Durham, NC Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

UDO Sec. 2 lists the categories of development exempt from Durham's site plan review process, and it names fences directly: development that "does not require review by any City or County department for conformance with the standards of this Ordinance; or does not require a permit such as but not limited to fences or flagpoles" is exempt. The section then narrows that exemption with one condition, where a fence does trigger a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) or a special use permit for some other reason, a site plan still isn't required, but that other approval is.

In practice, that means the vast majority of residential and commercial fences in Durham go up without any city or county sign-off, as long as they meet the height and material standards in Sec. 9. The two situations that pull a fence out of the no-permit default are addressed elsewhere in the UDO: an electric fence located within the street-frontage area needs a Minor Special Use Permit under Sec. 2(D), and a fence in a designated historic district may need a COA from the Historic Preservation Commission, in which case Sec.

1(D) confirms the COA process substitutes for, rather than stacks on top of, the Minor Special Use Permit. Because this exemption sits in Article 3's general development-review chapter, it applies the same way across the joint City-County UDO's jurisdiction, covering both the City of Durham and the unincorporated parts of Durham County under the same rule.