Fence laws in Washington
What Washington 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 Washington, question by question
The short version
- Who pays on the line
- Washington splits a fence on the property line in half.
- How tall
- Washington sets no maximum fence height. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide this one.
- Permits
- Washington has no fence permit rule of its own.
- Pool barriers
- Washington sends pools at homes to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, through its residential building code.
- Spite fences
- A Washington court can stop a structure built out of spite.
- Measured from what
- Washington gives one plain starting point, in its livestock fence law, and nowhere else. The figure is 48 inches, for top wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground. It reaches a lawful fence for animal damage claims only.
- Corner lots
- Washington puts its clear view duty at the railroad tracks. The figure is 100 feet, for distance from a railroad grade crossing that has to be kept clear of brush and timber. It reaches brush, trees and signs within 100 feet of a railroad crossing on a county road only.
- Retaining walls
- Washington leaves retaining walls to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 Washington leaves unamended. It reaches one and two family homes only.
- Materials
- Washington writes a lawful fence as a barbed wire fence and prints the build. The figure is 4 strands, for a lawful fence.
- Livestock
- Washington prints the fence in the statute. The figure is 48 inches, for height above the ground of the top wire of a lawful fence.
Who owns the fence between two properties in Washington?
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington splits a fence on the property line in half. Where neighbors share one fence around their land and one of them needs a dividing fence, the other builds half of it once notice is given. The fence goes on the property line, or as close to it as can be managed.
When two or more persons own land adjoining which is inclosed [enclosed] by one fence, and it becomes necessary for the protection of the interest of one party said partition fence should be made between them, the other or others, when notified thereof, shall erect or cause to be erected one-half of such partition fence, said fence to be erected on, or as near as practicable, the line of said land.
How tall can a fence be in Washington?
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Washington law has no rule about this. The chapters that were read are listed below. Cities and counties decide it instead.
Washington sets no limit on how tall a fence at a house can be. The state fence chapter says what counts as a lawful fence for livestock and how the cost of a shared fence is split, and it caps nothing at a house. The state residential code takes up the model code and adds no fence height. Cities and counties set it.
Documents read before writing that:
- RCW 16.60Washington State Legislature
- WAC 51-51-003Washington State Building Code Council
Do I need a permit for a fence in Washington?
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington has no fence permit rule of its own. It uses the 2021 International Residential Code as the code for one and two family homes across the state, and it did not change that code's list of work that needs no permit, so the model list applies as written. That list is model code text and is printed on no Washington state site, so no fence height is quoted here.
The 2021 edition of the International Residential Code as published by the International Code Council is hereby adopted by reference
Pool fence requirements in Washington
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington sends pools at homes to the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2021 edition, through its residential building code. The rule reaches a pool used only by the people who live at a single family house and their invited guests. Washington states no fence height of its own, so the numbers sit in that private code.
The design and construction of swimming pools, spas, and other aquatic recreation facilities shall comply with the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, if the facility is one of the following:
Spite fence laws in Washington
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
A Washington court can stop a structure built out of spite. A judge may order the owner or renter of land not to put up a structure meant to spite, injure or annoy a neighbor, and where one already stands, the court may order it taken down. The law turns on why it went up and not on how tall it is.
An injunction may be granted to restrain the malicious erection, by any owner or lessee of land, of any structure intended to spite, injure or annoy an adjoining proprietor.
How fence height is measured in Washington
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington gives one plain starting point, in its livestock fence law, and nowhere else. RCW 16.60.010 says a lawful fence has at least four barbed wires with the top wire 48 inches above the ground, give or take four inches, and the rest spaced 12, 22 and 32 inches below it. Above the ground is the answer, and it is the only answer the state gives. For a fence on a city lot, RCW 35.63.080 lets a council set rules for the height, number of stories, size, building and design of buildings and other structures, so the city ordinance gives both the limit and the point it starts from.
A lawful fence shall be of at least four barbed, horizontal, well-stretched wires, spaced so that the top wire is forty-eight inches, plus or minus four inches, above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches.
