Fence laws in Franklin, Tennessee
What the Franklin municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Franklin sets no rule of its own, the Tennessee rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Franklin, Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Fences and walls in Franklin may encroach into required yards and setbacks, so there is no separate fence setback and a conforming fence may run to the boundary, and the answer turns on what the fence crosses or stands beside. The figure is 6 feet, for clearance from a fire hydrant.
- How tall
- A fence in a Franklin front yard is held to three feet, and may go to four and a half feet only where it is board horse fencing, which is a carve-out written for a county where paddock fence along a road is ordinary, and the answer turns on the yard, the use and the type of fence. The figure is 3 feet, for fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- Franklin leaves the fence permit rule to the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services, which sets the permit threshold.
- Pool barriers
- Franklin sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Franklin has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Franklin measures fence and wall height from the lowest adjacent grade to the top of the fence or wall, and expressly leaves out posts, columns and gates, and the answer turns on what the fence stands on.
- Corner lots
- Franklin states its corner rule as a choice rather than as a triangle, and the answer turns on whether a driveway opens onto the side street. The figure is 15 feet, for setback that preserves the full fence height.
- Retaining walls
- Franklin 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
- A Franklin fence has to be built of some combination of treated wood posts, pickets, rot-resistant wood such as cypress or redwood, or metal, with posts or columns of wood, brick, natural stone, cultured stone or other masonry, and the answer turns on the district and the material. The figure is 75 percent, for maximum opacity of a front yard fence.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Franklin?
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Franklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence crosses or stands beside.
Fences and walls in Franklin may encroach into required yards and setbacks, so there is no separate fence setback and a conforming fence may run to the boundary. Six things it may not do are listed. It may not be built in a public right-of-way or in an area to be dedicated as one. It may not conflict with the sight distance visibility of intersections or points of access. It may not block access within an access easement. It may not encroach into a utility easement without the written consent of the easement holder. It may not block access to a fire hydrant, mechanical equipment or utility equipment, and it may not stand within six feet of a fire hydrant. Fences may sit in a drainage easement where the easement holder permits, but may not block or divert natural drainage, and the ordinance names shadow box fences, flap gates, aluminum fencing and a gap at the bottom as designs that let water through. A retaining wall, by contrast, stands back five feet or its own height, whichever is greater.
Fences and walls may encroach into required yards and setbacks, subject to this Section.
The answer turns on what the fence crosses or stands beside.
- a required yard or setback
- A fence may encroach into it.
- a fire hydrant
- Six feet of clearance. 6 ft
- a utility easement
- Written consent from the holder.
- a retaining wall
- Five feet back, or its own height. 5 ft
Also on fences on the property line in Franklin
- set in state lawIn 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. Public Chapter 266 of 1999, Section 2, adding a section to T.C.A. Title 44, Chapter 8, Part 2Tennessee · Statute
- 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 Franklin?
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Franklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard, the use and the type of fence.
A fence in a Franklin front yard is held to three feet, and may go to four and a half feet only where it is board horse fencing, which is a carve-out written for a county where paddock fence along a road is ordinary. The agricultural district is not regulated at the front at all. In a side or rear yard the limit is seven feet for residential uses and the office residential district, and eight feet for nonresidential and mixed uses, so Franklin allows a foot more than most cities in a back yard. A corner lot gets the same seven or eight feet in the front yard facing the side street, provided the fence sits at least twenty feet behind the front facade. Public buildings and uses, public parks, sports courts and sports fields are exempt from the height rules entirely, which is how a ball field backstop is handled without naming a figure for it.
Front Yard 3 feet, but may be 4.5 feet for board horse fencing
The answer turns on the yard, the use and the type of fence.
- a front yard
- Three feet. 3 ft
- board horse fencing
- Four and a half feet. 54 in
- a side or rear yard
- Seven feet on a house lot. 7 ft
- a nonresidential or mixed use lot
- Eight feet. 8 ft
Also on fence height in Franklin
- no rule, documents checkedTennessee 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. Code Adoption HistoryTennessee · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Franklin?
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Franklin does not set this. It leaves it to the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services, which sets the permit threshold.
The Franklin zoning ordinance does not say when a fence needs a permit. It says fences and walls may need a building permit depending on the height, subject to the requirements of the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services, and the same sentence appears again for retaining walls. So the threshold lives with a department rather than in the ordinance, and a reader working from Chapter 13 cannot tell whether a particular fence needs one. What the ordinance does control is everything else about the fence, in unusual detail for a code that gives away the permit question: the height table, the measuring rule, the materials list, the opacity limit, the orientation of the finished side, the masonry column spacing, and six things a fence may not be built across. Written consent from an easement holder is required before a fence enters a utility easement, which is the only approval the chapter names outright.
Fences and walls may need a building permit, depending on the height, subject to the requirements of the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services.
The code hands this to the Department of Building and Neighborhood Services, which sets the permit threshold, which is not published in the code itself.
