Arlington County, VA Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Barbed wire minimum height
- 6 feet or higher only
- Sharp/cut mesh prongs
- Prohibited below 6 feet unless at bottom
- Electrically charged fences
- Prohibited outright, no exceptions
- Enforcing official
- Building Official, Inspections Services Division
- Governing chapter
- Arlington County Code Chapter 3
- Default penalty
- Up to $2,500 fine or 30 days jail
- First adopted
- December 8, 1979
Summary
Arlington County bans barbed wire on any fence or wall below six feet, bars sharp or cut mesh prongs below six feet unless placed at the bottom, and prohibits electrically charged fences outright anywhere in the county under the Building Code's supplemental fence requirements.
Barbed wire and electrically charged fences. Barbed wire shall not be allowed on any fence or wall at a height of less than six (6) feet. Sharp, unfinished, or cut prongs or links of open mesh type fences shall not be allowed on any fence at a height of less than six (6) feet unless the cut prongs or links are placed at the bottom of the fence. The erection or installation of an electrically charged fence is prohibited.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 3 of the Arlington County Code, the Building Code, sets the county's fence-material limits in § 3-3, Supplemental Requirements. Barbed wire cannot be installed on any fence or wall at a height of less than six feet, so it is usable only as a topper above that line, not as the fence body itself. Open-mesh chain-link fencing with sharp, unfinished, or cut prongs or links is subject to the same six-foot floor: those cut edges cannot sit below six feet unless they are turned to the bottom of the fence, away from where a person or pet could contact them.
Electrically charged fencing gets no height exception at all: § 3-3 flatly prohibits the erection or installation of an electrically charged fence anywhere in the county, residential or otherwise. The Building Official, defined in § 3-1 as the Inspections Services Division Chief or the County Manager's designee, administers Chapter 3 and issues the underlying building permits fences must obtain. Section 3-6 clarifies that nothing in the Building Code overrides the county's 1950 Zoning Ordinance except where the two directly conflict, so a fence must still clear any separate zoning setback or height limit in addition to these material rules.
The supplemental requirements section has stood with only technical amendments since it was adopted in 1979 (12-8-79) and last amended by Ord. No. 09-11, effective July 1, 2009.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 3 carries no fence-specific penalty of its own, so a violation of § 3-3 falls under the Code's general penalty at § 1-6: a fine of up to $2,500, imprisonment in the County Jail for up to 30 days, or both. Each day a prohibited barbed wire, sharp-mesh, or electric fence remains installed counts as a separate offense, so the exposure compounds until the Building Official confirms the fence is brought into compliance or removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put barbed wire on my fence in Arlington County?
Are electric fences legal on residential property in Arlington County?
My chain-link fence has sharp cut ends. Is that allowed?
Who enforces Arlington County's fence material rules?
What happens if I install a prohibited fence in Arlington County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Arlington County
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