FENCE RULES – PFLUGERVILLE (CITY), TEXAS

OVERVIEW

This page covers residential fences within the corporate limits of the City of Pflugerville, Texas. Pflugerville extends into Travis and Williamson counties; the rules below address property within the City’s corporate limits.

Pflugerville generally limits fences and walls to 6 feet, with a separate 3-foot limit for single-family front yards and Administrator approval available for certain increases. Materials depend on the residential use: detached houses, attached houses and multifamily developments have different rules. Street and driveway sight triangles must remain free of fences and walls. Subdivision perimeter fences, development buffers and equipment screens have their own standards. A property’s recorded plat, easements, drainage conditions and private restrictions also affect the project. Ordinary residential fences not over 7 feet high are building-permit-exempt, but applicable height limits and separately triggered approvals still govern.

Quick question	Pflugerville answer
Permit or approval	Ordinary residential fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from a building permit under adopted IRC R105.2, Building item 2. The usual 6-foot height limit still applies; eligible increases above 6 feet, up to 7 feet, require Administrator approval. Pool, floodplain, public-easement and other independently triggered approvals remain separate.
Typical fence height	Generally 6 feet; single-family front-yard fences are limited to 3 feet. Subdivision perimeter fences and certain required screens have separate standards.
Placement & property lines	Check the legal boundary, recorded plat, easements and public right-of-way. Fences and walls are prohibited within sight triangles.
Common fence materials	Wood: Permitted for detached single-family uses. Vinyl/PVC: Not specifically identified in Table 11.9. Chain-link: Prohibited for detached single-family uses. Wrought iron and masonry are also permitted; attached and multifamily uses have additional limits.
Important local conditions	Fence rules may be further affected by subdivision perimeter standards, development buffers, street visibility, easements, drainage and floodplain conditions, pool use, public trees and private restrictions.
Official local resource	Pflugerville Unified Development Code, especially Subchapter 11, fence and wall standards.

The table above is for quick reference; additional fence-rule details appear in the corresponding sections below. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, read the sections that apply to the property, review the linked official sources, and confirm site-specific questions with Pflugerville Planning and Development Services or the responsible office identified for the issue. Updated November 2026.

GOVERNANCE

Pflugerville is a home-rule municipality governed by its City Council. The Unified Development Code governs zoning, subdivision development, fence placement, height, materials and screening. The Pflugerville Code of Ordinances separately addresses fence maintenance, building codes, public rights-of-way, flood damage prevention, stormwater and public trees.

Planning and Development Services administers development requirements. The Unified Development Code Administrator, a designated Assistant City Manager or delegate, handles the specified fence-height approval; the Planning Director administers specified screening and bufferyard alternatives. Building Inspections and the Building Official administer building permits and adopted construction codes. The City Engineer and Development Engineering address public rights-of-way, infrastructure, drainage and traffic visibility. The City Engineer or appointee serves as Floodplain Administrator and administers floodplain development requirements. Stormwater responsibilities are assigned to the City Manager or designee. The Parks and Recreation Director, Urban Forester or qualified designee administers the public-tree protections.

The City has adopted the 2021 International Residential Code and International Building Code with local amendments, and the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code for covered residential pools and spas. Applicable construction-code requirements operate alongside the Unified Development Code. The Board of Adjustment handles zoning matters assigned to it; construction-code appeals follow Chapter 150, Article IV.

PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS

Ordinary residential fence permit: A building permit is not required for a fence not over 7 feet high under the City’s adopted 2021 IRC R105.2, Building item 2. The local IRC amendments do not remove that exemption. Fences must still comply with the UDC: permit exemption does not authorize an otherwise prohibited height, material or location. The separate approvals described below remain applicable when triggered.

• Height increases: Under Unified Development Code Section 11.9, the Administrator may approve a fence or wall above the general 6-foot maximum, up to 7 feet, when topographic or other site constraints exist. Single-family front-yard fences have a separate 3-foot limit. The subdivision perimeter and required-screening provisions below address other specific situations.

• Development bufferyard walls: Section 11.10.1 expressly requires a building permit for bufferyard walls taller than 6 feet. Walls and masonry columns must meet the building code’s applicable footing standards.

