Fence laws in Provo, Utah
What the Provo municipal code says about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line. Where Provo sets no rule of its own, the Utah rule is shown in its place and marked as such.
Fence laws in Provo, Utah, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Provo does not state a distance between a fence and a lot line, and it asks for no consent from the adjoining owner, so a fence may sit on the boundary, and the answer turns on what kind of structure reaches the line. The figure is 3 feet, for privacy wall in a front yard.
- How tall
- A solid, sight obscuring wall, fence or hedge in a required front yard in Provo stops at three feet, and the answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is sight obscuring. The figure is 3 feet, for solid fence in a front yard.
- Permits
- In the Provo residential zones a structural fence of seven feet or less needs no building permit, and one over seven feet needs a permit from the Building Inspection Division, and the answer turns on the height of the fence and the zone. The figure is 7 feet, for height below which no permit is needed.
- Pool barriers
- Utah requires a fence around the whole edge of a public pool, the pool deck and any extra deck. The figure is 6 feet, for minimum height of the barrier around a public pool, measured from the outside.
- Spite fences
- Provo has no spite fence statute. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Measured from what
- Where the ground differs on the two sides of a fence, Provo measures from the natural grade of the property the fence is located on, and the answer turns on which lot the fence stands on and what is under it. The figure is 18 inches, for extra height allowed for a pillar.
- Corner lots
- In every Provo zone that requires a front yard, no structure over three feet may be placed on a corner lot inside a triangle formed by the two street property lines and a line joining them twenty-five feet from where they meet, and the answer turns on whether the thing is a structure or a trimmed planting. The figure is 25 feet, for leg of the clear vision triangle.
- Retaining walls
- Utah writes its own permit rule for a wall that holds back earth and puts it in the statute in place of the model code line. The figure is 4 feet, for depth of unbalanced fill at or above which a retaining wall needs a building permit. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- Fencing materials in the Provo residential zones are limited to lumber, vinyl, chain link, masonry, wrought iron and decorative metal, vegetation, or other similar fencing materials, and pallets, scrap metal, tarps and other non-fencing materials are not permitted, and the answer turns on the material and the condition of the fence.
- Livestock
- In Utah the owner of the animal pays for damage it does on someone else's land.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Provo?
Compare fences on the property line across all 50 states
Provo answers this, but the answer changes depending on what kind of structure reaches the line.
Provo does not state a distance between a fence and a lot line, and it asks for no consent from the adjoining owner, so a fence may sit on the boundary. The one place the code addresses a structure crossing from the house toward the line is the privacy wall, which projects into a required front yard and may be built to a maximum of three feet, the same figure as a solid front yard fence. A retaining wall located on the line separating two lots is expressly contemplated and may be topped by a fence at full height, which settles the commonest boundary dispute in a hillside city. Nothing in the section says which side the finished face or the posts point toward and nothing divides the cost of a shared fence, so both remain matters for the neighbors and the Utah partition fence statutes.
Privacy Walls. Privacy walls which project into a required front yard may be built to a maximum of three (3) feet.
The answer turns on what kind of structure reaches the line.
- an ordinary fence
- No distance from the line is stated.
- a privacy wall into the front yard
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a retaining wall on the line
- Expressly allowed, and it may be topped.
Also on fences on the property line in Provo
- set in state lawUtah splits the cost of a fence on the line between two owners. Each side pays in step with how much land it fences in. If one owner built the fence first and a neighbor later fences land against it, that neighbor pays half the value of the shared part before doing it. An owner who stops farming the land gives notice and waits 30 days before pulling any of the fence out. Utah Code 4-26-102Utah · Statute
- set in state lawUtah has a second cost rule for grazing land and big game country. One owner can make the neighbor pay half the cost of the fence. The cost has to be reasonable, the kind of fence has to be one that is common in that area, and the bill cannot run past the price of posts, wire and connectors. A neighbor who refuses can be sued for the half. Utah Code 4-26-103Utah · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Provo?
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Provo answers this, but the answer changes depending on the yard and whether the fence is sight obscuring.
