Dorchester County, SC Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Section 17.5 of the county's Zoning and Land Development Standards Ordinance (Ord. No. 04-13) states that a Zoning Permit is required prior to excavation, construction, redevelopment, increase in impervious surface, increase in number of dwelling units, or change in land use on a property. The ordinance carves out only four exemptions: driveways to an individually sited single-family or manufactured home, installation of streets and public utility lines, timber harvesting, and conversion of land to passive green space. Fence construction is not on that list, so it falls under the general construction trigger and requires a Zoning Permit from the Department of Planning and Codes Enforcement before work begins. Under Section 17.5(b), receiving the Zoning Permit also makes an applicant eligible to seek a Building Permit for the same project.

Once plans are submitted, Section 13.2.7 Fence and Wall Standards sets the dimensional rules a reviewer checks: residential fences may not exceed eight feet, except where a taller fence is required for screening in the applicable zoning district, and any fence within twenty-five feet of a lot line must have its finished side facing that lot line. Chain-link is limited to side and rear yards in residential zones, and barbed and razor wire are prohibited outright on residential fencing; commercial, agricultural, and industrial fences allow greater heights and, in limited cases, barbed wire atop chain-link not visible from a public right-of-way. A Zoning Permit issued under this article is valid for one year from issuance under Section 18.1.3 and must be posted at the site, generally thirty to sixty inches above grade, per Section 18.1.4, until the fence is complete.