Grays Harbor County, WA Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Grays Harbor County's amended International Building Code, § 15.04.020(K), lists a fixed set of work exempt from the county's building permit requirement, and item (2) of that list simply exempts fences not over seven feet high. Because the exemption is capped at seven feet, a fence that exceeds that height is not on the exempt list and instead falls under the general permit requirement of amended IBC § 105.1 (§ 15.04.020(I)), requiring the owner to apply to the building official before construction. The county's zoning code separately addresses fences on the yard side: § 17.64.010(G) states that fences and retaining walls are exempt from all yard requirements, meaning a fence, of any permitted height, is not held to the front, side, or rear setback distances that apply to buildings in the same zoning district.

That yard exemption does not override the seven-foot building-permit threshold; the two rules operate independently, one governing whether a permit is needed at all, the other governing where a fence may sit on the lot. Submittal for a permit-triggering fence follows the same document rules the county applies to other permitted work under amended § 107.1, and the permit is not valid until the applicable fee is paid under § 109.1.