FENCE RULES – FRANKLIN (COUNTY), ALABAMA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Franklin County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Franklin County; incorporated municipalities such as the City of Russellville may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Franklin County does not publish a consolidated countywide fence code for unincorporated residential property. Fence-relevant local rules appear primarily in the Subdivision Regulations of Franklin County, Alabama, including subdivision jurisdiction, recorded-plat requirements, rights-of-way, drainage and utility easements, subdivision development review, and private restrictions.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted code or ordinance materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one. If no local code or ordinance is available in the approved source packet, this page notes that the jurisdiction does not publish the relevant standard in the referenced published materials.
Compiled From the Subdivision Regulations of Franklin County, Alabama, Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board Administrative Rules and Regulations, the 2015 International Residential Code, Alabama 811 Underground Damage Prevention Law and Before You Dig materials, and Alabama Department of Transportation right-of-way permit materials as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
• Governing Authority: The Franklin County Commission is the governing authority for Franklin County.
• Primary Local Office: The Franklin County Engineer administers subdivision plat review, Permits to Develop, inspection of subdivision improvements, road and right-of-way standards, and subdivision drainage requirements.
• County Land-Use Structure: The subdivision regulations apply within the county’s subdivision jurisdiction, defined as areas outside municipal corporate limits except areas within the territorial jurisdiction of a municipal planning commission. The referenced published materials do not establish a general countywide zoning ordinance for standard residential fences.
• Local Fence Code: Franklin County does not publish a consolidated fence chapter. The subdivision regulations contain one direct fence-placement rule: fences and other obstructions are not allowed within the required 60-foot subdivision street right-of-way.
• Residential-Code Administration: Franklin County does not identify a locally administered residential building code or a county building-permit office in the referenced published materials. Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board rules state that the Board applies the locally adopted code where one exists and uses the 2015 International Residential Code, as adopted and ratified by the Board, as its investigation standard where a jurisdiction has no adopted building code. The Board’s investigation standard does not establish a Franklin County permit office or a universal local fence permit.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Local Fence Permit: Franklin County does not publish a separate local fence permit requirement for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Residential-Code Permit Context: Franklin County does not identify the residential building code currently administered for the county. In jurisdictions without an adopted building code, the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board uses the 2015 International Residential Code, as adopted and ratified by the Board, for investigation purposes. Section R105.2 of that code includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. This conditional statewide investigation standard is not a published Franklin County fence-permit procedure, is not a maximum fence height, and does not establish an affirmative county permit requirement for fences over 7 feet.
• Subdivision Permit to Develop: A Permit to Develop is issued by the Franklin County Engineer after the County Commission approves a proposed subdivision plat. It authorizes development of the subdivision and is not an ordinary residential fence permit for an existing lot.
• Floodplain Context: The subdivision regulations state that development within the floodplain is governed by the Franklin County Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. The referenced published materials do not state a fence-specific floodplain permit trigger or fence standard.
• State Highway Right-of-Way: Fence, gate, excavation, grading, access, or related work that enters or affects an Alabama state highway right-of-way is subject to Alabama Department of Transportation permitting separate from Franklin County subdivision rules.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property-Line Setback: The ordinance does not state a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Subdivision Street Rights-of-Way: Within subdivisions governed by the county regulations, minimum street rights-of-way are 60 feet wide, and no right-of-way obstructions such as fences are allowed within the full recorded right-of-way. This is not a 60-foot setback measured from the edge of pavement or from the property line.
• Recorded Plats and Easements: Subdivision plats identify lot boundaries, street rights-of-way, utility easements, drainage features, and other recorded site conditions. Fence placement on a platted lot must remain outside recorded rights-of-way and must not obstruct applicable easements.
• Drainage and Watercourses: Subdivision developments may include stormwater easements or drainage rights-of-way along watercourses, drainage ways, channels, or streams. The code does not publish a separate standard residential fence setback from those features; the recorded easement or right-of-way controls its location.
• Private Subdivision Gates: The subdivision regulations allow a gate to be established after construction of a private subdivision to limit access. This is a private-subdivision access provision, not a general gate requirement for an individual residential lot.
