FENCE RULES – FAULKNER (COUNTY), ARKANSAS
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Faulkner County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Faulkner County; incorporated municipalities such as Conway, Mayflower, Vilonia, and Greenbrier may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Fence rules for unincorporated Faulkner County are not organized in a standalone residential fence ordinance. Relevant fence-related rules appear in the Faulkner County Code of Ordinances, the Flood Damage Prevention Code for Faulkner County, Faulkner County OEM/911 floodplain materials, and county road-permit provisions administered through the County Judge and road-related county processes.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one.
Compiled From Faulkner County Code of Ordinances, Floodplain Management, Flood Damage Prevention Code for Faulkner County, Floodplain Development Permit Application, Procedures for No-Rise Certification, Roads / Transportation materials, County Judge materials, and Faulkner County OEM/911 materials as of May 2026.
GOVERNANCE
• Governing Authority: Faulkner County is governed by the Faulkner County Quorum Court and administered through relevant county offices, including the County Judge, Faulkner County OEM/911, and the Faulkner County Road Department where applicable.
• Fence Code Structure: Faulkner County does not publish a consolidated residential fence code for unincorporated properties. Fence-related requirements appear through floodplain development regulation, county-road obstruction and permit rules, and general county code provisions.
• Floodplain Administration: Faulkner County OEM/911 administers floodplain development permitting for areas outside the city limits of Conway, Mayflower, Wooster, Vilonia, and Greenbrier.
• Road Administration: The County Judge is identified in county road materials as the official who grants permits for certain work, entrances, digging, or obstructions involving county roads.
• Building-Permit Administration: Faulkner County does not publish a local building department or county building-permit process for standard residential fences in unincorporated areas. The county’s published development-permit path for fence-relevant private site work is the floodplain development permit when floodplain rules apply.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Local Fence Permit: Faulkner County does not publish a local fence permit requirement for standard residential fences outside floodplain, county-road, or other site-specific approval contexts.
• Building Permit: Faulkner County does not identify a county building-permit process for standard residential fences and does not identify a local county process for taller residential fences.
• Floodplain Development Permit: Faulkner County floodplain materials require floodplain development review before qualifying development begins in regulated floodplain areas. The Flood Damage Prevention Code defines development to include construction or erection of walls or fences.
• Floodplain Zones: The Floodplain Development Permit Application states that no work may begin in floodplain areas designated A, A1-30, AE, AO, AH, or B until a floodplain development permit is issued. The application also states that no floodplain development permit is required if the proposed development is not located in those listed zones, and that Zone B or shaded Zone X requires a floodplain development permit only when the development is a critical facility.
• Regulatory Floodway: Development in a regulatory floodway is prohibited unless a No-Rise Certificate is submitted or all applicable federal map-revision requirements are met. The No-Rise guidance recognizes that barbed wire farm fences that would be pushed over or ripped out early in a flood may be permitted without certification, while larger, more massive fences may obstruct flood flows and may require an engineering study and certification.
• County Road Permit: A permit from the County Judge is required before placing a gate, gap, cattle guard, barricade, other obstruction, or digging in a County road. A permit is also required before making a road, driveway, entrance, or exit into a County road.
• Zoning or Planning Approval: The code does not publish a countywide zoning permit, yard setback approval, or residential fence approval process for standard residential fences in unincorporated Faulkner County.
• Historic, Design, and Pool Approvals: The code does not publish a historic-district approval, design-review approval, or private single-family residential pool-barrier approval specifically for standard residential fences.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines and Setbacks: 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.
• Floodplain Placement: A fence or wall located in a regulated floodplain area may be treated as development under the Flood Damage Prevention Code. Floodplain review may apply before construction, clearing, grading, fill, excavation, drainage work, or similar site work begins.
• Regulatory Floodways: In a regulatory floodway, development is prohibited unless the required No-Rise or federal map-revision standard is satisfied. This can affect fence placement where the fence would obstruct flood flows.
