Fence Regulations in Georgia (2026)

Atlanta caps residential fences at 4 feet in front yards, 6 feet in side and rear yards in the R-1 through R-5…

Augusta-Richmond County limits residential fences to six feet in side and rear yards and four feet in front yards under…

Unincorporated Carroll County exempts fences up to six feet tall from a building permit, but caps any fence, planting…

In unincorporated Chatham County, residential walls and fences may not exceed 6 feet in front and side yards or 8 feet…

Cherokee County's zoning code caps a fence or free-standing wall at eight feet anywhere in the unincorporated county…

In unincorporated Clayton County, residential chain-link and privacy fences may reach 6 feet in side and rear yards…

Cobb County caps fences and freestanding walls at eight feet, cutting the limit to six feet where a fence sits along a…

Columbia County's zoning code, Sec. 90-144, limits backyard fences to six feet in most subdivisions, front-yard fences…

Columbus, Georgia allows fences, walls, and hedges up to eight feet tall in any required yard citywide, but keeps them…

Coweta County exempts fences and walls from the ordinance's yard setback requirements under Section 64, meaning a fence…

Decatur's UDO caps front-yard fences and walls at 4 feet, rear and side fences at 8 feet (dropping to 4 feet on any lot…

Unincorporated DeKalb County caps side and rear yard fences at eight feet and front-yard fences at four feet, with a…

In Dunwoody's residential districts, fences and walls in a street yard top out at four feet, rising to eight feet along…

Front-yard walls and fences in unincorporated Fayette County top out at four feet solid under § 110-81(b) and (c)…

Fence height in unincorporated Floyd County depends on the district and which yard the fence sits in. Section 4.2.5(a)…

Forsyth County caps front-yard fences and freestanding walls at 48 inches and allows up to 8 feet in required side or…

Fences and walls in unincorporated Fulton County top out at 8 feet from grade under Zoning Resolution § 4.11. Columns…

Fences in unincorporated Gwinnett County cannot exceed 4 feet within the required front yard setback or 8 feet anywhere…

Hall County caps fences at 7 feet in side and rear yards, 6 feet in yards adjacent to a street, and walls at 4 feet for…

Houston County's land development regulations do not cap general residential fence height, but they do restrict fences…

Johns Creek zoning caps residential fences and walls at 8 feet from grade, requires a 3-foot setback from public…

Macon-Bibb County caps residential fences at 4 feet in front yards and 8 feet in side or rear yards, while commercial…

Marietta caps a front-yard fence at 4 feet and requires it to look ornamental or decorative, while a fence on a major…

Rockdale County caps residential fences at 4 feet along the street right-of-way and 6 feet along interior side and rear…

Roswell caps side- and rear-yard fences at 8 feet; front-yard fences over 4 feet must be 50% transparent, with 6 feet…

South Fulton caps residential fences and walls at eight feet from grade under Zoning Ordinance Section 406.02(c)(7)…

Walton County caps residential fences at eight feet, dropping to six feet for any fence adjacent to a public road…

Warner Robins caps residential fences and walls at 4 feet in the front yard and 8 feet in the side or rear yard under…

Within a U-PUD zoning district in unincorporated Whitfield County, the Urban PUD Design Standards set a mandatory…

Paulding County's zoning code sets no general residential fence-height limit. UDO Section 240-160 regulates only corner…

In Roswell's Historic Overlay District, adding, replacing or altering a fence, gate or screening wall requires a Minor…

Acworth Building/Development Department: fence permits required. Apply through Acworth Development Department at 4415…

Atlanta requires a building permit for fences, with a $75 minimum fee for fences 6 feet or less and $120 for taller…

Fences over six feet tall in unincorporated Carroll County, Georgia need a building permit; the code exempts only…

Yes. In unincorporated Chatham County, Sec. 5-1.1 of the zoning ordinance flatly requires a building permit for any…

Building, altering or relocating a fence or wall in unincorporated Clayton County requires a fence permit from the…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, fences up to eight feet high need no building permit under § 7-30(d)(1)(A); taller…

A zoning compliance certificate is required before building any wall or fence in a front yard in unincorporated Fayette…

Forsyth County requires a building permit for any fence or wall over 6 feet tall under UDC § 16-4.13(A). Retaining…

Fences and walls in unincorporated Fulton County need a permit from the Department of Environment and Community…

Gwinnett County lets homeowners build a fence up to 8 feet without a permit, but masonry or concrete fencing over 4…

Fences and walls in Johns Creek need a Community Development Department permit before construction; only fences built…

A fence in Macon-Bibb County counts as a 'structure' under the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution's definitions…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a fence 7 feet tall or under needs no sign-off, but Code Section 214-6(9) requires…

Sandy Springs does not regulate ordinary residential fences through this chapter, but any fence built inside the public…

In unincorporated Whitfield County, a fence six feet high or under needs no building permit at all under County Code §…

Fences and walls are allowed in every zoning district in unincorporated Hall County, and a building permit is not…

Chatham County's zoning ordinance regulates safety and visibility, not cost-sharing. Sec. 5-1.5 bars any fence that…

Clayton County lets a side- or rear-yard fence sit on the property line only with written consent from all adjacent…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Code Section 214-6 requires every fence, wall or hedge to be built with its finished…