48 intop wire of a lawful fence, measured above the ground
Fence rules for corner lots in Washington
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington puts its clear view duty at the railroad tracks. RCW 36.86.100 tells the county to clear brush and trees out of the county road right of way for 100 feet on each side of a railroad crossing, so a driver can see a train coming, and puts the same duty on the railroad for its own land. It also bans a sign within 100 feet of that crossing outside city limits, unless the county finds the sign does not cut the view. Nothing in it draws a triangle at an ordinary street corner.
The county legislative authority shall cause brush and timber to be cleared from the right-of-way of county roads in the proximity of a railroad grade crossing for a distance of one hundred feet from the crossing in such a manner as to permit a person traveling upon the road to obtain an unobstructed view in both directions of an approaching train or other on-track equipment.
100 ftdistance from a railroad grade crossing that has to be kept clear of brush and timber
Retaining wall rules in Washington
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Washington does not set this. It leaves it to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 Washington leaves unamended.
Washington has no rule of its own for a wall that holds back earth. It uses the 2021 International Residential Code for one and two family homes, and lists every section it changed as its own numbered rule. That list was read in full. Nothing changes Section R105, the list of work that needs no permit, so the model code pass for such a wall stands as written. The slot for Section R404, which covers foundations and walls that hold back earth, is marked reserved, so Washington added nothing there either. The number that answers the question is model code text, which the International Code Council sells and which no Washington state site prints.
The 2021 edition of the International Residential Code as published by the International Code Council is hereby adopted by reference
The code hands this to the 2021 International Residential Code, published by the International Code Council, whose Sections R105.2 and R404 Washington leaves unamended, which is not published in the code itself.
Fence materials allowed in Washington
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington writes a lawful fence as a barbed wire fence and prints the build. It takes at least four barbed, level, well stretched wires, with the top one about 48 inches off the ground and the others 12, 22 and 32 inches below it, tied to solid posts set no more than 24 feet apart. Posts more than 16 feet apart need stays every eight feet. The very next section says any other fence as strong and as well made counts too, so barbed wire is the standard to match and not the only material allowed.
A lawful fence shall be of at least four barbed, horizontal, well-stretched wires, spaced so that the top wire is forty-eight inches, plus or minus four inches, above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches.
4 strandsa lawful fence
Livestock and boundary fence law in Washington
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Washington answers this in its own law. The words that do it are quoted below.
Washington prints the fence in the statute. A lawful fence carries at least four barbed wires, level and pulled tight. The top wire sits 48 inches off the ground, give or take four inches, and the others hang 12, 22 and 32 inches below it. Posts go in firmly and evenly, no more than 24 feet apart. Posts more than 16 feet apart need stays no more than eight feet from each other or from a post. Any other fence built just as strong counts too.
A lawful fence shall be of at least four barbed, horizontal, well-stretched wires, spaced so that the top wire is forty-eight inches, plus or minus four inches, above the ground and the other wires at intervals below the top wire of twelve, twenty-two, and thirty-two inches.
48 inheight above the ground of the top wire of a lawful fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Washington
- set in state lawIn Washington the damages claim hangs on the fence. A person who built a lawful fence around their land and kept it in repair can sue the owner of an animal that broke through it, collect the full damage and the costs of the suit, and hold the animal until it is paid. Proving the fence was lawful when the animal broke through is enough. The fence has to be there first, so the landowner who wants the animals out is the one who builds. RCW 16.60.015Washington · Statute
Cities in Washington
26 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
6 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 16.60, Section 16.60.030, Partition fence, Erection, Notice
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 16.60, Fences, full chapter
- Washington State Building Code CouncilWashington Administrative Code, WAC 51-51-003, International Residential Code
- Washington State Building Code CouncilWashington Administrative Code, WAC 51-51-0327, Section R327, Swimming pools, spas and hot tubs
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Chapter 7.40, Section 7.40.030, Malicious erection of structure may be enjoined
- Washington State LegislatureRevised Code of Washington, Title 36, Chapter 36.86, County Roads and Bridges
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