No Plymouth County permit exists for a fence; counties issue no building permits. Under the state building code, 780 CMR, fences up to seven feet are exempt from a building permit, though towns still apply zoning setbacks.
Massachusetts counties run no building departments, so a fence permit is always a town matter governed by the statewide building code, 780 CMR. That code exempts fences not over seven feet high from a building permit, so a standard residential fence in Brockton, Plymouth, Duxbury, Marshfield, Middleborough, or Wareham needs no building permit. Towns still apply their zoning-bylaw setback and height rules, and work near the wetlands common across the South Shore requires conservation-commission sign-off. Call Dig Safe before setting posts.
Building a fence over seven feet without a permit violates the building code and the town can order it corrected. Zoning-setback or wetland violations are enforced by the town building or conservation office.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations at all, and where a bylaw to...
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. On your own lawn a yard-sale sign is generally fine, but a si...
Plymouth County, MA
Towns, not Plymouth County, regulate signs, through zoning bylaws authorized by MGL c.40A. Those bylaws must stay content-neutral: after Reed v. Town of Gilb...
Plymouth County, MA
Rental registration and inspection are local powers, not county ones. The State Sanitary Code under MGL c.111 §127A lets each town's board of health enforce ...
Plymouth County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Plymouth County town can add one. A landlord ends a tenancy at will with 30 days' written noti...
Plymouth County, MA
Rent control is illegal across every Plymouth County community. Massachusetts voters banned it in 1994 through Question 9, now codified as MGL c.40P §4: no c...
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