FENCE RULES – ARLINGTON (COUNTY), VIRGINIA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Arlington County, subject to local regulations.
This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Arlington County; incorporated towns, cities, or other municipalities may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Local fence rules appear across the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance, the County’s Fence or Retaining Wall Permit materials, Chapter 3 of the County Code, the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Special Revitalization District Form Based Code where applicable, and site-condition ordinances for floodplain, stormwater, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas, Resource Protection Areas, public spaces, utilities, and historic review.
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 the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance effective June 13, 2026, Fence or Retaining Wall Permit materials, Chapter 3 Building Code, Chapter 48 Floodplain Management, Chapter 55 Underground Utility Protection, Chapter 60 Erosion and Stormwater Management, Chapter 61 Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, Chapter 70 Encroachment Into Public Spaces, Land Disturbing Activity / Stormwater permit materials, the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Special Revitalization District Form Based Code, Certificate of Appropriateness materials, and Arlington County environmental-permit materials as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Arlington County regulates residential fences through zoning, permit, building-code, environmental, and public-space controls rather than through a single consolidated residential fence chapter.
The Arlington County Zoning Ordinance sets the principal local standards for fence and wall placement, height, corner-lot visibility, setbacks, special districts, and zoning administration. The Zoning Division administers the fence or retaining wall permit pathway through Permit Arlington.
The Department of Environmental Services administers environmental and public-infrastructure review, including land disturbance, stormwater, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area / Resource Protection Area review, floodplain review, County easements, and right-of-way or public-space issues. The Inspection Services Division reviews building-code and inspection items when a fence or wall is tied to pool barriers, pedestrian-safety barriers, retaining walls, masonry or concrete walls, or other Building Code triggers.
The Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board is relevant when a fence or wall is on a registered historic property or within a local historic district, and the Zoning Administrator interprets and enforces the Zoning Ordinance.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Fence or Retaining Wall Permit: Arlington County requires a permit for any new or replacement fence, retaining wall, or outdoor wall that is not part of a larger project. The application is submitted in Permit Arlington as a Zoning Application.
• Larger Project Applications: If the fence, retaining wall, or outdoor wall is part of a larger project, such as a new house, addition, or pool, the fence or wall information is submitted with the building permit application for that larger project.
• Virginia Building-Permit Baseline: Under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code baseline, application for a building permit and related inspections are not required for ordinary fences of any height unless the fence is required for pedestrian safety during construction or is used as the barrier for a swimming pool. Arlington County’s published fence or retaining wall permit is a separate local zoning-application requirement.
• Building and Inspection Review: Building-code review and inspection remain separate from zoning permit review. The permit materials identify inspection triggers for a fence that serves as a swimming-pool barrier or pedestrian-safety barrier, a retaining wall that retains 3 feet or more of soil at any point, and a masonry or concrete wall that exceeds 6 feet above grade at any point. Walls over 4 feet tall must be sealed by a structural engineer.
• Certified Plat and Easements: The fence permit materials require a certified house location plat showing the fence or wall location, limits of disturbance, floodplain and Resource Protection Area conditions where present, and all Arlington County easements. All County easements must be shown on a certified plan and plat.
• Resource Protection Area Review: If the property is within a Resource Protection Area, the fence or wall submission must include a Water Quality Impact Assessment Data Sheet. The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance also requires water-quality review for land disturbance, development, redevelopment, buffer modification, or encroachment within Resource Protection Area conditions.
• Floodplain Review: A Floodplain Development Permit is required when the property is partly or entirely within the 100-year floodplain or a County-required Flood Buffer Zone.
• Land Disturbance and Stormwater: Chapter 60 requires an LDA Permit before regulated land-disturbing activity, including Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act land-disturbing activity. Chapter 60 exempts land-disturbing activities below 2,500 square feet unless part of a larger common plan of development or sale of one acre or greater, and separately exempts installation, maintenance, or repair of fence posts from the LDA-permit requirement unless federal law requires otherwise. Arlington County’s land-disturbance materials also identify a 2,000 to 2,499 square foot disturbance category that requires survey marking and approved erosion-and-sediment perimeter control before permit issuance.
