The state fence law in Title 44, Chapter 8 covers fencing that holds livestock and fences on a property line. It names no height and says nothing about a fence built to bother a neighbor. A fence like that is a nuisance case in court, not a matter of state law.
Documents read before writing that:
- T.C.A. Title 44, Chapter 8Tennessee General Assembly
- Code Adoption HistoryTennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office
How fence height is measured in Tennessee
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Tennessee law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Tennessee never says where a fence height is measured from. The state adopts its building and fire codes in one rule of the Division of Fire Prevention, and that rule does name starting points, for buildings. It takes the height of a roof from the lowest fire truck road surface next to the building up to the eave or parapet, and it counts stories from the grade plane, which is the average ground level around the building. Both rules are about buildings. The word fence is nowhere in the chapter, so the state names no starting point for a fence. The city or county ordinance decides.
Documents read before writing that:
- Rule 0780-02-02-.01Tennessee Secretary of State
Fence rules for corner lots in Tennessee
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Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tennessee has one rule about seeing down the road, and it covers a new driveway onto a state highway. The Department of Transportation rule at 1680-10-01 takes up the driveway manual, and section 5.2 of that manual says a driveway goes where a driver can see far enough in both directions. Where the view is short, the turns the driveway allows get cut back. The manual prints a triangle showing it. The same rule says plainly that it sits on top of county and city land rules, and that is where a corner triangle for a fence comes from.
Highway entrances should be located to provide adequate sight distance for all traffic movements allowed. Where sight distance requirements are not met, specific movements may be restricted.
Retaining wall rules in Tennessee
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Tennessee does not set this. It leaves it to the 2018 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, and its Sections R105.2 and R404.
Tennessee has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It uses the 2018 International Residential Code, with state changes, as the code for one and two family homes, and it names no height at which such a wall needs a permit. So the rule that applies is the model code text, which the International Code Council sells and which no Tennessee state site prints. Counties and cities can opt out of the state code, which is what makes the answer local in some places.
International Residential Code (IRC), 2018 edition, published by the ICC, with amendments;
Currently Adopted Codes, residential code
The code hands this to the 2018 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, and its Sections R105.2 and R404, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Tennessee
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Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tennessee keeps a list of fences that count as good enough to hold farm animals, and the legislature has only made that list longer. An act of 1999 added two things to it. One is a fence made of man made materials sold for fencing, put up the usual way. The other is any system or device built on technology that is accepted for holding farm animals, which is where an electric fence fits. The same act lets the commissioner of agriculture add detail by rule, and says the law still works where no such rule exists.
In addition to subsection (a), sufficient fencing shall include: (1) fence constructed from synthetic materials commonly sold for fencing, if such materials are installed pursuant to generally acceptable standards, to confine or restrict the movement of farm animals; and (2) systems or devices based on technology generally accepted as appropriate for the confinement or restriction of farm animals.
Livestock and boundary fence law in Tennessee
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Tennessee answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence. A fence made of man made materials sold for fencing counts, as long as it is put up the usual way and holds farm animals. So does any system or device built on technology that is accepted for holding farm animals, which is where an electric or wireless fence fits. An act of 1999 added both. The commissioner of agriculture can write rules adding detail, and the law still works where no such rule exists.
In addition to subsection (a), sufficient fencing shall include: (1) fence constructed from synthetic materials commonly sold for fencing, if such materials are installed pursuant to generally acceptable standards, to confine or restrict the movement of farm animals
T.C.A. § 44-8-102(b), as added by Public Chapter 266 of 1999
Cities in Tennessee
15 cities with their own fence rules read from the city’s own code. Where a city says nothing on a topic, the state answer above is what applies.
Documents behind this page
5 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- Tennessee General AssemblyPublic Chapter No. 266, Senate Bill No. 658 (1999), an act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 44, Chapter 8, relative to fencing and grazing
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's OfficeCodes Enforcement, Code Adoption History
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, State Fire Marshal's OfficeCodes Enforcement
- Tennessee Secretary of StateRules of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Division of Fire Prevention, Chapter 0780-02-02, Codes and Standards
- Tennessee Department of TransportationManual for Constructing Driveway Entrances on State Highways, 2015 Edition, adopted by Rule 1680-10-01-.03
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean