Fence Regulations in Iowa (2026)

In the City of Ames, Iowa, fences are capped at 4 feet in front setbacks and front yards, 6 feet in side and rear…

Ankeny caps front-yard fences at 42 inches, or 48 inches for chain link, and limits side and rear yard fences to six…

Cedar Rapids caps privacy fences at 7 feet unless a more specific limit applies, and confines them behind the required…

Davenport caps solid fences at 4 feet and open fences at 6 feet within front and reverse-corner-side setbacks. Interior…

Dubuque residential fences may reach 7 feet in side and rear yards, but front-yard fences are capped at 4 feet, and…

Iowa City limits solid fences and walls to 8 feet anywhere over 10 percent solid, and cuts that to 4 feet inside a…

Unincorporated Johnson County caps boundary fences at six feet and interior fences at eight feet, measured on average…

Unincorporated Linn County caps residential fences and freestanding walls at 8 feet in agricultural and rural…

Beyond height limits, Polk County requires swimming pools to be enclosed by a non-climbable fence at least 4 feet high…

Sioux City caps residential fences at 48 inches in front yards and six feet along interior side and rear yards, rising…

Unincorporated Story County caps fences and walls at eight feet in side and rear yards and four and a half feet in…

In the City of West Des Moines, Zoning Code section 9-14-11 caps fences at 6 feet in side and rear yards for most…

In the City of West Des Moines, a fence needs a building permit no matter its height. City Code section 8-2A-3 amends…

Ankeny requires a building permit before anyone erects, alters, or relocates a fence, wall, or other vision barrier…

Cedar Rapids requires a Zoning Clearance Permit to erect, move, or rebuild a permanent fence or add gates, though…

Davenport requires a building permit only for fences taller than six feet. Residential fences six feet or under need no…

Des Moines requires a building permit for most fences, but chain link or wire fences four feet or less and all other…

Iowa City requires a building permit before building an electric fence, a barbed wire fence, or any fence or wall…

The Polk County Zoning Ordinance sets fence height rules but does not require a standalone fence permit for an ordinary…

Building or materially altering a fence in Sioux City may require a development permit under Zoning Code Section…

Waterloo, Iowa exempts fences four feet tall or shorter from the building permit requirement under its amendment to the…

The City of Council Bluffs charges a fence permit fee under CBMC 2.08.040's Schedule of Fees: $30 for a fence in a…

Johnson County's building code exempts fences seven feet tall or shorter from needing a building permit at all, so most…

In unincorporated Linn County, a fence or freestanding wall only needs a zoning permit when the fence itself would…

Iowa Code Chapter 359A imposes a statewide statutory duty on adjoining landowners to share construction and maintenance…

Iowa City's zoning code (14-4C-2L) does not require neighbor consent for a boundary fence, but Iowa is unusual in…

Iowa's distinctive partition-fence law, Iowa Code Chapter 359A, makes adjoining rural landowners share the cost of a…

Polk County's zoning ordinance requires fence posts and rails to face the property interior (finished side out) and…

Sioux City implements Iowa's partition-fence statute (Iowa Code chapter 359A) locally as Municipal Code chapter 20.48…

In the City of West Des Moines, Zoning Code section 9-14-11 requires a single-faced fence's unfinished side, the side…

Davenport imposes no residential cost-sharing mandate on boundary fences; each owner builds on their own land. City…

Iowa follows the common boundary fence law. Des Moines encourages neighbors to discuss fence plans before construction…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a retaining wall no more than 4 feet above the lowest adjacent grade needs no building…

The City of Council Bluffs exempts a retaining wall from needing a building permit only if it stands four feet or less…

Davenport requires a building permit for retaining walls over four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the…

Des Moines exempts retaining walls holding four feet or less of unbalanced fill from a building permit, but taller…

Iowa City requires a fence permit for any retaining wall over 4 feet tall, measured from the top of the footing to the…

In unincorporated Johnson County, a retaining wall over 4 feet tall must sit back from the property line at least 1.5…

Linn County requires a zoning permit for any retaining wall over 6 feet tall that also needs a building permit, with…

In unincorporated Polk County, a retaining wall over 4 feet tall needs a building permit and must be set back from any…

Sioux City requires a retaining wall permit once a wall reaches 48 inches, and an Iowa-licensed structural engineer's…

Story County treats retaining walls and supporting embankments the same as fences for height purposes: the eight-foot…

In the City of West Des Moines, a retaining wall must be set back from the property line by a distance at least equal…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, barbed wire, razor wire, electric fencing, and similar materials are outright prohibited on…

Dubuque bars barbed wire and electric fencing below 8 feet in height citywide, with the sole exception of the AG…

In the City of West Des Moines, using barbed wire in a residential zone is unlawful without City Council consent under…

Ankeny bans barbed wire and electric fences within city limits under Code of Ordinances § 41.08, unless the City…

Cedar Rapids bans barbed wire on fences citywide except narrow carve-outs for Industrial and Mixed-Use districts…

Iowa City bans electric fences citywide, except to enclose livestock on an allowed agricultural use, under zoning code…

Sioux City bans wire security and barbed-wire fencing in residential zoning districts and next to residential property…

The City of Council Bluffs allows electrically charged fencing under CBMC 13.16.485 but only if it meets IEC…

Davenport's fence code bans scrap metal, corrugated and sheet metal, razor wire, pallets, plywood, OSB, and reused…

Polk County's zoning ordinance does not broadly ban residential fence materials such as wood, vinyl, or chain-link, but…

In unincorporated Story County, razor wire, barbed wire and concertina wire cannot be used as fencing material on any…