• Work in a public right-of-way or public easement: Unified Development Code Section 3.12 routes improvements in these areas through Chapter 96. That chapter requires a right-of-way permit for covered excavation and installation of structures. Applications describe the work’s location, area, dimensions, purpose, methods and timing; professionally sealed plans are required when applicable professional-practice law requires them. Obtain the applicable City approval before placing a fence or other structure in a public easement.

• Flood-prone property: Chapter 151 requires a development permit before construction or other development begins within a flood-prone area. Development includes covered excavation, grading and other man-made changes. The application includes a fee and two sets of plans drawn to scale showing relevant existing and proposed conditions, structures and alterations to watercourses. Use the City development-permit application and confirm the Council-established fee schedule with the City Secretary. Contact the Floodplain Administrator about the proposed work. The permittee must request the required final inspection.

• Soil disturbance and stormwater: Chapter 158 applies to construction activity that disturbs soil and discharges stormwater to the municipal separate storm sewer system or waters of the United States. Required pollution controls apply to covered work. A single-lot single-family residential project or site of one-quarter acre or less is generally exempt from a site-specific Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Plan, but remains subject to pollution-control requirements. The single-lot exception is limited where the lot belongs to a larger development subject to federal or state construction-stormwater permit requirements.

• Pool or spa barriers: A fence or gate serving as a required pool or spa barrier must satisfy the City’s applicable swimming-pool and spa code and local amendments. Pool-permit applications must include two or more sets of construction documents, engineering calculations, diagrams and other relevant data. Under locally amended Section 106.1, plans must be drawn to scale and clearly show the location, nature and extent of the proposed work and its compliance with the code. Construction documents, computations and specifications must be prepared and designed by a registered design professional when required by the Building Official. Confirm the project’s permit, barrier, gate and inspection requirements with Building Inspections before changing an enclosure.

• Public trees: Consult the Parks and Recreation Director before construction near public trees and use the protective measures required by the Unified Development Code. Written permission is required to remove, destroy, prune or top a tree on City property or in a City park, and to attach a cable, wire, rope or sign to a City tree, plant or shrub.

FENCE PLACEMENT RULES

• Property boundaries and building setbacks: The legal property boundary, zoning setback, recorded easement and public right-of-way are separate features. Unified Development Code Section 4.2.4 permits compliant fences and walls to encroach into building setbacks. Establish the boundary and check the recorded plat and easements before locating posts. An existing fence, hedge, curb, ditch, pavement edge or map line may differ from the legal boundary.

• Public easements and utility access: The City’s standard plat notes prohibit fences, structures and landscaping in public easements except as approved by the City. Preserve access to utilities and drainage facilities. Subdivision standards require a 10-foot public utility easement adjacent to public street frontages, with additional utility easements when necessary. Public drainage easements have a minimum width of 15 feet, and the 100-year floodplain must be contained within a drainage easement dedicated to the public. The recorded plat identifies the easements affecting a particular lot.

• Street and driveway corners: Fences and walls must remain outside sight triangles. At two public streets, the triangle’s two 30-foot legs follow the right-of-way lines or their projections. At a public street and a driveway or private street, the legs follow the right-of-way line or its projection and the driveway edge. A line connecting the outer ends closes the triangle. Chapter 99 also prohibits a fence the City Engineer determines obstructs traffic visibility.

• Residential subdivision street edges: Where a conforming side or rear lot line runs generally parallel to an arterial street, subdivision standards require a landscape lot or easement at least 20 feet deep, measured from the arterial right-of-way edge. Along a major collector, the corresponding minimum is 15 feet. These areas include the adjacent residential fencing, subdivision perimeter fencing, subdivision signs and required street-yard trees, and are owned and maintained in common by a homeowners’ association or similar association.

• Subdivision perimeter fences and entrances: Perimeter fences must be within the required landscape lot or easement and owned and maintained by the homeowners’ association. A masonry entry sign combined with a perimeter fence at a single-family subdivision’s main entrance must also be within that lot or easement, outside the vision-clearance triangle, and association owned and maintained.

• Attached and multifamily perimeter fences: Breaks must provide pedestrian and bicycle connections to public sidewalks and adjacent developments. Decorative security gates may be provided for the development.

