Fence laws in Gallatin, Tennessee
What the Gallatin municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Gallatin sets no rule of its own, the Tennessee rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Gallatin, Tennessee, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Fences, walls and hedges in Gallatin may be permitted in any required yard or along the edge of any yard, notwithstanding the other provisions of the ordinance, so no setback applies and a fence may sit on the line, and the answer turns on whether the fence sits in an easement and how tall it is. The figure is 6 feet, for height above which no fence may enter an easement.
- How tall
- In the residential and mixed use districts developed with residential uses, a Gallatin fence may reach four feet in a required front yard and six feet in a required side or rear yard, and the answer turns on the district and what the lot abuts. The figure is 4 feet, for fence in a residential front yard.
- Permits
- Gallatin runs two processes over every fence, and the answer turns on the height of the fence or wall. The figure is 7 feet, for height at which a building permit is required.
- Pool barriers
- Gallatin sets no statewide pool barrier rule. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Spite fences
- Gallatin has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Gallatin closes the retaining wall gap in one sentence and states it twice, once for the residential districts and once for the commercial and industrial ones.
- Corner lots
- On a corner lot in any Gallatin district except the central commercial one, nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as materially to impede vision between two and a half feet and ten feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets, and the answer turns on the district and what the sight distance standard requires there. The figure is 30 inches, for bottom of the protected band at a corner.
- Retaining walls
- Gallatin 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 Gallatin fence has to be built of materials customarily used and manufactured as common fence or wall materials, and the ordinance lists solid wood, brick, masonry, stone, chain link, wrought iron, decorative metal, or products designed to resemble those, and the answer turns on the material and the zoning of the land.
- Livestock
- Tennessee counts more than wood and wire as a farm fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Gallatin?
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Gallatin answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the fence sits in an easement and how tall it is.
Fences, walls and hedges in Gallatin may be permitted in any required yard or along the edge of any yard, notwithstanding the other provisions of the ordinance, so no setback applies and a fence may sit on the line. Easements are handled with more care than in most codes. No fence or wall over six feet may be placed in any public utility or drainage easement or other public easement. One of six feet or less may go there provided it does not disrupt the operation and function of the easement, and if the easement owner needs it gone they may remove it, with replacement at the expense of the property owner. The city may prohibit fences in particular easements depending on what the easement does. Replacing an existing fence under six feet that was removed for maintenance or construction in an easement needs no permit where it goes back in the same place. No fence may be installed so as to block or divert a natural drainage flow onto or off any other land.
No fence or wall exceeding six feet in height shall be placed or erected in any public utility or drainage easement or other public easement.
The answer turns on whether the fence sits in an easement and how tall it is.
- the edge of any yard
- A fence may sit on the line.
- an easement, fence over six feet
- Not permitted. 6 ft
- an easement, fence under six feet
- Allowed, removable at the owner cost.
- natural drainage
- May not be blocked or diverted.
Also on fences on the property line in Gallatin
- 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 Gallatin?
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Gallatin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what the lot abuts.
In the residential and mixed use districts developed with residential uses, a Gallatin fence may reach four feet in a required front yard and six feet in a required side or rear yard. The front yard fence also has to be no more than fifty percent opaque, which the ordinance explains in the text as obscuring no more than half the view into the land. A ten foot fence becomes available in a rear or side yard where the residential lot abuts property zoned for or developed with commercial or industrial activity, or abuts land developed with multifamily buildings, which is a rule about what the neighbor is rather than what the owner wants. Commercial districts take four feet at the front and ten at the side or rear, with the same fifty percent opacity at the front, and industrial districts take six and ten. The Zoning Administrator may approve a driveway entry feature such as a decorative column or gate above any of those figures.
In residential and mixed use zone districts developed with residential uses, fences and walls shall not exceed a height of four (4) feet in a required front yard and six (6) feet in a required side and/or rear yard.
The answer turns on the district and what the lot abuts.
- a residential front yard
- Four feet, half open. 4 ft
- a residential side or rear yard
- Six feet. 6 ft
- abutting commercial, industrial or apartments
- Ten feet. 10 ft
- a driveway entry feature
- Taller, at the Zoning Administrator discretion.
Also on fence height in Gallatin
- 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 Gallatin?
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Gallatin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence or wall.
Gallatin runs two processes over every fence. Under the zoning ordinance, before any fence or wall is built the applicant has to obtain a fence or wall permit complying with the design standards and the building regulations, and the building code article requires an application with a site plan to be submitted to the planning department for review against the adopted codes and the zoning ordinance. Under the building code the threshold is seven feet. A fence or wall under seven feet, and a retaining wall of four feet or less, needs no permit from the building department. At seven feet or more, and for a retaining wall over four feet, a permit application with plans goes to the building department, stamped engineered design plans are required, and third party inspections by a State of Tennessee licensed engineer are required with every report including the final one filed with the department. Permit fees are negotiated on project size and complexity.
