Fence Regulations in Madison, WI (2026)
4 verified fence regulations for Madison, Wisconsin, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Height Limits
Madison's zoning code caps screening fences and hedges at six feet in required interior side and rear setbacks, eight feet where a residential lot backs onto a mixed-use, commercial, employment district or public utility, and four feet in front or street side yard setbacks. Ornamental fences may exceed these caps, and pool enclosures may reach eight feet under MGO § 28.142(11)(a).
Madison Screening Fence Height Limits
Some RestrictionsMadison General Ordinances § 28.142(11)(a)
1.The maximum height of a screening fence or screening hedge within required interior side and rear setbacks in a residential zoning district shall not exceed six (6) feet. An ornamental fence or ornamental hedge may exceed six (6) feet in height. A screening fence or screening hedge of up to eight (8) feet in height may be placed on a district boundary line between a residential district and a...
Neighbor Fence Rules
Wisconsin's partition fence statute (WI Stat 90.03) requires adjoining rural/agricultural landowners to share cost of boundary fences. In urban Madison, the line fence statute rarely applies; disputes are civil matters.
Fences: Neighbor Rules
Some RestrictionsWis. Stat. §§90.02–90.03
90.02 Legal fences; space between ground and bottom. (1) In this section, "high tensile wire" means wire with a tensile strength of 1,235 to 1,450 mega pascals or 179,000 to 210,000 pounds per square inch. (1m) The following and none other are legal and sufficient fences: (a) A fence of strong woven wire not less than 26 inches wide with 3 barbed wires or 3 high tensile wires above. (b) A fence...
Retaining Walls
Madison treats any retaining wall built on City-owned or leased greenways or park land as a public nuisance unless the owner first gets a Greenway Privilege from the City Engineer under Chapter 37. This rule is narrow: it governs greenway and park-land encroachments, not retaining walls on ordinary private lots.
Retaining Walls in Madison Greenways
Significant RestrictionsMadison General Ordinances § 8.15(1)(a),(c)
(1)Greenways and Park Lands.(a)Public Nuisance. Except as provided for in this Subsection, the private use of City-owned or leased greenways and park lands including, but not limited to, fences, retaining walls, outbuilding sites, dog runs, play equipment and gardens, storage of piers, boat hoists, firewood or other private personal property, disposal or dumping of yard waste or garbage, planti...
Material Restrictions
Fences in Madison's front or street side yard setbacks must be built of wood, ornamental metal, brick, vinyl-coated chain link or stone under MGO § 28.142(11)(e); uncoated chain link is reserved for interior side and rear yards only.
Madison Front-Yard Fence Material Rules
Some RestrictionsMadison General Ordinances § 28.142(11)(e)
(e)Fences located in the front or street side yard setback areas must be made of materials such as wood, ornamental metal, brick, vinyl-coated chain link or stone. Uncoated chain link fences may be used in interior side or rear yards.
Looking for Dane County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Madison city rules.
Fence Regulations in Dane County →