• Development access gates and fire access: Under the internal-circulation standards in Section 10.2.2, entry driveways equipped with controlled-access gates must provide at least 50 feet of storage between the gate and property line. Applicable site plans identify gates and pedestrian connections. Keep fire hydrants and fire department connections visible and accessible, and maintain the project’s required fire access.

• Development buffers beside single-family property: Where a commercial or multifamily development requires a bufferyard beside conforming single-family residential property, the wall must be placed within 1 foot of the common property boundary when physically possible and preferably replace the existing fence line. The Planning Director may approve a different location or screening type where drainage, an easement, vegetation or another physical constraint prevents boundary placement. Bufferyard walls must remain outside public right-of-way and main-drive-aisle sight triangles. No wall is required under this provision when the adjacent use is across a street.

• Drainage and watercourses: Keep drainage routes functional. Chapter 158 requires watercourses to remain free of debris, vegetation and other obstacles that significantly retard flow, and adjacent private structures must not threaten their function. Texas Water Code Section 11.086 prohibits diverting or impounding the natural flow of surface water, or permitting that conduct to continue, in a manner that damages another’s property by overflow. Control concrete washout, paint, fuel and dewatering associated with covered construction.

• Regulatory floodways: Chapter 151 prohibits encroachments within the adopted regulatory floodway unless a registered professional engineer or architect certifies that the encroachment will cause no increase in flood levels during the base flood. Address the proposed fence, wall and associated fill or excavation with the Floodplain Administrator before work.

• Trees on developed residential lots: The Unified Development Code’s tree-preservation subchapter exempts developed one- and two-family residential property with a certificate of occupancy. Undeveloped property and other covered sites remain subject to the applicable tree-preservation requirements. Public-tree protections apply separately.

• Existing dividing or attached fences: Texas Agriculture Code Sections 143.121–143.123 govern removal of a jointly owned dividing fence or a fence attached to another person’s fence. Removal generally requires mutual consent or compliance with the statutory process. An owner withdrawing a fence from another person’s fence must give six months’ written notice of the intended separation. An owner requiring another person to disconnect a fence attached to a fence wholly on the owner’s land must give six months’ written notice of the required disconnection. Notice goes to the attached fence’s owner, agent, attorney or lessee. Establish ownership and attachment rights before removing or relocating an existing fence.

• Overhead high-voltage lines: Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 752 restricts covered work within 6 feet of a high-voltage overhead line carrying more than 600 volts. For covered temporary work, notify the line operator at least 48 hours before work and make the required safety arrangements. Include posts, panels, ladders, tools and equipment when planning clearance.

• Texas utility safety before digging: Request a Texas811 utility locate before digging fence-post holes. Wait the applicable period and follow the ticket’s start instructions; check utility responses and site markings, resolve missing or conflicting information through the current process, protect marks and dig carefully. Customer-owned lines serving irrigation, pools or outbuildings may need a separate private locate. Railroad Commission pipeline-damage-prevention requirements can apply separately, including to covered manual excavation deeper than 16 inches; follow the applicable pipeline notice, marking and ticket-renewal requirements. A locate does not replace City approvals, easement rights or any separate pipeline construction review.

FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES

• General maximum: Unified Development Code Section 11.9 applies to fences and walls in all zoning districts and for all uses. Except where Subchapter 11 provides otherwise, the maximum is 6 feet. The Administrator may approve up to 7 feet where topographic or other site constraints exist.

• Single-family front yards: Front-yard fences may be no taller than 3 feet and must be outside the sight triangle.

• Attached single-family developments with three or more units: Perimeter fencing adjacent to a public right-of-way may not have a continuous height greater than 3 feet. Wood is limited to decorative fencing no taller than 4 feet.

• Residential subdivision perimeter fences: A decorative or capped stained-cedar perimeter fence may be up to 8 feet tall under Section 11.9.1.

• Required state or federal sound barriers: When a sound barrier is required to comply with state or federal requirements, the Administrator may consider or require a perimeter fence or wall taller than 6 feet.