A solid, sight obscuring wall, fence or hedge in a required front yard in Provo stops at three feet. One that is not sight obscuring, meaning at least fifty percent open, gets six. Doubling the allowance in exchange for half the surface is the widest such trade in this set and it means the choice at the front of a Provo lot is between privacy and height, not between four feet and six. Side yards allow seven feet whether the fence is solid or open. A rear yard fence may exceed seven feet provided a building permit is obtained first, so the rear is uncapped rather than limited. A corner lot may carry a seven foot fence in the side yard next to a public street so long as it stays out of the clear vision area. An entry treatment to a private driveway or a subdivision entrance may not exceed six feet at its highest point, lamps on pillars excepted.
Solid walls, fences or hedges which are sight obscuring may be built to a maximum of three (3) feet in height in any required front yard perimeter. Such walls, fences, or hedges may slope upward to connect to a higher side yard fence. The length of a sloped fence section shall not exceed one (1) section or a maximum of ten (10) feet. Walls, fences or hedges which are not sight obscuring (at least fifty percent (50%) open) may be built to a maximum of six (6) feet in height in a front yard.
The answer turns on the yard and whether the fence is sight obscuring.
- a solid front yard fence
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a half open front yard fence
- Six feet. 6 ft
- a side yard
- Seven feet, solid or open. 7 ft
- a rear yard
- Above seven feet with a building permit.
Also on fence height in Provo
- no rule, documents checkedUtah sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The construction code statute names which code editions apply and gives no fence height. The fence chapter of the farming code covers splitting cost and fencing bison, not yard fences. Cities and counties set the height. Utah Code 15A-2-103Utah · Statute
Do I need a permit for a fence in Provo?
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Provo answers this, but the answer changes depending on the height of the fence and the zone.
In the Provo residential zones a structural fence of seven feet or less needs no building permit, and one over seven feet needs a permit from the Building Inspection Division. Seven feet is a high threshold, and because the side yard allowance is exactly seven, an ordinary side or rear fence built to the limit is exempt. The rear yard is where the permit does work: a rear yard fence may exceed seven feet only if a building permit is obtained first, so the permit is what unlocks the extra height rather than merely recording it. A fence on a double frontage lot may reach seven feet in the rear yard where that fencing is common to the street, subject to staff review. The commercial zones use a lower threshold of six feet for the same permit requirement.
Structural fences seven (7) feet or less in height shall not require a building permit. Structural fences over seven (7) feet in height shall require a building permit from the Building Inspection Division.
14.34.500(1), with (c) and (i)
The answer turns on the height of the fence and the zone.
- a residential fence at seven feet or less
- No permit. 7 ft
- anything taller
- A building permit.
- a double frontage rear yard
- Seven feet, subject to staff review.
Also on permits in Provo
- set in state lawUtah uses one construction code across the whole state and names the exact editions in the statute, including the 2024 International Building Code and the 2021 International Residential Code. State changes to those codes sit in a separate chapter of the same title. Utah changes only three items on the list of home work that needs no permit, covering walls that hold back earth, low decks and small storage containers. The fence item on that list is model code text that Utah leaves alone, so it is printed on no Utah state site. Utah Code 15A-2-103Utah · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Provo
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Utah requires a fence around the whole edge of a public pool, the pool deck and any extra deck. It stands at least six feet tall, measured on the outside face. No opening can pass a four inch ball, and horizontal rails sit at least 45 inches apart. Gates close and latch on their own, and at least one gate swings outward so people can get out.
This one is Utah law, not Provo law. All Utah findings
is at least six feet in height measured from the exterior side of the barrier
6 ftminimum height of the barrier around a public pool, measured from the outside
Spite fence laws in Provo
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Provo law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Utah has no spite fence law. The fence chapter of the farming code covers splitting cost and fencing bison, and nothing else. The stray animal chapter covers animals that wander onto other land. Neither one gives a neighbor a claim over a fence put up out of spite, and neither sets a height that starts one.
This one is Utah law, not Provo law. All Utah findings
Documents read before writing that:
- Utah Code 4-26-101 through 4-26-104Utah State Legislature
- Utah Code 4-25-101 through 4-25-406Utah State Legislature
How fence height is measured in Provo
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Provo answers this, but the answer changes depending on which lot the fence stands on and what is under it.