• County Roads: The code prohibits placing gates, gaps, cattle guards, barricades, or other obstructions, or digging in any County road, except under a permit granted by the County Judge.
• Driveways and Entrances: A road, driveway, entrance, or exit into a County road requires a permit from the County Judge and must comply with the terms of that permit.
• Drainage and Watercourse Impacts: The Flood Damage Prevention Code controls development activities that may affect flood elevations, floodwater velocity, floodwater direction, watercourses, drainage improvements, fill, excavation, or other ground-surface alterations in regulated floodplain areas. This is a floodplain-development rule, not a general residential fence setback.
• Utility Safety: Arkansas law requires notice through Arkansas 811 before excavation where the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice may be required before excavation begins. Arkansas law also includes specific exemptions, including certain agricultural-purpose posthole digging on private property outside an operator right-of-way.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Residential Fence Height: The code does not specify a maximum height for standard residential fences in unincorporated Faulkner County.
• Yard-Based Height Limits: The code does not specify separate front yard, side yard, or rear yard height limits for standard residential fences.
• Corner Lots and Sight Areas: The code does not specify a residential fence sight-triangle, clear-vision, corner-lot, alley, or driveway visibility standard for standard residential fences.
• Floodplain Obstruction Context: Floodplain and floodway rules may affect fences that obstruct flood flows or alter the direction, height, or velocity of flood or surface waters. Those standards apply through floodplain development review rather than through ordinary fence-height or traffic-visibility rules.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Materials: The code does not specify permitted or prohibited materials for standard residential fences in unincorporated Faulkner County.
• Finished Side: The code does not specify a finished-side orientation rule for standard residential fences.
• Chain Link: The code does not specify a countywide chain-link restriction for standard residential fences.
• Barbed Wire Farm Fences in Floodway Context: The No-Rise guidance recognizes a narrow floodway context for barbed wire farm fences that would be pushed over or ripped out early in a flood. That guidance does not create a general countywide material standard for ordinary residential fences.
• Larger Floodway Fences: Larger, more massive fences in a regulatory floodway may be treated as possible obstructions to flood flows and may require engineering review and certification under floodplain materials.
• Nonresidential Screening Rules: Fence and screening provisions that apply to wireless communication facilities, data-center operations, or other nonresidential uses are not treated as standard single-family residential fence material rules.
• Private Pool Barriers: The code does not publish a private single-family residential pool-barrier requirement for ordinary residential fence projects.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
• Private Covenants: HOAs, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, agricultural agreements, boundary agreements, and private maintenance agreements operate independently from Faulkner County fence rules and may be more restrictive.
• County Enforcement: The county materials do not state that Faulkner County enforces private HOA covenants or private deed restrictions as part of ordinary residential fence review.
• Floodplain and Easement Conflicts: The Flood Damage Prevention Code states that when floodplain requirements overlap with another ordinance, easement, covenant, or deed restriction, the more stringent restriction applies.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Floodplain Development: Fence or wall construction in regulated floodplain areas may be reviewed as development under the Flood Damage Prevention Code.
• Floodway Encroachment: A fence in a regulatory floodway may require No-Rise review or other floodway documentation where it could obstruct flood flows.
• Site Work: Clearing, grading, excavation, fill, watercourse alteration, drainage improvements, and other site work associated with a fence may trigger floodplain development review when performed in regulated floodplain areas.
• County Road Obstructions: Gates, gaps, cattle guards, barricades, digging, entrances, driveways, or other obstructions involving a County road may be reviewed through the County Judge permit process.
• County Road Safety: Facilities, apparatus, or other matters under, in, over, or across a County road may be reviewed where they create a safety hazard or conflict with future public use of the road.
• Private Restrictions: HOA covenants, deed restrictions, easements, and private agreements may affect fence placement or design independently from county administration.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Faulkner County, based on publicly available materials reviewed as of May 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Arkansas laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Arkansas.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, 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, historic district status, rural or agricultural context, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants or private agreements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Faulkner County OEM/911, the Faulkner County Road Department, the County Judge, and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Faulkner County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.