Also on permits in Franklin
- set in state lawTennessee 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. Code Adoption History, residential codesTennessee · Agency guidance
Pool fence requirements in Franklin
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Franklin 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.
This one is Tennessee law, not Franklin law. All Tennessee findings
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 Franklin
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Franklin 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.
This one is Tennessee law, not Franklin law. All Tennessee findings
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 Franklin
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Franklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on what the fence stands on.
Franklin measures fence and wall height from the lowest adjacent grade to the top of the fence or wall, and expressly leaves out posts, columns and gates. Two decisions are packed into that sentence. Taking the lowest adjacent grade means the neighbor standing on the low side of a slope sets the measurement, which is the stricter reading and removes any gain from building the ground up on the owner side. Excluding posts, columns and gates means a decorative cap or a taller gate post does not put a conforming fence over, which matters in a city whose materials rules require masonry columns every fifty feet on a nonresidential fence. The following sentence closes the obvious workaround: using a berm to increase a fence or wall height is prohibited, unless the berm is part of a transition area abutting residential lots. A retaining wall is measured separately, from the lowest finished grade or permanent pool elevation to the top of the wall.
Fence and wall height shall be measured from the lowest adjacent grade to the top of the fence or wall, exclusive of posts, columns, and gates.
The answer turns on what the fence stands on.
- sloping ground
- The lowest adjacent grade.
- posts, columns and gates
- Not counted.
- a berm
- May not be used to gain height.
- a retaining wall
- Measured from the lowest finished grade.
Also on how height is measured in Franklin
- no rule, documents checkedTennessee 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. Rule 0780-02-02-.01Tennessee · Building code
Fence rules for corner lots in Franklin
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Franklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether a driveway opens onto the side street.
Franklin states its corner rule as a choice rather than as a triangle. Where a driveway access is located on the side street of a corner lot, the fence or wall has to be either set back at least fifteen feet from the side street lot line or held to a height of three feet. So an owner may keep the seven foot fence by moving it back, or keep the position by cutting it down, and either answer satisfies the ordinance. That is easier to apply than a triangle and it is aimed at the specific hazard, a car reversing out of a side street driveway past its own fence. The general standard sits in the location rules and reaches every lot: a fence or wall may not conflict with the sight distance visibility of intersections or points of access. No dimension is given for that one, and no reference to an engineering manual accompanies it.
Where a driveway access is located on the side street, the fence or wall shall either be set back a min. 15 feet from the side street lot line or not exceed a height of 3 feet
The answer turns on whether a driveway opens onto the side street.
- a side street driveway
- Fifteen feet back, or three feet tall. 15 ft
- any intersection or access point
- No conflict with sight distance visibility.
- the shape of a triangle
- Not stated.
Also on corner visibility in Franklin
- set in state lawTennessee 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. Tenn. Comp. R. and Regs. 1680-10-01-.03, Manual section 5.2Tennessee · Traffic code
Retaining wall rules in Franklin
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Franklin 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.
This one is Tennessee law, not Franklin law. All Tennessee findings
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 Franklin
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Franklin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and the material.
A Franklin fence has to be built of some combination of treated wood posts, pickets, rot-resistant wood such as cypress or redwood, or metal, with posts or columns of wood, brick, natural stone, cultured stone or other masonry. The fence has to be of a uniform architectural style and color palette compatible with the associated building, the finished side has to face outward toward adjoining lots, building sites, streets or internal drives with the support framing on the inside, and a fence in a front yard may be no more than seventy-five percent opaque. Chain link fencing and chain link gates are not permitted at all except in the two industrial districts, and even there the chain link has to be coated dark green or black, slats are prohibited, and in the light industrial district chain link may not go in a front yard. Wire fences and above-ground electrified fences for livestock are permitted only in the agricultural district. Walls have to be brick, stone or authentic stucco.
Fences shall be constructed of any combination of treated wood posts, pickets, rot-resistant wood (such as cypress or redwood), or metal, except as restricted by Paragraphs 13.1.3.H and I.
The answer turns on the district and the material.
- a house lot
- Wood or metal, with masonry or wood posts.
- chain link
- Industrial districts only, coated and without slats.
- a front yard fence
- No more than three quarters opaque. 75%
- wire or electric fencing
- Agricultural district only.
Also on materials in Franklin
- set in state lawTennessee 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. Tenn. Code Ann. 44-8-102(b)Tennessee · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Franklin
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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.
This one is Tennessee law, not Franklin law. All Tennessee findings
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
Documents behind this page
7 documents, of which 2 were published by Franklin itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- 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
- City of FranklinFranklin Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 13, Fences, Walls, and Screening, Section 13.1, Fences and Walls, page 235, effective 13 January 2026
- 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
- City of FranklinFranklin Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 13, Fences, Walls, and Screening, Sections 13.1.3 and 13.1.4, page 236, effective 13 January 2026
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 Franklin publishes, plus the Tennessee rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Tennessee 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