Freehold Township, NJ Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

The Zoning Officer administers Freehold Township's fence rules under Chapter 190, Article XV, and every fence application starts with the fee schedule in § 150-55B(1)(b), which lists a fence among the 'zoning application with no construction permit required' items at a flat $35. A pool barrier fence is billed separately, also $35, but falls under the 'zoning application with construction permit required' category because it accompanies a swimming pool project. Height is governed by § 190-165. In residential zones, fences behind the front building line may run up to six feet, dropping to three feet once the fence sits in front of the building line or in a front yard; on corner lots the front is fixed by wherever the main entrance faces, and a special rule lets a six-foot fence run from the rear corner of the house toward the side street for a distance equal to half the zone's required front setback.

Business and industrial zone fences top out at six feet in any yard, except that open wire security fencing may reach eight feet. Farms get their own allowance: open wire fencing up to six feet anywhere on the premises, and any other fence type up to four feet within 25 feet of a street line and six feet beyond that. Barbed wire is banned townwide except on farms and in the industrial zone, where it must sit atop a fence at least six feet tall and used strictly for security.

Electrically charged fences are farm-only and must be posted with warning signs. Every fence must sit entirely inside the property line, stay out of any public right-of-way, be maintained in a safe and upright condition with its framework facing the interior of the lot, and may never incorporate glass, sharpened metal or other material designed to injure people or animals.