Cabarrus County, NC Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Section 6-9 of the Development Ordinance, Height limitation on fences in residential districts, states directly that a zoning permit is not required to install a residential fence in unincorporated Cabarrus County. That waiver applies specifically to the zoning permit process the county uses for most other construction; it does not waive the substantive limits in the same section, which still cap rear and side yard fences at seven feet and front yard fences at five feet, with an exemption for recreational fences. Because no permit review or survey is required, the ordinance advises property owners to identify their property lines before installation, since a fence built past the boundary can encroach onto a neighbor's lot or into a public right-of-way, either of which the county can still act on even though no permit was needed to build it.

A separate condition applies to any fence installed in a regulated floodway: it must not impede the flow of water or the natural function of the floodway, regardless of the permit exemption. This is distinct from the four-foot barrier that Section 6-10 separately requires around outdoor swimming pools, which references the North Carolina Building Code rather than the county's own zoning permit process. Cabarrus County Planning and Development, which administers Chapter 6, does not review residential fence plans before construction begins, but it does respond to encroachment and floodway complaints after the fact.