Waco, TX Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited
- Barbed wire on fences along streets, alleys, lanes
- Repairs covered too
- Repairing an existing barbed wire fence is also barred
- Height exception
- Barbed wire allowed above a 5-foot fence
- Acreage exception
- Allowed on lots one acre or larger
- Code origin
- Traces to Code 1967 § 32-5
Summary
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.
(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 barbed wire on and above the top of a fence when such fence is at least five feet above the ground or where property is one acre or more in size.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 88).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 22-31 makes it unlawful to build, construct or erect any fence composed wholly or partly of barbed wire on or along the line of a street, alley, avenue or lane in the City of Waco, and the same prohibition covers repairing an existing barbed wire fence along those lines. The rule reaches both new construction and maintenance of a fence that already stands on the property line facing a public way. It carries one built-in exception: the ordinance does not stop a property owner from putting barbed wire on and above the top of a fence once that fence is at least five feet above the ground, or where the property itself is one acre or more in size.
That means a rural or large residential lot in Waco can top a tall perimeter fence with barbed wire even though a smaller in-town lot facing the street cannot use barbed wire at all along that line. The section traces to the 1967 Code and sits in Chapter 22, the streets and public places chapter, alongside the city's other rules on obstructions near public rights-of-way; a cross-reference in the same chapter also points to the separate fence-height rule at Sec. 28-929 for dimensional limits.
Violations & Fines
Building, erecting, or repairing a barbed wire fence along a street, alley, avenue or lane in violation of Sec. 22-31 is punishable under the city code. The rule does not apply once a fence reaches five feet in height and barbed wire is added only above that point, or on parcels of one acre or larger, so most violations involve barbed wire strung low, at eye or hand level, on a street-facing fence line on a smaller lot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a barbed wire fence along the street in Waco?
Is there any way to legally use barbed wire on a Waco fence?
Does the barbed wire ban apply to fences that aren't on a street line?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Waco
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Waco to another location·View the Texas fence regulations overview
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