Vanderburgh County, IN Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Under County Code Section 17.36.020(B)(1), "No building or other structure shall be erected, moved, relocated, added to or structurally altered so as to change the building footprint, without first obtaining an Improvement Location Permit from the Area Plan Commission." This permit, which the code also calls a Zoning Use Permit, is issued by the Director of the Area Plan Commission and covers new construction and site changes across the unincorporated county; Vanderburgh's zoning title reaches only unincorporated territory, since Evansville and Darmstadt administer their own codes.

The permit application itself is where fencing gets captured. Section 17.36.020(B)(2)(a) requires the accompanying site plan to show, at minimum, "location and height of existing and proposed fencing," alongside setbacks, driveways and lot dimensions. For non-residential and multi-family projects the code goes further: Section 17.36.020(B)(2)(b)(viii) separately requires "the exact location, type, and height of existing and proposed fences including dimensions to lot lines from the edge of the fence." One- and two-family dwellings, duplexes and residential accessory structures are approved administratively without full Site Review, but the fence data on the site plan is still required and checked against the height and setback limits in Section 17.12.060, which caps fences at 3 feet on corner-lot front yards, 4 feet on other front yards, 6 feet on residential side/rear lines, and 8 feet on nonresidential side/rear lines. Applications for other project types are routed through Site Review, made up of the Area Plan Commission Director, Building Commissioner, County Surveyor, County Engineer, Evansville Water and Sewer Utility, and the Health Department where applicable, each of which must approve or state written objections within twelve business days.