Prince George's County, MD Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

County Code Sec. 4-111(a), part of Subtitle 4's local amendments to the International Building Code, sets the exemption line for residential fences at four feet: build higher than that anywhere on the lot, and the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) requires a building permit before work starts. Corner-lot owners lose the four-foot exemption entirely under the cross-reference to Subtitle 27-421 of the Zoning Ordinance, meaning any fence on a corner lot, no matter how short, needs a permit because of sight-distance concerns at the intersection.

Section 4-111(a)(1)(d)(1) layers on a separate, height-blind rule: any fencing component that obstructs a public or private pedestrian path, building entrance, crosswalk access, or other paved portion of the right-of-way is prohibited outright, so a four-foot fence blocking a sidewalk is not saved by the general exemption. When a permit is required, the Table of Fees prices a residential fence permit at $145, made up of a $66 administrative fee, the $145 building permit fee, a $53 grading fee and a $5 Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission review fee, plus a 10% technology surcharge; a commercial fence runs $198 per fence or 2% of the verified construction cost, whichever is greater.

Property inside the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay Zone loses every one of these exemptions and must obtain a permit for any fence regardless of height. Once issued, a permit becomes void if work has not started within 180 days, per Sec. 4-111(i). Building without a required permit exposes the owner to enforcement under Sec. 4-116.