Where the ground differs on the two sides of a fence, Provo measures from the natural grade of the property the fence is located on. That is the opposite of the several cities that read from the higher side: here a fence on the upper lot is measured from the upper ground, which allows a taller structure as seen from below. The retaining wall rule then removes the other common argument. Where a retaining wall holds back a cut or a fill and sits on the line separating two lots, it may be topped by a fence, wall or hedge of the same height that would otherwise have been permitted there if the retaining wall did not exist. So the wall is never counted against the fence. Pillars are allowed to extend eighteen inches above the permitted fence height provided they stand at least six feet apart, measured face to face.
Where there is a difference in the grade of the properties on either side of a fence, wall or other similar structure, the height of the fence shall be measured from the natural grade of the property upon which it is located.
The answer turns on which lot the fence stands on and what is under it.
- a sloping boundary
- Read from the lot the fence is on.
- a retaining wall on the line
- The full fence height on top of it.
- a pillar
- Eighteen inches more, six feet apart. 18 in
Also on how height is measured in Provo
- no rule, documents checkedUtah never says what a fence height is measured from, at any level of its code. The fence sections in title 4 are about deals between neighbors and how the cost of a shared fence is split, and they carry no dimension at all. The land use act was renumbered in 2025 into title 10, chapter 20, and the zoning power it hands a city covers putting up, building, rebuilding, changing, repairing and using buildings and structures, with no mention of height. Height turns up in that chapter only in what makes a structure one that no longer fits the rules, and in the standards a city may put on a charter school. Neither place says what a height starts from, so the city ordinance decides. Utah Code 10-20-505Utah · Zoning code
Fence rules for corner lots in Provo
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Provo answers this, but the answer changes depending on whether the thing is a structure or a trimmed planting.
In every Provo zone that requires a front yard, no structure over three feet may be placed on a corner lot inside a triangle formed by the two street property lines and a line joining them twenty-five feet from where they meet. Two exceptions are written in. Street trees and other landscaping are permitted where they are pruned and trimmed so as not to obstruct a clear view by drivers, as determined by the City Engineer, so planting is judged rather than measured. City wayfinding and traffic control signs are also exempt. The fence section points at this rule twice over, once to keep a seven foot corner lot fence out of the clear vision area and once to hold an entry treatment to it, and separately asks that no fence create a sight-distance hazard to vehicles or pedestrians as determined by the Provo City Traffic Engineer.
In all zones which require a front yard, no structure in excess of three (3) feet in height shall be placed on any corner lot within a triangular area formed by the street property lines and the line connecting them at points twenty-five (25) feet from the intersection of the street lines
The answer turns on whether the thing is a structure or a trimmed planting.
- the size of the triangle
- Twenty-five feet along each street line. 25 ft
- a structure inside it
- Three feet. 3 ft
- a trimmed street tree
- Permitted, at the City Engineer judgment.
Also on corner visibility in Provo
- no rule, documents checkedUtah sets no corner triangle in state law. The two sections of the highway protection act that come closest were read in full. One bans putting a structure or object inside the right of way of a state highway, county road or city street without a permit, which turns on the right of way line and not on what a driver can see. The other bans blocking traffic on a sidewalk or a highway. The fence chapter of the farming code covers fences on a property line and livestock and never mentions a corner. Cities and counties set the triangle. Utah Code 72-7-102Utah · Statute
Retaining wall rules in Provo
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Utah writes its own permit rule for a wall that holds back earth and puts it in the statute in place of the model code line. It measures the dirt rather than the wall. A wall holding back less than four feet of unbalanced fill needs no permit. Unbalanced fill is the dirt piled on the high side with nothing on the low side to push back. The pass is gone in two cases: where the wall carries a surcharge, meaning an extra load pressing on the dirt behind it, and where the wall is big enough that Section R404.4 of the residential code calls for a design. Utah changes only three items on that no permit list, and this is the first of them.
This one is Utah law, not Provo law. All Utah findings
Retaining walls retaining less than four feet (1219mm) of unbalanced fill, unless supporting a surcharge or requiring design per Section R404.4.
4 ftdepth of unbalanced fill at or above which a retaining wall needs a building permit
Fence materials allowed in Provo
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Provo answers this, but the answer changes depending on the material and the condition of the fence.
