Greenville County, SC Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing Requirements (2026)

Pool barrier rules for one- and two-family residential properties in Greenville County come from Appendix G of the 2021 International Residential Code, which the South Carolina Building Codes Council adopted as the South Carolina Residential Code with an effective date of January 1, 2023. State adoption is mandatory under S.C. Code §6-9-50 (uniform building codes), so local jurisdictions in South Carolina — including unincorporated Greenville County and every city within the county (Greenville, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn, Travelers Rest) — apply the same statewide pool barrier rules without making them less strict.

Under IRC §AG105.2, an outdoor private swimming pool, including in-ground, above-ground, and on-ground pools, hot tubs, and spas, that contains water more than 24 inches deep must be completely surrounded by a barrier complying with the following: (1) the top of the barrier must be at least 48 inches above grade measured on the side facing away from the pool; (2) the maximum vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier must not exceed 2 inches on the away-from-pool side (4 inches if the grade is a solid surface such as concrete); (3) openings in the barrier must not allow passage of a 4-inch-diameter sphere; (4) where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members with horizontal members less than 45 inches apart, openings between vertical members must not exceed 1-3/4 inches; (5) chain-link fence mesh must not exceed 1-1/4 inches (or 2-1/4 inches with slats); (6) decorative cutouts in a solid barrier must not exceed 1-3/4 inches.

Under IRC §AG105.3, all access gates must satisfy the barrier requirements above and must additionally be equipped with a self-closing and self-latching device. Pedestrian gates must open outward (away from the pool), and the release mechanism for the latch must be on the pool side of the gate at least 54 inches above the ground when the latch is below 54 inches from the gate bottom. Where a wall of the dwelling itself serves as part of the barrier, any doors with direct pool access must be equipped with an alarm meeting UL 2017 or be self-closing/self-latching. Hot tubs and spas with a lockable safety cover complying with ASTM F1346 are exempt from the perimeter-barrier requirement.

Pool building permits in unincorporated Greenville County are issued and inspected by Greenville County Building Safety (Land Development) at 301 University Ridge, Suite S-3200, Greenville, SC 29601; permits inside an incorporated city are issued by that city's building department. The barrier must be inspected and approved before the pool can be filled. SC §44-55-2350 also makes the pool barrier provisions of the Residential Code applicable to private residential pools statewide, providing an enforcement hook beyond the building-permit stage.