Albemarle County, VA Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

County Code § 18-30.6.4 provides that within the Entrance Corridor (EC) overlay district, each structure or site improvement "for which a building permit is required" requires a certificate of appropriateness, and states plainly that "No building permit shall be approved until the certificate of appropriateness is obtained." Fencing is one of the enumerated categories: the code lists "Safety fencing and screening fencing" among the improvements eligible for expedited county-wide certificates, and separately authorizes the Architectural Review Board to set design criteria for "the location, type and color of all fencing, including safety fencing."

The Department of Community Development charges a fee for this review: County Code § 1-504's zoning fee schedule lists "ARB—Minor Staff Review of County Wide Certificates of Appropriateness (Fencing, Equipment, Lighting)" at $265. That review happens at the staff level rather than before the full board, and once a county-wide certificate is issued for a fencing category, the Director of Planning determines whether a particular fence submission satisfies its design criteria, with appeal available to the Architectural Review Board and, beyond that, to the Board of Supervisors.

This certificate requirement applies only within the mapped Entrance Corridor overlay, the parcels contiguous to the county's designated tourist-access routes; a fence built elsewhere in the county outside Charlottesville and Scottsville, away from an EC street, is not subject to this specific certificate review. Applications must be accompanied by the § 1-504 fee at filing, and the board or director must act within 60 days of a complete submission.