Do you need a fence permit in California?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
- Always required
- 0
- of 14 jurisdictions
- Conditional
- 14
- depends on size or scope
- Not required
- 0
- exempt outright
Fence Permit rules nationwide, beyond California.
Requirements and size thresholds for fence permits vary by locality. The table below compares what each California county or city requires. Always confirm with the local office before starting.
Comparing states? See fence permit rules across every locality we cover.
The application steps and inspection sequence for fence permits come from the model code rather than from California law, so they read the same wherever you build. We keep that walkthrough in one place: how a fence permit application and its inspections work, start to finish. What changes between California jurisdictions is below: who requires a permit, what they charge, and which office you file with.
Swipe sideways to see thresholds and confidence.
| Locality | Permit required? | Typical threshold | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | Conditional | Permit exemption height limit: 7 feet for fences of light materials, 5 feet 9 inches for fences of concrete, masonry, or similar heavy materials | Confirmed on official page |
| Contra Costa County | Conditional | height of a fence, with concrete and masonry walls treated as walls rather than fences | Confirmed on official page |
| Fresno County | Conditional | Fences not over 7 feet high are on the county's published list of work exempt from a building permit | Confirmed on official page |
| Los Angeles | Conditional | masonry or concrete fence up to 6 ft in height may be built without a permit if it meets LADBS construction specifications in IB-P-BC2014-080; a solid masonry infill panel between pilasters may not exceed 3 ft 6 in with lightweight open material filling the remaining height; non-masonry fence height threshold not confirmed from official page | Confirmed on official page |
| Los Angeles County | Conditional | height of a fence or freestanding block wall measured from the lowest adjacent grade; a masonry or concrete fence must also be set back from a public way at least a distance equal to its height to stay exempt | Confirmed on official page |
| Orange County | Conditional | Fences and freestanding walls over six feet in height require a building permit; fences not over six feet are exempt unless a permit was required as a condition of project approval | Confirmed on official page |
| Riverside County | Conditional | Fences 7 feet or less in height are exempt from a building permit, except block walls, which are exempt only up to 4 feet in height | Confirmed on official page |
| Sacramento | Conditional | fence over 7 feet in height requires a building permit | Based on building code |
| Sacramento County | Conditional | fence height, measured from the grade on the right-of-way side when the fence sits within 5 feet of the public right-of-way and otherwise from the highest grade on either side | Confirmed on official page |
| San Bernardino County | Conditional | height of a fence or block wall | Confirmed on official page |
| San Diego | Conditional | fence over 7 feet in height requires a building permit | From an official source |
| San Diego County | Conditional | Fences and freestanding masonry walls over 6 feet in height need a building permit; open fences up to 8 feet are also exempt if the uppermost two feet is only barbed or razor wire on angled supports. | Confirmed on official page |
| San Jose | Conditional | fence over 7 feet in rear or side yard or over 3 feet in front yard requires a permit | From an official source |
| Santa Clara County | Conditional | fence height at which the County Residential Code permit exemption stops applying | Confirmed on official page |
| No localities match your filter. | |||
What a fence permit costs in California
12 California jurisdictions we cover publish a fee figure for this work. Each line is quoted from that office's own schedule and linked to its citation. The figures are not comparable to one another: some are flat minimums, some a percentage of job value, some charged per fixture, so what you pay depends on which schedule applies and on your job's valuation.
No fence line item appears in the Building Inspection Department Service Fee Schedule (Schedule A, effective July 1, 2024). A fence permit is priced from construction valuation using the Schedule A building permit fee table, which starts at a '$140.00 minimum permit issuance fee' for total valuation of $1.00 to $1,000.00, plus a $20.00 permit processing fee for a single permit, plus a stormwater fee of 4% of building permit fees.
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Land Development Fee Schedule item 13, "Fences Greater than 7ft": Building Permit / Inspection, chain-link or wood $116.00 per permit and Plan Check, chain-link or wood $76.00 per permit; Building Permit / Inspection, other materials $172.00 per permit and Plan Check, other materials $345.00 per permit. Adopted by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on May 24, 2022, effective on August 10, 2022.
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The Master Schedule of Fees publishes no flat fence permit fee. Its Table of Construction Valuation (Section 2500, Miscellaneous) lists 'Fences (Over 6' High) $34.00 per lineal foot' as a construction valuation rate, not a fee. The permit fee is then computed from total valuation under Section 2501 Building Construction Permits, which for FY 2026-27 is a $166.28 minimum charge, then $166.28 for the first $4,000.00 plus $18.85 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof to and including $25,000.00. FY 2026-27 amounts include the 3 percent increase effective 07/01/2026 under Ordinance 24-005.
