6 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Scott County, Minnesota.
Verified from official government sources
In unincorporated Scott County, Zoning Ordinance No. 3 caps fences at six feet in Rural Residential, Residential Suburban, and Urban Reserve districts. Shakopee, Savage, and Prior Lake set their own limits, generally six feet in back and lower in front.
Scott County, MN, Zoning Ordinance No. 3, Sec. 4-3-10 (Fencing)
Fences shall not exceed six (6) feet in height from finished grade in Rural Residential, Residential Suburban, and Urban Reserve Zoning Districts or eight and one-half (8.5) feet in height from finished grade in Commercial and Industrial Districts. Agricultural fences that are seventy-five (75) percent or more open are exempt from the district fence height standards.
A standard residential fence within the height limit needs no county permit in unincorporated Scott County, but a taller fence requires an administrative permit, and cities like Shakopee and Savage apply their own zoning rules.
Minnesota's partition-fence law, Chapter 344, makes adjoining owners of livestock land share a division fence in equal shares, with township supervisors acting as fence viewers. It still matters across Scott County's rural townships. Spite fences are barred by Section 561.02.
Minn. Stat. § 344.03, subd. 1 (2026)
Except as provided in paragraph (b), if two adjoining lands are both used in whole or in part to produce or maintain livestock for agricultural or commercial purposes and one or both of the owners of the land desires the land to be partly or totally fenced, the land owners or occupants shall build and maintain a partition fence between their lands in equal shares.
Scott County and its cities follow the Minnesota State Building Code for retaining walls. A wall over four feet, or any wall carrying a surcharge like a driveway or slope, generally needs a permit and engineered plans.
Residential pools in Scott County must be enclosed by a barrier under the Minnesota State Building Code, generally at least 48 inches high with self-closing, self-latching gates, verified through the city or county pool permit and inspection.
Scott County and its cities allow wood, vinyl, chain-link, and ornamental metal fences, with barbed wire and electric fence typically confined to farmland. Materials should withstand Minnesota's freeze-thaw winters.
1 cities in Scott County have their own fence regulations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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Scott County Ordinance Hub →