• Development bufferyard walls: Required bufferyard walls are at least 6 feet and no more than 8 feet tall. Where the adjacent property and bufferyard differ in elevation, the Planning Director may require a taller fence or wall, berm or other device exceeding 8 feet to provide adequate buffering.

• Detention and water-quality facility safety fences: Where a fence is required for safety around one of these facilities, Section 11.8.6 requires wrought iron at least 4 feet tall, with plantings in front.

• Sight triangles and traffic visibility: Fences and walls are prohibited within the 30-foot-leg triangles described under placement. The City’s maintenance code also prohibits fences determined by the City Engineer to obstruct traffic sight lines. These restrictions apply in addition to the relevant yard-height limit.

MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS

• General materials: Section 11.9 requires high-quality materials, with brick, stone, masonry fencing, stained cedar and wrought iron as examples. The Unified Development Code’s definition of a fence includes retaining walls and excludes hedges, shrubs, trees and other natural growth.

• Detached single-family uses in all districts: Table 11.9 permits wood, wrought iron and masonry products and prohibits chain link. Its decorative-fence provision allows decorative fencing when it is not visible from or adjacent to the public right-of-way.

• Attached single-family uses: For attached single-family uses in the Single-Family Mixed-Use (SF-MU) and Two-Family (2-F) districts and the Suburban (CL3) corridor district, Table 11.9 permits wood subject to its footnotes, wrought iron and masonry, and prohibits chain link. For three or more attached units, wood is limited to decorative fencing no taller than 4 feet, and the separate 3-foot continuous-height restriction applies beside a public right-of-way.

• Multifamily uses: Table 11.9 permits wrought iron and masonry products and prohibits chain link. It also prohibits wood, with an exception for a natural-wood split-rail fence used as a decorative landscape feature separating uses. Section 11.8.1 separately provides a specific 3-foot wood-picket alternative for qualifying parking-lot screening, as described below. Confirm the property’s use classification and zoning before selecting an attached-home or multifamily fence.

• Vinyl/PVC: Vinyl and PVC are not specifically identified in Table 11.9. Confirm the proposed product’s acceptability with Planning and Development Services before purchasing it.

• Long fence or wall planes: Unless Subchapter 11 requires otherwise, a continuous uninterrupted fence or wall plane is limited to 100 feet. Breaks may use natural-stone or brick columns, landscaped areas, transparent sections or a change of material.

• Residential subdivision perimeter construction: Use high-quality brick, stone, masonry fencing, stained cedar, wrought iron or combinations that provide variation and longevity. Along arterial and collector streets or public-view areas, incorporate natural-stone or brick columns approximately 120 feet apart on center and wherever different fence sections meet, typically at a right angle. Perimeter fencing adjoining arterial streets must include staggers or other visual breaks.

• Development bufferyards: Required walls may use masonry, stone, concrete, masonry fencing or a combination and must be finished on both sides. Accents may include brick, stone, stucco, an Exterior Insulation and Finish System, or concrete columns. The associated bufferyard generally requires four large or medium evergreen trees and 15 shrubs per 100 linear feet of development boundary, in addition to other required site landscaping and the district’s required buffer depth. Healthy native trees and shrubs in the bufferyard must be retained; required planting applies where vegetation is absent, dominated by nuisance plants, diseased or dead. The Planning Director may reduce the wall or planting requirement where required plantings are tripled, or an existing tree line is preserved beside an existing fence.

• Multifamily parking-lot screens: Section 11.8.1 requires screening of off-street surface parking from public rights-of-way and major drive aisles. Permitted methods include vegetated berms, evergreen shrubs, and a 3-foot wood picket fence or native-rock, stone or brick wall combined with the specified landscaping. Planted screening must form a solid screen at least 36 inches high within two years, in a prepared bed at least 3 feet deep. Provide a visual offset of at least 3 feet every 60 linear feet; clumped street trees in planting beds may be considered for the offset. In CL3, CL4 and CL5, the corresponding rule covers parking and vehicular-use areas and lists native-rock, stone or brick walls with landscaping rather than wood pickets. The Planning Director may consider alternative plans exceeding the minimum screening objectives.

