Champaign County, IL Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

0 of the Champaign County Zoning Ordinance defines STRUCTURE broadly: anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground or affixed to something with a fixed location on the ground, and it lists fences by name among the examples, alongside buildings, walls, billboards, and signs. 2's permitting rule, which requires the owner, or the owner's agent, architect, engineer, or builder, to obtain a Zoning Use Permit from the Zoning Administrator before starting to construct or erect a new structure or accessory structure or any part of one, or before extending or moving one.

The permit application must be filed in writing on the Zoning Administrator's forms and include the location and legal description of the property, the owner's and applicant's names and addresses, the estimated cost, a description of the use, and a scaled plan showing lot dimensions, the size, shape and location of the structure to be built, existing structures and uses on the lot, and access. This permit requirement applies only within the unincorporated area the county zones; the City of Champaign, City of Urbana, and other municipalities administer their own separate fence rules within their corporate limits. Once erected without the required permit, a fence is treated the same as any other unpermitted structure under the ordinance's enforcement provisions.