Fence Regulations in Pennsylvania (2026)

Abington Township caps fences at six feet under Building Code Section 3311.4, with open wire fencing and retaining…

In Allentown's neighborhood (residential) zones, fences and walls in a required front setback may not exceed 4 feet…

Bensalem caps residential fences at six and one-half feet in most yards, but limits them to four feet along the front…

Bethlehem allows fences, hedges, and walls up to seven feet above natural grade in front, side, and rear yards without…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, fences and walls in the required side and rear yards cannot exceed six feet in…

Bristol Township Code § 205-134 caps residential fences in Bristol Township, Bucks County, at six feet in a rear or…

Erie caps fences, hedges and enclosures in required yard space at 6 ft 6 in in Residential Districts and 8 ft 6 in in…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a fence or freestanding wall in a required front yard tops out at…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a fence or wall in the front yard or in front of the dwelling in the RL and RM…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, no fence or wall can exceed six feet, except a wall that is part…

Lower Merion caps residential fences at 4 feet along the primary frontage and 6 feet on side and rear lines in the LDR…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, residential fences are capped by yard under Township Code §…

In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, a Solid Fence stops at six feet, or eight feet in Commercial, Mixed…

Montgomery County sets no fence-height rule. Each of the county's 62 boroughs and townships sets its own limits under…

Penn Hills zoning caps front-yard fences at four feet, three feet on corner lots, but allows side and rear yard fences…

On residentially zoned Philadelphia property, a fence between the street and the building may be no more than 4 feet…

Pittsburgh caps fences at 6 feet in rear and interior side yards, but limits front-yard and street-facing side-yard…

Pottstown's Zoning Ordinance sets a 4-foot maximum for fences in front yards and in side yards facing a street, rising…

Reading caps front-yard fences and walls at four feet and caps everything else at six feet, with an extra foot allowed…

Scranton residential fences top out at four feet in a front yard and six feet in a side or rear yard, dropping to four…

Fences in Upper Darby cap out at six feet above grade townshipwide, dropping to four feet for front yards in the R-3…

General fence standards are set by your borough or township, not York County. York Township requires the finished side…

Abington Township requires a building permit before erecting any fence, screening, wall or retaining wall on or within…

Allentown defines a fence as a 'structure,' and Section 1305.02 requires a Zoning Permit from the Zoning Officer before…

Bensalem Township requires a permit from the Department of Building and Planning before any fence or wall is built…

A fence in Erie needs a City permit before it goes up, filed with the Code Enforcement office in Room 407 of the…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, fences, walls, and hedges are permitted by right in every zoning district, but…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, no fence, wall or retaining wall can be erected until the Zoning…

Lower Merion Township exempts fences six feet or less in height from a building permit, except when the fence sits…

The county issues no fence permits. Whether you need one, and the fee, is decided by your Montgomery County…

In Penn Hills side and rear yards, fences over 8 feet need a permit from the Department of Planning and Economic…

No zoning permit is needed for a fence at or below the Zoning Code limits; exceeding them requires a permit and a ZBA…

Backyard fences up to six feet tall need no permit in Pittsburgh; anything taller requires a building permit from the…

Pottstown requires a zoning permit before building or installing a fence anywhere in the Borough, under Chapter 27…

Reading requires a zoning permit before erecting any fence, wall, or similar structure taller than three feet. Height…

Scranton requires a zoning permit before building or altering a fence worth more than $500 in fair market value, while…

Upper Darby requires a fence permit before erecting or replacing any fence, at a cost of $40 plus $20 per $1,000 of the…

There is no county fence permit. Whether you need a zoning permit depends on your borough or township. In York Township…

Under Pennsylvania's 1905 Line Fence Act (29 P.S. § 41), adjoining owners of improved and occupied land must build and…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, every fence must have its finished side facing the adjacent…

Boundary and finished-side fence rules are set locally, not by York County. In York Township, a fence may be placed on…

Lower Merion Township's fence configuration rule at Zoning Code § 155-3.7.C(3) requires the smooth or finished face of…

Upper Darby's zoning code requires the finished side of a fence, the side without posts, to face away from the dwelling…

Abington Township requires a retaining wall wherever an excavation leaves the adjoining grade below legal level, built…

Allegheny County does not issue retaining wall permits: building authority rests with each of the 130 municipalities…

Allentown requires any retaining wall with an exposed face of four feet or more, or any wall that will bear vehicular…

Bensalem Township caps a retaining wall abutting a residential district at eight feet of exposed height or the distance…

Bethlehem caps terraced retaining walls used on steep slopes at a five-foot maximum vertical drop per terrace under the…

In Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, erecting a retaining wall needs no grading permit when the work does not adversely…

A retaining wall in Erie does not need a building permit if it stands four feet or less, measured from the lowest grade…

In Franklin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, a retaining wall in a required front yard is capped at four feet…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a retaining wall inside a required front yard cannot exceed 30…

Lower Merion caps retaining wall height at 6 feet within a required setback and 8 feet beyond the setback, and requires…

In Lower Paxton Township, a retaining wall required for grade changes in a subdivision or land development must be…

The county has no retaining-wall ordinance. Height limits and permits for retaining walls come from your Montgomery…

Any Penn Hills retaining wall supporting an excavation steeper than 1-to-1 must be engineered and sealed by a…

Where a fence sits on top of a retaining wall in Philadelphia, the combined height of the exposed retaining wall plus…

Pittsburgh exempts retaining walls up to four feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the…

Pottstown's grading code lets cut and fill slopes go no steeper than 2:1 unless a retaining wall or cribbing holds them…

Scranton's zoning code permits a retaining wall built for the geotechnical needs of a lot, but the City's construction…

Retaining walls under four feet tall in Upper Darby need only a fence permit, while anything over four feet requires a…

Retaining walls are governed by your municipality and Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code, not by York County. In…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, engineered retaining walls necessary to hold back slopes are exempt from…

Bensalem Township limits residential fences to stockade wood, ranch rail wood, open metal mesh or chain link, and other…

Bristol Township Code § 205-134(C) bars electrified, barbed wire and razor wire fences in Bristol Township, Bucks…

In Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, no barbed wire, metal spike or other dangerous fence can be…

Reading bans barbed wire in residential and certain commercial districts, electrically charged fencing, razor wire…

Allentown prohibits fences and walls made from scrap sheet metal or similar 'junk' anywhere, and bars barbed wire or…

In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, no fence can be built from fabric, junk, junk vehicles, rolled wire, sheet…

Lower Merion bans electric, barbed wire, razor wire, hog wire, rolled wire, and fence-spike fencing on any property…

In Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Township Code § 203-511 does not permit barbed wire fences in…

Philadelphia restricts fences by opacity rather than by listing approved materials: front/street-side fences may be no…

Pittsburgh requires fences and walls to use compatible, durable materials like iron grating, wood, stone, or brick…

Electrified fences are barred everywhere in Pottstown, and barbed wire or concertina wire is allowed only in…

Scranton bars any fence with sharp, pointed pickets or barbed wire on property abutting a street, and its zoning code…

Upper Darby bans barbed wire, metal spikes, razor ribbon and electrified fencing on any fence, and limits chain-link to…

Material limits come from your municipality, not York County. York Township prohibits barbed and razor wire except for…

Erie's zoning ordinance does not restrict fence materials by type, but it imposes an opacity rule near corners and…