Ada County, ID Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Ada County Code 8-3-6(F) requires a building permit for any fence, wall, latticework, or screen that exceeds six feet in height, and the permit application must include construction drawings stamped by a licensed engineer or architect registered in Idaho, not just a contractor's sketch. The six-foot trigger lines up with the general height cap in subsection (E): fences, walls, latticework, and screens may be built within or outside any yard setback, but on the ordinary perimeter or in a required setback they may not exceed six feet without a variance from the Board of County Commissioners.

Two carve-outs adjust that baseline. A public facility fence can rise above six feet without a variance, up to a maximum of twelve feet, so no separate discretionary approval is needed for a school or utility site fence in that range, though the permit-and-engineered-drawings requirement of (F) still applies once it passes six feet. On the other end, subsection (D) cuts the limit to three feet in the required front yard for any property one acre or smaller located within a designated area of impact, a rule aimed at preserving sightlines in the denser fringe neighborhoods bordering Boise, Meridian, Eagle, and the other cities that ring the unincorporated county.

Subsection (G) separately obligates the owner of any sight-obscuring fence, wall, latticework, or screen required by Title 8 to protect an adjacent property to keep it in good repair; a fence required as a buffer that starts falling apart is a maintenance violation independent of the height and permit rules. All of these fence standards were re-enacted under Ordinance 1002, effective October 28, 2025, replacing the prior Title 8 fence chapter.