Lincoln County, SD Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Lincoln County adopted the 2018 International Residential Code as its residential building code under § 151.30, effective June 1, 2021, and § 151.33 lists the county's amendments to that code. R105.1 requires anyone who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure to first apply to the building official and obtain a permit. R105.2 then lists eleven categories of work exempt from that permit requirement, and 'Fences' is the second item on the Building list, right after the exemption for one-story detached accessory structures of 200 square feet or less (which still needs a zoning placement permit) and just before the exemption for retaining walls under 4 feet.

Because R105.2 opens by stating that exemption from permit requirements 'shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction,' a fence still has to meet whatever height, setback or corner-visibility rule the Planning and Zoning Department applies under the zoning chapter; the exemption only removes the building-permit paperwork and fee schedule tied to habitable construction. Fence installers do not submit construction documents, site plans or pay a building permit fee to the building official for the fence itself, and there is no plan review or inspection under Chapter 151 for a standalone fence.