• Utility Safety: Alabama law requires notice through Alabama 811 before excavation where the Alabama Underground Damage Prevention Law applies. For covered fence work involving digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other excavation, notice must be given at least two but not more than 10 full working days before excavation begins, not counting the day of notification. Alabama 811 is a notification center and does not mark lines itself; member facility operators or their locators mark covered facilities, and the excavator must check the positive-response status before beginning work where required. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Maximum Height: The code does not specify a maximum height for standard residential fences.
• Yard-Based Height Limits: The code does not specify separate front-yard, side-yard, rear-yard, or corner-lot fence height limits for standard residential fences.
• 2015 IRC Permit Exemption: Where the Home Builders Licensure Board’s no-local-code investigation standard applies, the 2015 IRC exempts fences not over 7 feet high from a building permit. The 7-foot figure is a permit-exemption threshold, not a Franklin County maximum fence height.
• Intersection Visibility: The subdivision regulations require adequate sight distance at road intersections as part of subdivision street design, but they do not publish a fence-specific sight triangle, clear-vision height, or driveway-visibility limit for standard residential fences.
• Right-of-Way Rule: In regulated subdivision contexts, fences are prohibited within the recorded 60-foot street right-of-way regardless of fence height.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Materials: The code does not specify permitted or prohibited materials for standard residential fences.
• Barbed Wire, Razor Wire, and Electric Fences: The code does not publish a countywide residential rule for barbed wire, razor wire, electric fencing, battery-charged fencing, chain link, wood, vinyl, masonry, or metal fence materials.
• Finished Side and Opacity: The code does not specify finished-side orientation, opacity, spacing, decorative-side, or screening-percentage requirements for standard residential fences.
• Subdivision Screening Context: In certain new subdivision layouts adjoining arterials, expressways, or railroads, the regulations may require screening or a reserved screening strip. They do not identify a required fence material, height, opacity, or construction method for that screening.
• Fence Construction Details: The code does not publish fence-specific post-depth, footing, spacing, wind-load, engineering, or gate-construction standards for ordinary residential fences.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
• Private Covenants and Easements: HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, recorded agreements, and architectural-review requirements operate independently and may impose stricter fence placement, height, material, or appearance requirements.
• County Enforcement Role: The subdivision regulations state that private provisions remain operative when not inconsistent with county requirements, but neither the Franklin County Commission nor the Franklin County Engineer is responsible for enforcing private easements, covenants, or agreements.
• Recorded Plat Conditions: A recorded subdivision plat may contain rights-of-way, easements, screening strips, private-road terms, or other property-specific limitations that operate separately from the county’s general published fence rules.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• No Ordinary Fence Permit: Franklin County does not publish a separate local permit requirement for a standard residential fence on an existing lot.
• Residential-Code Context: The county’s local residential-code status is not identified in the referenced published materials. The Home Builders Licensure Board uses the local adopted code where one exists and the 2015 IRC, as adopted and ratified by the Board, as its investigation standard where no local building code has been adopted.
• Subdivision Right-of-Way Obstructions: In subdivisions governed by the county regulations, fences are expressly prohibited within the recorded 60-foot street right-of-way.
• Subdivision Development Review: Proposed subdivision plats, roads, drainage systems, utilities, and improvements are reviewed by the Franklin County Engineer and the Franklin County Commission. The resulting Permit to Develop is not an ordinary fence permit.
• Plat and Easement Conflicts: Fence placement may be affected by recorded lot boundaries, street rights-of-way, utility easements, drainage easements, screening strips, or private-subdivision conditions.
• Floodplain Conditions: The subdivision regulations refer floodplain development to the Franklin County Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, but the referenced published materials do not state a fence-specific floodplain standard.
• State and Utility Conflicts: Work affecting a state highway right-of-way or involving excavation may trigger separate Alabama Department of Transportation or Alabama 811 requirements.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Franklin County, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Alabama laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Alabama.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, locally adopted or otherwise applicable residential building codes, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, historic district status, design-review status, coastal-area or wetlands conditions, rural or agricultural context, livestock, lawful-fence or partition-fence context, local residential-code administration, adopted-code status, county or contracted administration, pool-barrier use, Alabama 811 utility-safety requirements, overhead high-voltage conditions, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with the Franklin County Engineer and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Franklin County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.