Bartow County, GA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Bartow County Code § 18-131(a) sets the trigger for when a retaining wall needs a building permit: any wall exceeding three feet of exposed wall height, or exceeding two feet of exposed wall height when it supports a surcharge, a vertical load beyond the retained soil itself, such as sloping backfill, a structure's footing, vehicle loads, or a solid fence attached to the wall. Exposed wall height is defined in § 18-131(b) as the vertical distance from the finish grade at the bottom of the wall to the finish grade at the top, not counting the wall and footing depth below grade.

When a permit is required, the application must include a site plan showing the wall's location, extent, and height in relation to any building, pool, property line, and public utility easement, plus complete construction details and structural calculations stamped and signed by a professional engineer. Section 18-131(c) also addresses tiered retaining walls, two or more short walls offset from one another instead of a single tall wall: if the walls are not offset by at least twice the exposed height of the lower wall, the county treats them as a single wall for permit purposes, so two three-foot walls set only two feet apart are treated as one six-foot wall and require a permit and engineering. Bartow County Building Inspections administers the permit under the general permitting authority of §§ 18-117 and 18-161.