• Historic Review: For properties that are registered as historic or located within a local historic district, the fence permit materials identify stamped, approved Certificate of Appropriateness plans from the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board as applicable supporting documents.
• Right-of-Way and Public-Space Review: Chapter 70 treats public space as including public right-of-way, streets, easements, and other real property interests dedicated or conveyed for public use. Fence or wall work that would encroach into public space, public right-of-way, a County easement, or another dedicated public-use area is subject to the County’s public-space and right-of-way approval structure rather than the ordinary private-lot fence location rules.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Required Setbacks and Yards: The Arlington County Zoning Ordinance permits fences and walls to encroach into required setbacks and yards only under the fence-and-wall placement standards in Section 3.2.6.A.3(e).
• Street Setbacks: Fences and walls up to 4 feet high may encroach into any required street setback. In rear and side yards of corner lots, fences up to 6 feet high may be erected in the required street setback, but no closer than 3 feet from any public right-of-way.
• Rear and Side Yards: Fences and walls up to 7 feet high may be located in required rear or side yards. On corner lots, fences and walls up to 7 feet high are permitted in rear or side yards only when located to the rear of the required street-side setback line.
• Public Right-of-Way and Easements: The fence permit materials require the certified plat to show the proposed fence, retaining wall, or wall location and all Arlington County easements. Chapter 70 separately addresses encroachments into public spaces, including public rights-of-way, streets, easements, and other real property interests dedicated or conveyed for public use.
• Property-Line Verification: The Zoning Division states that it does not enforce property lines, and the permit materials direct applicants to use a Virginia-licensed land surveyor to verify them.
• Resource Protection Area, Floodplain, and Stormwater Siting: If a fence or wall is located in a Resource Protection Area, floodplain, Flood Buffer Zone, County easement, or area affected by land disturbance or stormwater review, the placement review is handled through the applicable Department of Environmental Services requirements.
• Historic Properties and Local Historic Districts: Arlington County states that it generally does not stipulate which side of a fence is exposed to neighbors or public rights-of-way; however, the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board may dictate otherwise for properties that are registered as historic or located within a local historic district.
• Columbia Pike Form Based Code Properties: Where the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Special Revitalization District Form Based Code applies to the property and project, separate front-yard fence, privacy-fence, street-wall, garden-wall, and frontage-location standards may apply.
• Utility Safety: Virginia law requires notice to the notification center / Virginia 811 before excavation or demolition where the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve excavation, including digging, drilling, augering, or other movement of earth, the excavator must submit a locate request and must review the positive-response information before work begins unless an exemption applies. A Virginia locate request is generally valid for 15 working days, and re-marking may be required before that period ends or when markings become illegible. Virginia law includes an important exemption for hand digging performed by an owner or occupant of a property. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area review, Resource Protection Area review, stormwater review, wetland or shoreline approvals, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Street Setback Height: Fences and walls up to 4 feet high may encroach into any required street setback.
• Corner-Lot Street Setback Exception: In rear and side yards of corner lots, fences up to 6 feet high may be erected in the required street setback, but no closer than 3 feet from any public right-of-way.
• Rear and Side Yard Height: Fences and walls up to 7 feet high may be located in required rear or side yards, subject to the corner-lot street-side setback limitation.
• Visual Clearance on Residential Corner Lots: On any corner lot in an R or RA district, no planting, structure, retaining wall, fence, shrubbery, or obstruction to vision may be located between 3 feet and 10 feet above curb level within the triangle formed by the street right-of-way lines and a line connecting those street lines 25 feet from their intersection.
• Wall Safety Features: Handrails and guardrails affixed to the top of a wall and required by the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code for safety are excluded from the maximum wall-height calculation, but all fences and walls, including those handrails and guardrails, remain subject to the visual-clearance rules.
