Putnam County, FL Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Section 45-532(a) sets the permit trigger for every fence and fence wall regulated under the Land Development Code's fence division: all fences that are over 36 inches in height must comply with established building permit procedures, with an exception carved out for fences used for bona fide agricultural uses. A fence at 36 inches or under can go up without a building permit under this subsection, but once it exceeds three feet the owner has to go through the county's standard building permit process before construction.

Bona fide agricultural fencing, the kind used to contain livestock or work a farm, is exempt from the height-triggered permit rule entirely, which lines up with the livestock exception to the barbed-wire restriction in § 45-532(f)(1). Even a permit-exempt fence still has to meet every other construction standard in the division: uniform materials, design and color under § 45-532(b), the conventional-materials rule in § 45-532(d), the finished-side and location rules in § 45-532(e) and (g), and the height caps in § 45-533, three feet in the front setback, six feet on side and rear lines, and eight feet for commercial, industrial or agricultural fencing.

The permit itself is issued through the county's normal building permit procedures administered under Chapter 8, Buildings and Building Regulations, rather than a separate fence-specific permit track, so applicants file the same way they would for any other permitted structure.