Washington, DC Fence Regulations: Material Restrictions (2026)

C. 01, no fence, barrier, or obstruction made in whole or in part of barbed wire may be erected, constructed, or maintained along the line of, in, or upon any street, avenue, alley, road, or other public walk, driveway, or public or private parking within the District's fire limits. 02 still requires a permit from the Mayor before any barbed-wire fence, barrier, or obstruction can be built along those same rights-of-way; without that permit, the same prohibition applies as inside the fire limits. Both sections trace to the Act of July 8, 1898 (30 Stat.

724, ch. 640, §§ 1-2), one of the oldest fence rules still on the books in the District, and both have been cross-referenced ever since through the 1973 and 1981 Code editions (formerly §§ 7-1101/7-801 and 7-1102/7-802). 03 lets the Inspector serve a written notice on the property owner or agent whenever unlawful barbed wire is found, giving the owner 30 days from service to remove it. 05 requires the Mayor to publish the removal notice twice a week for two successive weeks in a District newspaper of general circulation; if the fence is still standing 5 days after the last publication, the Inspector of Buildings must have it removed at the property's expense, with the removal and advertising costs assessed against the property and collected like general District taxes.

The statute governs the fence's location relative to public ways and private parking areas rather than acting as a blanket ban on every barbed-wire fence anywhere on a lot, so a fence set well back from any street, alley, or driveway line falls outside its reach unless it also sits within the fire limits.