Yavapai County, AZ Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing ordinance
- Yavapai County Ordinance No. 2025-3
- Permit-exempt height
- 4 feet, footing to top of wall
- Loses exemption if
- supports surcharge, steep slope, or needs soils report
- Guards required
- Section 1807.2.5, qualifying retaining walls
- Enforcing agency
- Development Services, Building Safety Unit
- Effective date
- January 1, 2026
Summary
Yavapai County exempts retaining walls up to four feet from footing to top from a building permit, but Section [A]105.2 of Ordinance No. 2025-3 strips that exemption the moment the wall supports a surcharge, sits on a steep slope, needs a soils report, or holds back Class I, II or IIIA flammable liquids. Guards are still required at qualifying retaining walls under Section 1807.2.5.
[A] 105.2: Work exempt from permit. Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction. Permits shall not be required for the following: ... 4. Retaining walls, which are not over four feet (4') in height, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless: a) Supporting a surcharge (VEHICLES LOADING, ADJACENT FOOTINGS, ETC). b) Slopes that exceed 2 to 1 near the top or bottom of slope and/or with sloping backfill. c) All shoring walls. d) When required to have a soils report. e) Impounding Class I, II or IIIA flammable liquids. ... 1807.2.5: Guards. Guards shall be provided at retaining walls in accordance with Sections 1807.2.5.1 through 1807.2.5.3.
Full Breakdown
Ordinance No. 2, Work exempt from permit. Item 4 of that section exempts retaining walls that are not over four feet in height, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, from needing a building permit at all, the same exemption tier as tool sheds under 120 square feet and fences under six feet. But the exemption has five carve-outs that pull a short wall back under the permit requirement: a wall supporting a surcharge such as vehicle loading or an adjacent footing; a slope steeper than 2-to-1 near the top or bottom, or sloping backfill; any shoring wall; any wall the building official requires a soils report for; and any wall impounding Class I, II or IIIA flammable liquids.
The ordinance is explicit that the exemption never authorizes work that otherwise violates the building code or any other County law, so an exempt wall still has to meet the structural provisions that would otherwise apply. 3 regardless of the four-foot permit exemption. Permit review and enforcement runs through Yavapai County Development Services, Building Safety Unit.
Violations & Fines
Building an exempt-looking wall that actually triggers one of the five carve-outs, such as a surcharge load or a required soils report, without pulling a permit leaves the wall outside Building Safety Unit review; the building official can require the owner to obtain a permit retroactively, order corrective engineering, or halt further construction until the wall is brought into compliance with Section [A]105.2 and the guard requirements of Section 1807.2.5.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit for a 3-foot retaining wall in unincorporated Yavapai County?
What counts as a 'surcharge' that removes the retaining-wall permit exemption?
Are guards required on top of a retaining wall?
Does a wall over four feet always need a permit even without a surcharge?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yavapai County
Compare Yavapai County to another location·View the Arizona fence regulations overview
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