Fencing materials in the Provo residential zones are limited to lumber, vinyl, chain link, masonry, wrought iron and decorative metal, vegetation, or other similar fencing materials, and pallets, scrap metal, tarps and other non-fencing materials are not permitted. The list is short and the catch-all runs both ways, allowing anything similar and barring anything that was not made to be a fence. A second sentence handles condition rather than kind: any fence, wall, gate, hedge or structure maintained in such a state of deterioration or disrepair as to constitute a nuisance or a hazard to persons or property has to be repaired or replaced. Barbed wire and similar fences are not dealt with in the zoning chapter at all and are sent to Section 9.14.020 of the city code, which sits in a different title.
Fencing materials are limited to lumber, vinyl, chain-link, masonry, wrought iron and decorative metal, vegetation or other similar fencing materials. Pallets, scrap metal, tarps or other non-fencing materials are not permitted.
The answer turns on the material and the condition of the fence.
- the permitted list
- Six named materials, plus anything similar.
- pallets, scrap metal or tarps
- Not permitted.
- a fence falling apart
- Repaired or replaced as a nuisance.
- barbed wire
- Governed by a different title.
Also on materials in Provo
- set in state lawUtah sets no material rule for an ordinary fence. Its one material rule is about bison. An outside fence meant to hold bison has to reach at least eight feet, and the fence sections and gates have to be a mesh of high tensile steel wire of at least fourteen and one half gauge, with squares no bigger than six inches by six inches, or a material just as strong. The posts get their own rule: treated wood at least four inches across, or something as strong, standing at least six feet two inches above the ground. Utah Code 4-26-104Utah · Statute
Livestock and boundary fence law in Provo
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Utah answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
In Utah the owner of the animal pays for damage it does on someone else's land. That covers cattle, a horse, a donkey, a mule, a sheep, a goat or a pig. The owner is off the hook when the land was not fenced in by a lawful fence, in a county or city that has passed a fence ordinance. A second exception covers animals that come in off an old livestock trail onto land without a good enough fence.
This one is Utah law, not Provo law. All Utah findings
The owner of any cattle, horse, ass, mule, sheep, goat, or swine that trespasses upon the premises of another person, except in cases where the premises are not enclosed by a lawful fence in a county or municipality that has adopted a fence ordinance, is liable in a civil action to the owner or occupant of the premises for any damage inflicted by the trespass.
Also on agricultural fencing in Provo
- set in state lawUtah never says in state law what a lawful fence is, so there is no statewide wire count and no statewide height. Each county decides. A county can pass an ordinance on fencing farms, subdivisions and other private land so grazing animals stay off it, and a county that passes one has to spell out in it what counts as a lawful fence. A county can also split itself into parts with a different fence rule in each. Utah Code 4-25-204Utah · Statute
- set in state lawUtah does set hard numbers for one kind of livestock fence, and it is the bison fence. An outside fence meant to hold bison reaches at least eight feet above the ground, in both the fence sections and the gates. The mesh runs no wider than six inches by six inches, in high tensile steel wire of at least 14 and one half gauge, which is wire made to take more pull before it gives. Posts go no more than 20 feet apart and sit at least two feet in the ground. Utah Code 4-26-104Utah · Statute
Documents behind this page
15 documents, of which 2 were published by Provo itself. Each was read on the date shown.
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences, Section 102
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences, Section 103
- Provo CityProvo City Code, Section 14.34.500, Fencing Standards for Residential Zones
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 15A, State Construction and Fire Codes Act, Chapter 2, Section 103
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences
- Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Population Health, Environmental HealthUtah Administrative Code, Rule R392-302, Public Pool Design, Construction, and Operation, Section 17, Fencing and Barriers
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 10, Chapter 20, Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 72, Chapter 7, Protection of Highways Act, Part 1, Protection of Rights-Of-Way
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 72, Chapter 7, Protection of Highways Act, Part 1, Protection of Rights-Of-Way
- Provo CityProvo City Code, Section 14.34.100, Clear Vision Area, Corner Lots
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 15A, Chapter 3, Part 2, Statewide Amendments to International Residential Code, Section 202
- Utah LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 26, Enclosures and Fences
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays, Section 205
- Utah State LegislatureUtah Code, Title 4, Chapter 25, Estrays, Section 204
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 Provo publishes, plus the Utah rules that apply where the city sets none. Fence laws in Utah 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