For fences or walls less than seven feet in height and for retaining walls four feet or less in height, a permit from the building department is not required.
The answer turns on the height of the fence or wall.
- any fence at all
- A planning department review with a site plan.
- under seven feet
- No building department permit. 7 ft
- seven feet or more
- Stamped engineered plans.
- the inspection
- A licensed engineer, reports filed with the city.
Also on permits in Gallatin
- 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 Gallatin
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Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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 Gallatin
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Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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 Gallatin
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Gallatin answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Gallatin closes the retaining wall gap in one sentence and states it twice, once for the residential districts and once for the commercial and industrial ones. Where a fence is built on top of a retaining wall, another wall, or a berm, the combined height of the fence and the wall may not exceed the maximum height that would apply to a fence or wall standing alone, measured in relation to the grade on the highest side of the wall. Two decisions are packed into that. The wall counts against the fence, so a four foot wall with a four foot fence on it is an eight foot structure and fails in a six foot yard. And the measurement is taken from the highest side, which is the stricter of the two readings and means the owner on the raised side gets no benefit from the drop on the other. A berm is named alongside the walls, so building the ground up is covered by the same rule.
If a fence is constructed on top of a retaining or other wall or berm, the combined height of the fence and wall shall not exceed the maximum height that would apply to a fence or wall alone, in relation to the grade on the highest side of the wall.
Also on how height is measured in Gallatin
- 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 Gallatin
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Gallatin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the district and what the sight distance standard requires there.
On a corner lot in any Gallatin district except the central commercial one, nothing may be erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow so as materially to impede vision between two and a half feet and ten feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets. The rule states the band and the datum but no triangle, so there is no leg length in the section at all. What supplies the geometry is a pair of references: sight distance for subdivisions has to meet the subdivision regulations, and sight distance for every other use and activity has to comply with the design standard in Article 13, Section 13.06.050. Fences, walls and hedges are made expressly subject to the rule twice, once in the list of permitted obstructions in a required yard and once in the fence section itself, so a fence that satisfies every height and material rule can still be refused at a corner.
On a corner lot in any district, except CC, nothing shall be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to be grown in such a manner as materially to impede vision between a height of two and one-half (2 1/2) and ten (10) feet above the center line grades of the intersecting streets.
The answer turns on the district and what the sight distance standard requires there.
- the protected band
- Two and a half feet to ten. 30 in
- the datum
- The center line grades of the streets.
- the geometry
- From the subdivision regulations or Section 13.06.050.
- the central commercial district
- Exempt.
Also on corner visibility in Gallatin
- 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 Gallatin
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Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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 Gallatin
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Gallatin answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the zoning of the land.
A Gallatin fence has to be built of materials customarily used and manufactured as common fence or wall materials, and the ordinance lists solid wood, brick, masonry, stone, chain link, wrought iron, decorative metal, or products designed to resemble those. Chain link approved as part of a site plan or final master development plan has to be vinyl coated in dark green, brown or black, and a low voltage invisible fence with buried lines is outside the requirement. Debris, junk, rolled plastic, sheet metal, plywood and other waste materials are prohibited in every district unless they have been recycled and reprocessed into building materials marketed to the public and designed for use as fencing. No electrified or barbed wire fence is permitted except on agricultural residential zoned property, property used primarily for agriculture, and public institutions, which may also apply other material necessary for public safety. All fences and walls have to be oriented with the finished side facing outward, and segments along a single lot side have to be uniform in height, material, type, color and design.
Fences and walls shall be constructed of materials customarily used and manufactured as common fence or wall materials, including solid wood, brick, masonry, stone, chain link, wrought iron, decorative metal materials, or products designed to resemble these materials.
The answer turns on the material and the zoning of the land.
- chain link on a site plan
- Vinyl coated, dark green, brown or black.
- sheet metal, plywood or junk
- Prohibited unless reprocessed into fencing.
- barbed or electric wire
- Agriculture and public institutions only.
- the finished side
- Faces outward, unless both sides are finished.
Also on materials in Gallatin
- 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 Gallatin
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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 Gallatin 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 Gallatin 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 GallatinGallatin Zoning Ordinance, Article 12.00, Supplementary District Regulations, Section 12.01.020, Fences, Walls, and Hedges
- 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
- City of GallatinGallatin Code of Ordinances, Chapter 5, Buildings and Building Regulations, Article XIV, Fences and Walls
- 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
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 Gallatin 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