Fence Regulations in Waco, TX (2026)
5 verified fence regulations for Waco, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Height Limits
Waco's zoning ordinance sets maximum fence heights in residential areas. Front yard fences are typically limited to 4 feet, while side and rear yard fences may be up to 8 feet.
Waco Fence Height Limits
Light RestrictionsTex. Prop. Code Sec. 202.023 (Security Measures - Perimeter Fencing)
Sec. 202.023. SECURITY MEASURES. (b) A property owners' association may not adopt or enforce a restrictive covenant that prevents a property owner from building or installing security measures, including but not limited to a security camera, motion detector, or perimeter fence. (c) This section does not prohibit a property owners' association from: (2) regulating the type of fencing that a prop...
Fence Permit Requirements
Any fence, wall or hedge that touches Waco's public right-of-way needs a permit first: Section 25-54(b) makes it unlawful to erect, alter or repair a fence, wall, hedge or other structure on or across a public right-of-way without written city authorization, and the rule reaches unused right-of-way between the property line and curbline too, not just paved street.
Waco Permit Required for Fences on Rights-of-Way
Some RestrictionsWaco, Tex., Code of Ordinances § 25-54(b)
(b)It shall be unlawful for any person within the city, without obtaining a permit or other written authorization from the city, to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter or repair or to permit the erection, construction, alteration or repair of any fence, wall, hedge or structure of any kind, on or across public rights-of-way.(c)These restrictions shall apply to streets, used rights-of-way, and ...
Neighbor Fence Rules
Texas law does not require neighbor consent before building a fence on your property, but Waco's code requires fences to be within property lines and sets standards for shared boundary fences.
Waco Fence Neighbor Rules
Few RestrictionsTex. Agric. Code Sec. 143.001-143.003 (Sufficient Fence Required; Gate; Cattle Guard)
Sec. 143.001. SUFFICIENT FENCE REQUIRED. Except as provided by this chapter for an area in which a local option stock law has been adopted, each gardener or farmer shall make a sufficient fence around cleared land in cultivation that is at least five feet high and will prevent hogs from passing through. Sec. 143.002. GATE. A person may not build, join, or maintain around cleared land in cultiva...
Retaining Walls
Waco requires a registered professional engineer to design any retaining wall built as part of site development, under the grading and drainage standards in Chapter 28. The same section requires site grading to preserve natural slope patterns and controls stormwater direction and volume so drainage doesn't harm surrounding or adjacent properties.
Waco Retaining Walls Require Registered Engineer Design
Some RestrictionsWaco, Tex., Code of Ordinances § 28-212
(a)The existing basic topographic pattern on a site including the overall rise or fall and direction of slope shall be maintained except where modification is necessary to improve a buildable area, or where the modification will contribute to a specific aesthetic enhancement.(b)Retaining walls and other structural elements, if required, shall be designed by a registered professional engineer.(c...
Material Restrictions
Waco bans barbed wire on any fence built along a street, alley, avenue or lane inside the city, and the same rule applies to repairing an existing barbed wire fence on those lines. The one exception: barbed wire strung above a five-foot fence, or on a lot of one acre or more, is allowed.
Waco Bars Barbed Wire Fences Along Streets
Some RestrictionsWaco, Tex., Code of Ordinances § 22-31
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to make, build, construct or erect any fence to be composed wholly or in part of what is commonly known as barbed wire, on or along the line of any street, alley, avenue or lane in the city or to repair any barbed wire fence now erected, on or along the line of any street, alley, avenue or lane in the city.(b)This section shall not prohibit the putting of ...