FENCE RULES – DALLAS (COUNTY), ALABAMA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Dallas County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Dallas County; incorporated municipalities such as the City of Selma may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Dallas County does not publish a consolidated fence ordinance or county zoning code for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials. Fence-relevant administrative context appears instead in the Dallas County Emergency Management Department building-permit guidance, Dallas County E-911 Addressing, Dallas County Engineering Department road, right-of-way, drainage, driveway-turnout, and subdivision-development materials, and the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board residential-code framework.
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 Dallas County E-911 Addressing, Dallas County Emergency Management Department materials, Dallas County Engineering Department materials, Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board Administrative Rules and Regulations, the Home Builders Licensure Law, the 2015 International Residential Code, and Alabama 811 materials as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
• Governing Authority: The Dallas County Commission is the governing body for Dallas County.
• Building-Permit Administration: The county E-911 Addressing page directs a person planning a new home or business to obtain a Building Permit from the Dallas County Emergency Management Department before requesting an E-911 address. The page does not identify standard residential fences as part of that permit process.
• Engineering and Development Review: The Dallas County Engineering Department plans and maintains the county road and bridge system, county road rights-of-way, roadway drainage, and driveway turnouts. The County Engineer reviews proposed subdivision plats, and the County Commission approves qualifying plats before the County Engineer issues a Permit to Develop.
• Residential-Code Context: Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board materials state that the Board applies the 2015 International Residential Code in cities and counties without an adopted residential building code. Dallas County does not publish a separate locally adopted residential-code edition in the referenced published materials.
• Local Fence Code: Dallas County does not publish a consolidated residential fence chapter, county zoning code, or standalone fence application in the referenced published materials.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Local Fence Permit: Dallas County does not publish a local fence permit requirement for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Building-Code Permit Context: The 2015 International Residential Code, Section R105.2, includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. Dallas County does not publish a separate affirmative local building-permit trigger for fences over 7 feet in the referenced published materials.
• County Building-Permit Process: The county E-911 Addressing page requires a Building Permit through the Dallas County Emergency Management Department when a person is planning to build a new home or business. That published process does not explicitly state that standard residential fences require the Building Permit.
• General Development Approval Context: Dallas County publishes a Permit to Develop process for subdivision development after County Engineer review and County Commission approval, but the referenced published materials do not explicitly state that an ordinary fence on an existing single-family residential lot requires that permit.
• Municipal Limits: The county subdivision-development requirements published by the Engineering Department do not apply to subdivisions inside municipal corporate limits. Residential fences within an incorporated municipality are governed by the applicable municipal requirements.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines and Easements: The referenced published materials do not specify 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.
• County Road Rights-of-Way: The Dallas County Engineering Department maintains county road rights-of-way and administers driveway turnouts located within those rights-of-way. The referenced published materials do not specify a fence setback from a county road right-of-way or publish a fence-specific right-of-way permit.
• Roadway Drainage: The Engineering Department maintains roadway drainage and determines the drainage pipe required for a driveway turnout. Dallas County does not publish a fence-specific drainage setback or drainage-obstruction standard for ordinary residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Subdivision Lots: Proposed subdivision plats are reviewed by the County Engineer and approved by the County Commission before a Permit to Develop is issued. Final plats and county development conditions remain property-specific, but Dallas County does not publish a separate fence-placement rule for subdivision lots.
• Driveways, Gates, and Corner Lots: Dallas County does not publish a fence-specific gate-swing, driveway-clearance, corner-lot placement, or visibility rule for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• 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: Dallas County does not publish a defined maximum height for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Yard-Based Height Limits: Dallas County does not publish separate front-yard, side-yard, rear-yard, or corner-lot fence height limits for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Building-Permit Exemption Threshold: The 2015 International Residential Code exempts fences not over 7 feet high from the code’s building-permit requirement. The 7-foot threshold is a permit-exemption threshold, not a published Dallas County maximum fence height.
• Fences Over 7 Feet: Dallas County does not publish an affirmative local building-permit requirement or separate local approval process for fences over 7 feet in the referenced published materials.
• Visibility: Dallas County does not publish a fence-specific clear-vision triangle, sight-triangle distance, driveway-visibility limit, or corner-lot visibility height for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Residential Fence Materials: Dallas County does not publish a defined permitted-material or prohibited-material standard for ordinary residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Barbed Wire, Electric Fences, and Similar Materials: The referenced published materials do not specify whether chain-link, wood, vinyl, masonry, metal, barbed-wire, electric, or battery-charged fencing is permitted or prohibited for ordinary single-family residential use.
• Finished Side and Opacity: Dallas County does not publish a finished-side, decorative-side, opacity, spacing, or orientation requirement for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Construction Details: Dallas County does not publish fence-specific post-depth, footing, spacing, wind-load, engineered-plan, or gate-construction requirements for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private covenants, deed restrictions, subdivision restrictions, private easements, boundary agreements, architectural-review covenants, and HOA rules operate independently from Dallas County requirements and may be more restrictive than the county-published standards.
Recorded plats and private agreements may impose property-specific limits on fence placement, height, materials, appearance, access, or maintenance even when Dallas County does not publish a corresponding county standard.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Fence-Permit Publication: Dallas County does not publish a local fence permit requirement for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Building-Code Exemption: The 2015 International Residential Code includes a building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high. No affirmative Dallas County over-7-foot fence permit trigger is published.
• New Homes and Businesses: The Dallas County Emergency Management Department issues the Building Permit identified in the county E-911 process for a new home or business, but the published guidance does not connect that process to an ordinary residential fence.
• Subdivision Development: Review applies when work is part of regulated subdivision development requiring proposed-plat review, County Commission approval, and a Permit to Develop through the Dallas County Engineering Department.
• County Roads, Driveways, and Drainage: The Engineering Department administers county road rights-of-way, driveway turnouts, and roadway drainage. The referenced published materials do not establish a fence-specific county road setback or drainage permit, but a fence project does not authorize separate work within county road or driveway-turnout areas.
• Utility Excavation: Fence-post excavation is subject to the Alabama 811 notice and positive-response framework where the Alabama Underground Damage Prevention Law applies.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Dallas 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 Dallas County Emergency Management Department and Dallas County Engineering Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Dallas County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.