• Multifamily refuse enclosures: Trash, recycling, compost and similar containers must be beside or behind the principal structure and screened from ground-level public view. Gates must not face a public street without Planning Director approval. Containers must be at least 50 feet from a conforming residential-use property line or residential-district boundary, except beside multifamily property or districts. Provide screening on all four sides, at least as tall as the containers, using compatible brick, stone, stucco, reinforced concrete or similar Director-approved masonry. Steel gates need spring-loaded hinges or equivalent and closing fasteners; lids and doors must remain closed except during normal container operations. The enclosure requires a reinforced slab at least 6 inches thick, sloped to an internal wastewater-connected drain, and protective concrete-filled steel bollards at least 6 inches in diameter that do not obstruct operations. Landscape the enclosure where it adjoins landscaping, maintain the screening and planting, and provide approaches meeting fire-lane requirements.

• Temporary tree-protection fences on covered development sites: Trees designated for preservation must be flagged and enclosed by chain-link protection at the critical root zone or dripline, whichever is larger. Where physical constraints exist, the Planning Director may allow encroachment into up to 50 percent of the critical root zone, with fencing no closer than 5 feet from the tree base. The Tree Technical Manual requires chain link at least 5 feet high on 2-inch-diameter galvanized-iron posts driven at least 1 foot deep, spaced no more than 10 feet apart. Install protection before site preparation and retain it throughout construction through the certificate of occupancy unless authorized removal is approved. Display a warning sign at least 16 by 24 inches. The City Forester administers the manual’s limited alternative configurations for trees near buildings, narrow planting strips, permeable paving and severely constrained sites; small tree wells or construction within 5 feet of a trunk can require strapped protective planking to 8 feet or the lower branches. Obtain the applicable approval before changing or removing tree protection.

• Mechanical-equipment screens: Ground- and wall-mounted equipment in developments must be screened from public streets and parking areas on at least three sides, using native evergreen vegetation, brick, stone, reinforced concrete or similar masonry. Fence or wall posts for this screening must be concrete-based masonry or concrete pillars. Roof equipment must be screened from ground-level view on all sides by an integrated full-perimeter parapet; the Planning Director may consider alternatives where topography prevents full screening. In the CL3, CL4 and CL5 corridor districts, roof screening is assessed at grade 100 feet from each roof-edge point. Exposed conduit, ladders, utility boxes and downspouts must match the principal building’s color or have a natural metallic finish.

• Detention and water-quality facility screening: Section 11.8.6 calls for side or rear placement to minimize visibility and requires, for the portion visible from a public street or major drive aisle, one Type A or B tree and one Type C tree per 30 linear feet, plus one large shrub of at least five-gallon size every 4 feet on center. Plantings go in front of a required safety fence. The Planning Director may grant full or partial screening exceptions for a retention pond designed with a waterfall, fountain or similar visual feature.

• Fence maintenance: Chapter 99 requires sound structural condition, with braces, bolts, nails, frames and fastenings free of deterioration, termites, rot, rust and loosening, and able to withstand the design wind load. A fence taller than 4 feet may lean no more than 1 foot from vertical at its top; a fence 4 feet or shorter may lean no more than 6 inches. Maintain painted surfaces against rusting, peeling and blistering. Signs, graffiti, writings and symbols are prohibited except code-permitted signs and information concerning the property’s address or occupancy.

• Repairs after a violation notice: Replace broken, damaged, removed or missing parts within 10 days after receiving notice, using the same material or material comparable in composition, color, size, shape and quality. Materials not manufactured as fencing, such as plywood, corrugated-steel panels and fiberglass panels, are prohibited. Within that period, complete removal is an alternative only for a fence that is not required by a City Council order, zoning or pool/spa enclosure requirements.

• Unsafe and older nonconforming fences: An unsafe, dilapidated or nuisance fence must be repaired with approved materials or removed. Repairs must cover complete sections extending at least from support post to support post. If repairs to an existing fence with noncompliant materials exceed 50 percent of its total length or a combined 100 linear feet, the entire fence must be replaced with approved materials. A fence built before Chapter 99’s March 11, 2008 adoption may retain formerly allowed materials while it remains safe, sound and free of nuisance conditions.

• Animal containment: The animal code prohibits allowing animals to run at large and requires applicable restraint. A fence used for containment must adequately restrain the animal. A dog legally determined to be dangerous is subject to the City’s adopted dangerous-dog requirements and Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 822.

PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS

Recorded covenants, homeowners’ association rules, architectural standards, easements and private agreements may impose additional fence conditions. Review the documents applicable to the lot and obtain any required architectural approval before construction. Written agreements can address shared ownership, attachment, access, maintenance and costs. City approval does not settle a private boundary or ownership dispute.

• Association security-fence restrictions: Texas Property Code Sections 202.022 and 202.023 protect qualifying pool enclosures and security fences subject to statutory conditions. Section 202.023 excludes condominiums defined by Chapters 81 or 82 and master mixed-use associations subject to Chapter 215. An association may regulate fence type and prohibit obstruction of a plat- or agreement-defined license area, public or community sidewalk, or drainage easement or area. It may require a driveway gate at least 10 feet from the right-of-way where the driveway meets a laned roadway. A restrictive covenant may prohibit fencing in front of the dwelling’s frontmost building line. That prohibition cannot bar qualifying fencing where the owner’s address is legally exempt from disclosure or law-enforcement documentation establishes a need for enhanced security. Perimeter or front-building-line fencing installed before September 1, 2025 has the statute’s maintenance protection.

• Association pool-enclosure restrictions: Section 202.022 protects qualifying enclosures consisting of transparent mesh or clear panels set in metal frames that are nonclimbable, no taller than 6 feet and compliant with applicable pool-safety requirements. Associations may enforce permitted appearance rules, but may not prohibit a qualifying black transparent-mesh enclosure with metal frames.

• Architectural-review protections: Property Code Section 209.00505 provides specified protections for architectural review in covered subdivisions with more than 40 lots; exceptions include applicable development or declarant-control periods. A denial must explain the reasonable basis and required changes and describe the owner’s right to a board hearing. The owner has 30 days after the denial is mailed to request that hearing; the board generally must hold it within 30 days after receiving the request, with at least 10 days’ notice. The statute also provides a qualifying postponement of up to 10 days.

• Fencing an adjacent association lot: Property Code Section 209.015 protects qualifying residential use, including fencing, of an adjacent lot owned by the owner of a lot containing a residence. An adjacent lot is contiguous and fronts on the same street; for a corner lot, it may adjoin the side or rear boundary. A rear-contiguous lot also qualifies where the dedicatory instrument permits. Obtain prior association or architectural-review approval under the applicable reasonable criteria for size, location, screening and appearance. On sale or transfer of the residence lot, transfer the adjacent lot under the same dedicatory conditions or restore it to a condition suitable for a separately platted residence. A separate sale of the adjacent lot is limited to construction of a compliant new residence unless the lot has been restored as the statute requires.

REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT

Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:

• Height, use and materials: The proposed fence is evaluated under the rules for its yard location, residential use and any applicable subdivision or screening condition.

• Street visibility and access: A corner or driveway fence can raise sight-triangle, public-easement, utility-access or fire-access issues.

• Site conditions: Floodplain, drainage, stormwater, tree or pool-barrier conditions may require review by the responsible office.

• Maintenance and replacement: Leaning, damaged, unsafe or improperly repaired fences are subject to the maintenance requirements, including the replacement rules for noncompliant materials.

• Private restrictions: Association approvals, recorded restrictions and private ownership or boundary questions require separate attention.

USING THIS INFORMATION

This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within the City of Pflugerville, Texas. Updated November 2026.

In addition to local fence rules, certain Texas laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Texas.

It is not legal advice and does not replace official statutes, ordinances, orders, permits, certificates, development approvals, applicable building-code requirements, surveys, recorded documents or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary with municipal or unincorporated location, applicable extraterritorial authority, zoning or special-area status, code adoption and amendments, site conditions, subdivision or plat conditions, easements, rights-of-way, drainage and floodplain requirements, historic or design districts, pool use, agricultural operations and stock laws, fence ownership or attachment, coastal or public-access conditions, utility and pipeline excavation requirements, and private restrictions subject to Texas law. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and site-specific limitations with Pflugerville Planning and Development Services and the responsible office for each applicable issue, and review applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with controlling law, adopted regulations or official requirements, the controlling authorities govern. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.