Fence Regulations in South Carolina (2026)

Aiken County caps fences, walls, and hedges in a residential front yard at four feet and allows up to eight feet in any…

On any corner lot with a required front and side yard, Anderson County bars fences, plantings, or anything else that…

Beaufort County caps residential fences at four feet in front and corner side yards and six feet in side and rear yards…

Charleston caps residential fences and freestanding walls at six feet unless the property sits inside a Board of…

In unincorporated Charleston County, fences may sit within required setbacks but cannot obstruct roadway sight lines…

Columbia caps fence and wall height by yard type under UDO Table 17-5.8(d)(3): 8 feet in a side or rear yard, 6 feet in…

Dorchester County caps residential, commercial front-yard, and civic fences at 8 feet, allows 10-foot fences in…

Fences and walls over eight feet require a Board of Zoning Appeals variance under Florence County Code § 30-246(2)(g)…

Greenville County does not require ordinary residential fences, but its Zoning Ordinance mandates 6-foot screening…

Every fence in unincorporated Horry County must permit emergency access to the enclosed area, keep vehicular sight…

Fences, walls and vegetation near street intersections in unincorporated Lexington County must stay out of the vision…

Front-yard fences in North Charleston's R-1, R-1A, R-2, and R-3 districts top out at four feet. Side and rear yards…

Pageland's zoning ordinance caps decorative front-yard fences at 4 feet unless they use an open design, bans chain link…

A compliant fence in unincorporated Richland County stays within the 4-foot front and 7-foot side/rear height limits…

Rock Hill's Zoning Ordinance sets residential fence heights by where the fence sits on the lot. In front of a house, a…

Freestanding fences and walls may be up to seven feet high in the side and rear yard setback areas. In the front yard…

Under the county ULMO, fences and walls may be located in all required yards and along any property line in…

In the Lake Wylie Overlay district, new single-family attached homes with a preliminary plat approved after January 1…

Aiken County exempts fences up to six feet high from needing a building permit under Code of Ordinances Sec…

Berkeley County only requires a building permit for fences built of solid masonry or solid steel that reach six feet or…

In unincorporated Charleston County, a fence over 6 feet tall triggers the general building permit requirement under…

Every new or replacement fence or wall in Columbia must meet the standards in UDO Sec. 17-5.8 unless it falls under a…

Dorchester County requires a Zoning Permit before any fence is built, because fence construction falls under the…

The county Zoning Ordinance requires a Building Permit endorsed by the Zoning Administrator before land is used or a…

Horry County requires a building permit before installing any fence or wall taller than seven feet anywhere in the…

Lexington County's building code lists fences among thirteen categories of work exempt from a building permit under…

Rock Hill does not require a building permit for a residential fence of 7 feet or less. Under City Code § 10-74, fences…

South Carolina is a closed-range, fence-in state. Under S.C. Code Section 47-7-110 the livestock owner, not the…

Aiken County requires the finished, presentable side of any fence or wall to face the neighboring property, not the…

Beaufort County's Community Development Code lets property owners build a fence directly on the line shared with a…

South Carolina has no shared-cost 'good neighbor' fence statute, so each Dorchester County owner builds and pays for…

Horry County sets no general side or rear property-line offset for fences, so a fence may sit on the shared line. But…

Fences must sit entirely on the owner's property and cannot obstruct occupied utility easements. The city is not…

Front yard retaining walls in the Olde North Charleston Historic District are capped at 2 feet unless a South Carolina…

Aiken County exempts a retaining wall from a building permit only if it is four feet or less, measured from the bottom…

Beaufort County does not set a stand-alone retaining wall height cap, but if a fence sits on top of a retaining wall or…

A retaining wall over 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, needs a Charleston County…

Greenville County sets no general residential retaining-wall height in its zoning code, but structural retaining walls…

Horry County's Zoning Ordinance treats walls alongside fences, so the eight-foot general height ceiling in Section 412…

Most retaining walls in Lexington County need no building permit under Sec. 14-262(3), but the exemption has a hard…

Rock Hill exempts short retaining walls from its building permit requirement, but the threshold is narrow. City Code §…

York County treats a retaining wall under four feet tall as a minor accessory structure that can sit right on the…

Beaufort County bans barbed wire, concertina wire, and aboveground electrified fences in every zone, with narrow…

Columbia bans barbed wire, concertina wire, electrically charged wire, spikes, blades, glass, or other hazardous…

North Charleston bans barbed and razor wire on residential fences outright: it's allowed only in commercial or…

When a development substitutes a fence or wall for a required landscape bufferyard, Sec. 24-5.1.8(2) bans chain-link…

Charleston County allows common fencing materials without a special approved list. The key distinction is masonry…

Dorchester County bans barbed and razor wire on residential, commercial front-yard, and civic fences, restricts chain…

Common residential fence materials, wood, vinyl, aluminum, and chain-link, are allowed in unincorporated Richland…

Rock Hill's Zoning Ordinance bans barbed wire, above-ground electrified fencing, metal-slat fencing, and fences built…

Barbed wire, razor wire, and similar materials are prohibited in all zoning districts, except where the Planning…

For required screening fences, the county ULMO expressly prohibits chain-link fences woven with wood, plastic, or metal…

Horry County allows a wide range of fence materials. The Zoning Ordinance singles out split rail, uncluttered chain…