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Valuation-based building permit per LAMC 91.113 Table 1-A; the LADBS Valuation Table sets minimum declared valuation at $14 per sq ft of wall for concrete fences and $10 per sq ft for masonry, feeding the graduated brackets (posted base $65 for valuation up to $2,000)
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No fence line item is published. A fence over 6 feet is priced from the valuation-based Table 1-A Building Permit Fees: $65.36 for a total valuation of $0 to and including $700, and $98.09 for more than $700 to and including $25,000 plus $25.27 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof in excess of $1,000. A $41.35 permit issuance fee is added to all building permit fees. Building Code Fee Schedule (Title 26 of the County of Los Angeles Code, Ord. No. 2013-0048), effective July 1, 2026.
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Fences (over 6'): valuation-based, per the OC Development Services Fee Schedule 2024-2027 (Board of Supervisors resolution of May 21, 2024, fees effective July 21, 2024). Valuation-based building permit fees start at $148 for a total valuation of $1 to $3,000 and rise by tier under Table 2, Valuation-Based Fee Table; plan check is 65% of the building permit fee. Retaining Walls are a separate valuation-based line item.
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Fences Over 7' (BXX-FENC): $635.40 fixed fee, per Appendix A to Ordinance No. 457 as amended by Ordinance No. 457.108 (adopted June 23, 2026, effective July 23, 2026); the same table steps this to $652.40 effective February 4, 2027. A block wall is priced separately as Garden Wall, County Standard (BWL-GWAL): $586.60 for up to 100 linear feet plus $191.00 for each additional 100 feet. The department's still-posted 284-035 fee sheet (09/2025) shows the older figures of $602.20 and $443.30.
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Valuation-based building permit per CDD-0245 (rev 07-12-2026), printed minimum $75 permit plus $32 plan review; fences 7 feet or under are permit-exempt, taller fences also need Planning Division approval
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San Bernardino County Code section 16.0204(g)(3) prices fencing as a flat fee: "Chain link, wood and/or wrought iron fencing: A) Residential" is $117.00 effective July 1, 2026 ($120.00 from July 1, 2027, $123.00 from July 1, 2028), and "All fees in Section 16.0204(g)(3) include one inspection and additional inspections will be charged a re-inspection fee." Masonry and concrete fences are instead priced off the Construction Fee Schedule line "Masonry or Concrete Fences or Retaining Walls," which for Construction Type VA/VB starts at $714.00 at the 250 sq ft project-size threshold plus $26.46 for each additional 100 sq ft. A $57.00 intake processing fee under 16.0204(h)(1) is applied to each permit.
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Fence or wall over 7 feet high is billed per 100 linear feet under IB-501 Table 501C effective May 2026: custom plans $2,031.00 plan check base plus $529.71 inspection base, a pre-approved City Standard plan runs $1,148.29 plan check and $353.13 inspection per 100 LF
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PDS 613 Schedule of Building Construction Permit Fees (effective 07/10/2026, FY 25/26 column, PDS 613 REV.: 07/06/2026) names fences in its over-the-counter miscellaneous line: "Misc Permit OTC. Minor int. SFD remodel / repair-no structural change, patio, carport, canopy, fence, re-roof, stairs, radio tower, antenna, etc." at a Plan Review Fee of $405.00 plus a Permit Fee of $521.00.
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No fence-specific permit fee is published. A fence that needs a building permit is charged off the county's Building Section Valuation-Based Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2025, which begins at a $249.00 building permit fee plus a $186.00 residential plan check fee for work valued between $1.00 and $2,000.00, with an Information Technology fee of 3% of building inspection fees on top. Adopted by the Board of Supervisors on January 23, 2024 (Exhibit A, Attachment A-1, Year 2).
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Jurisdictions not listed publish no dollar figure we could quote. Absence does not mean a permit is free.
Common questions about fence permits in California
- Do I need a fence permit in California?
- In California it depends on the size of the job. Permits are issued locally, so the answer comes from your California city or county rather than a single statewide rule. Of the 14 California jurisdictions we have verified for fence work, 0 require a permit outright, 14 depend on the size or scope of the job, and 0 require none.
- Is there a fence permit exemption in California?
- 14 of the 14 California jurisdictions we cover set a threshold rather than a flat rule, so the same job can be exempt in one California county and permitted in the next. The table above lists each California jurisdiction's published threshold in its own words, with the source and the date we verified it.
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