• Trellises Incorporated Into Fences: Trellises up to 8 feet high and 8 feet in total length may be placed in a required side or rear yard if they are not nearer than 18 inches to a property line. Trellises incorporated as part of fences remain subject to the fence-and-wall placement standards.
• Columbia Pike Form Based Code Front-Yard Fences: Where the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Special Revitalization District Form Based Code applies, Detached building-envelope standards state that front-yard fences must be between 30 inches and 40 inches high, and Townhouse / Small Apartment standards state that a front-yard fence may have a maximum height of 40 inches.
• Special Public, Stormwater, and Flood-Wall Conditions: The Zoning Ordinance includes separate higher limits for public parks or open spaces, stormwater management facilities, and flood walls. Those standards are site-specific and do not replace the ordinary private residential fence limits stated above.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Barbed Wire: Chapter 3 of the County Code does not allow barbed wire on any fence or wall at a height of less than 6 feet.
• Open Mesh Fence Prongs: Sharp, unfinished, or cut prongs or links of open mesh type fences are not allowed at a height of less than 6 feet unless the cut prongs or links are placed at the bottom of the fence.
• Electric Fences: The erection or installation of an electrically charged fence is prohibited.
• Fence Orientation: Arlington County states that it generally does not stipulate which side of a fence is exposed to neighbors or public rights-of-way. The Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board may dictate otherwise for properties that are registered as historic or located within a local historic district.
• Retaining Walls and Outdoor Walls: The fence permit materials require footing details, material specifications, and structural details for wall construction. Walls over 4 feet tall must be sealed by a structural engineer.
• Columbia Pike Form Based Code Materials: Where the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Special Revitalization District Form Based Code applies, privacy fences may use wood, metal, dimensional composite material, or wood / dimensional composite material with masonry piers. Chain link fences are prohibited under that Form Based Code. Gates may use wood, dimensional composite material, metal, or combinations of those materials.
• Standard Residential Material Silence: Outside the stated County Code restrictions, historic-review conditions, wall-construction requirements, and applicable Form Based Code provisions, the referenced published materials do not specify a single countywide list of permitted standard residential fence materials.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate separately from Arlington County fence rules.
HOA covenants, condominium rules, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, conservation easements, architectural-review covenants, private easements, boundary agreements, and recorded private agreements may be more restrictive than County zoning or permit rules.
The County’s permit and zoning review does not replace the need to account for applicable private restrictions.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• New or replacement fence, retaining wall, or outdoor wall work submitted through the Fence or Retaining Wall Permit process.
• Zoning review for fence and wall height, required setbacks, corner-lot placement, street-side setback limits, and visual-clearance areas.
• Department of Environmental Services review for County easements, Resource Protection Area conditions, Water Quality Impact Assessment requirements, floodplain or Flood Buffer Zone status, land disturbance, stormwater controls, and public-space or right-of-way conditions.
• Inspection Services Division review and inspection for swimming-pool barriers, pedestrian-safety barriers, retaining walls retaining 3 feet or more of soil, masonry or concrete walls exceeding 6 feet above grade, and walls over 4 feet requiring structural-engineer sealing.
• Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board review where a registered historic property, local historic district, or approved Certificate of Appropriateness condition applies.
• Material or construction conflicts involving barbed wire below 6 feet, sharp or cut open-mesh prongs below 6 feet, electrically charged fences, or chain link fencing where the Columbia Pike Form Based Code applies.
• Property-line disputes, which the Zoning Division states it does not enforce, and public-space or easement encroachments, which are handled through the applicable County public-space or right-of-way process.
• Utility-safety conflicts where fence excavation, drilling, augering, or other movement of earth is subject to Virginia 811 / Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act requirements.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Arlington County, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Virginia laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Virginia.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, 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, Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area status, Resource Protection Area status, wetland or shoreline status, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or division-fence context, pool-barrier use, utility safety requirements, 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 Arlington County Zoning Division and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Arlington County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.