Wake County, NC Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing Requirements (2026)

In North Carolina, residential swimming pool barriers are regulated under Appendix V of the NC State Building Code: Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, which the NC Building Code Council adopted from the model IRC pool-barrier provisions (originally Appendix G; renumbered Appendix V in the NC edition). Appendix V applies statewide and is enforced in unincorporated Wake County by Wake County Building Inspections, and inside the county's municipalities by each city's building department. The NC Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) administrative interpretation 204.3 confirms that a separate "Swimming Pool Barrier Permit" is required and must be inspected and approved before the pool may be filled.

§AV105.2 establishes the substantive barrier rules. The barrier must completely surround any outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, or spa containing water more than 24 inches deep — in-ground, above-ground, on-ground, and spas — and must satisfy each of 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 vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier must not exceed 2 inches on the away-from-pool side, or 4 inches where the grade is concrete or other fixed solid material; (3) openings in the barrier must not allow passage of a 4-inch sphere; (4) where the barrier uses horizontal and vertical members and the horizontal members are 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 square unless slats reduce the openings to no more than 1-3/4 inches; (6) decorative cutouts must not exceed 1-3/4 inches.

§AV105.3 governs access gates. Pedestrian access gates must satisfy the same barrier requirements and additionally be self-closing and self-latching. They must open outward away from the pool, and where the latch is less than 54 inches from the bottom of the gate, the release mechanism must be located on the pool side at least 54 inches above the ground (so a small child cannot reach over the top of the gate to operate it). Gates other than pedestrian access gates must be equipped with a lock and be kept locked when the pool is not in use. Where a wall of the dwelling serves as part of the barrier, doors with direct pool access must be equipped with an alarm meeting UL 2017, a self-closing/self-latching device with the release at least 54 inches above the floor, or another means approved by the code official to deny unauthorized access. Hot tubs and spas equipped with a lockable safety cover complying with ASTM F1346 are exempt from the perimeter-barrier requirement.

In unincorporated Wake County, pool permits and the required barrier inspection are obtained through the Wake County Permit Portal and Wake County Inspections & Permits (336 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh — One Bank of America Plaza). The barrier must be in place and pass inspection before the pool is filled and used. Property owners in incorporated cities should contact their city building department instead. Note that local HOA covenants and local zoning fence-height rules can stack on top of the state pool-barrier requirements (zoning generally allows fences in residential zones up to 6 or 8 feet), but cannot reduce them below the NC code minimum.