Roswell's Unified Development Code requires the finished, more presentable side of any fence or screening wall to face…

Acworth requires the finished, attractive face of any fence to point away from your own yard and toward the neighboring…

When a South Fulton property owner builds a fence or wall along a shared property line, Zoning Ordinance Section…

In the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia, building a retaining wall inside one of the city's local historic…

Roswell requires an engineer's design for any retaining wall 8 feet or taller and Mayor and City Council review and…

Acworth lets a retaining wall up to four feet tall go up without a permit if the backfill slope stays at 1 in 3 or…

In Atlanta's R-1 through R-5 districts, retaining walls in required yards can't exceed six feet without a special…

A retaining wall over three feet of exposed height, or over two feet if it supports a surcharge, needs a Bartow County…

Retaining walls in unincorporated Carroll County, Georgia only need a building permit if they exceed four feet in…

Chatham County's fence regulations expressly do not restrict necessary retaining walls: Sec. 5-1 states the…

Retaining walls in unincorporated Cherokee County are exempt from the zoning code's eight-foot fence height cap, but…

Clayton County's zoning ordinance sets no dedicated retaining-wall height limit. Retaining walls are structures needing…

Cobb County caps residential retaining wall height at six feet when built within five feet of the property line…

Building or altering a retaining wall on Columbus, Georgia public rights-of-way or city property requires a…

Coweta County zoning allows retaining walls within setbacks, but Georgia's building code requires a Chapter 14 permit…

DeKalb County's zoning ordinance caps newly built retaining walls at 4 feet measured from finished grade, and any wall…

Retaining walls in Dunwoody's single-dwelling residential districts follow a tiered approval system: up to four feet is…

A retaining wall on a one- or two-family residential lot in unincorporated Fayette County does not need a building…

In Forsyth County, retaining walls over six feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, require a permit…

Retaining walls over 4 feet in unincorporated Fulton County need a permit, and walls over 6 feet require an engineer's…

In unincorporated Gwinnett County, retaining walls within 10 feet of a front property line are capped at 4 feet, and…

Johns Creek, Georgia requires a permit for every retaining wall, an owner's indemnification agreement above four feet…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, a retaining wall up to 4 feet tall needs no sign-off, but Code Section 214-6(10)…

South Fulton requires a permit for most retaining walls over four feet high. Walls between four and six feet need an…

Retaining walls within 10 feet of a front property line cannot exceed four feet in Walton County, and any wall over…

In a U-PUD zoning district in unincorporated Whitfield County, retaining walls are limited to four feet in the front…

Barbed wire and electric fencing are prohibited on residential and A-R lots in unincorporated Fayette County under §…

Sandy Springs prohibits electric or electrified fences, barbed wire, concertina wire, and fences made solely of…

Inside a U-PUD zoning district in unincorporated Whitfield County, the Urban PUD Design Standards flatly prohibit…

Barbed-wire, razor-wire and electrified fences are prohibited on residential property throughout unincorporated Clayton…

Unincorporated Floyd County bans barbed and security wire on residential and most commercial fences. Section…

Johns Creek bans barbed wire on every single-family dwelling lot, including those in the AG-1 district, though it stays…

Macon-Bibb County bans barbed wire fencing outright in residential districts, allows it in commercial districts only as…

Inside Paulding County's Technology Park Overlay District, the county's designated data-center zone, barbed and razor…

South Fulton bans several fence materials outright and restricts others by district under Zoning Ordinance Section…

Woven wire, chain link and barbed wire cannot extend into a front yard unless the lot is at least two acres and used…

Acworth does not ban barbed wire or electrified fencing outright, but it makes both illegal below head height: any…

Atlanta bans barbed wire and razor wire on any fence along a public right-of-way or a private drive that serves…

Augusta-Richmond County bars fences built from scrap materials like doors or sheets of tin and requires uniform, sound…

Chatham County Sec. 5-1.3(c) lists the fence materials allowed in residential districts: chain link or other fence…

Columbia County's zoning sets no general fence-material ban, but bars wire and chainlink on street-facing fences in its…

Where Columbus, Georgia's UDO requires an opaque wall or fence, such as vehicle-repair-yard screening, chain-link, even…

In the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia, the Unified Development Ordinance bans barbed wire, razor wire and…

DeKalb County bans fences and freestanding walls made of exposed common concrete block, tires, junk, pallets, railroad…

Dunwoody bans barbed wire, razor wire, and electrically charged fencing on any single-family dwelling lot, and…

Unincorporated Fulton County bars wire and plastic fencing, including chain-link with plastic or wood inserts, along…

Fences in a required front yard on lots under 3 acres must be brick, stone, wood, wrought iron, or split rail, and junk…

In unincorporated Hall County, residential fences and walls must be built of wood, brick, stone, decorative metal or…

Marietta bans barbed wire, spikes or an electric charge on any fence facing a street on residential, commercial…

Rockdale County bans tires, sheet metal, plastic, fiberboard, plywood and exposed concrete block for fences in every…

Roswell requires fences be built of wood, wrought iron, composite, PVC, aluminum or metal; alternative materials need…

Coweta County places no material restriction on ordinary residential fences, so wood, vinyl, chain-link, and even…

Forsyth County's UDC does not restrict fence materials: wood, metal, wire, and masonry are all allowed under section…