FENCE RULES – HENDRY (COUNTY), FLORIDA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Hendry County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Hendry County; incorporated municipalities may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Hendry County fence rules appear in the Code of Ordinances, Hendry County, Florida, including the Land Development Code provisions for fences and walls, construction permits, flood damage prevention, and property maintenance. Hendry County also publishes a Building & Licensing Fence|Wall Permit Application for fence and wall work.
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 Code of Ordinances, Hendry County, Florida; Hendry County Land Development Code; Hendry County Building & Licensing; Hendry County Building & Licensing FAQs; Hendry County Code Enforcement; Hendry County Code Enforcement FAQs; Hendry County Planning and Zoning; and the Hendry County Building & Licensing Fence|Wall Permit Application as of May 2026.
GOVERNANCE
• Governing Authority: Hendry County regulates residential fences in unincorporated Hendry County through the Board of County Commissioners, the Code of Ordinances, and county departments that administer building, zoning, floodplain, engineering, and code enforcement functions.
• Primary Local Code: The Code of Ordinances, Hendry County, Florida includes the Land Development Code in Subpart B. Fence-related rules appear in the zoning supplemental standards for fences and walls, construction permit provisions, flood damage prevention regulations, and property maintenance standards.
• Administrative Offices: Hendry County Building & Licensing administers fence and wall permit processing, plan review, and inspections. Hendry County Planning and Zoning administers zoning information, site plan review, and land development regulation compliance. Hendry County Code Enforcement enforces county codes in unincorporated areas.
• Fence Application: Hendry County Building & Licensing publishes a Fence|Wall Permit Application for fence and wall projects.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
Effective July 1, 2026, Florida’s HB 803, enacted as Chapter 2026-63, changes the building-permit framework for certain single-family residential work. The law requires local governments that issue building permits to exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling, or the owner’s contractor, from the requirement to obtain a building permit for work valued at less than $7,500 on the owner’s property. This building-permit exemption does not apply to work on property located partly or entirely in a Florida Building Code flood hazard area, and it does not apply to electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work. To qualify for the exemption, the owner or owner’s contractor must submit a written exemption request to the local enforcement agency with a contract or other documentation showing the nature and value of the work.
This exemption applies to the building-permit requirement. It does not by itself remove local zoning, fence, site, setback, survey, easement, right-of-way, drainage, visibility, floodplain, historic/design, Certificate of Appropriateness, pool-barrier, HOA/private-restriction, or other non-building-code requirements that may apply to a fence project. Because this legislation is new, local governments may update how fence, building, zoning, and site-review procedures are routed. The reviewed-by date on this page reflects the permit and approval orientation found in the official materials at that time. Before relying on the building-permit exemption or beginning work, property owners should ask the receiving building or permitting department how to file the exemption request and should also confirm with planning, zoning, or other applicable local staff whether any separate fence, zoning, site, historic/design, floodplain, easement, visibility, or other approval is required.
• Fence Permit Required: Hendry County’s Land Development Code states that permits are required for residential, commercial, and industrial fences. The construction-permit provisions also state that construction permits for compliance with Hendry County Land Development Codes must be issued before construction of residential, commercial, and industrial fences.
• Fence|Wall Permit Application: Hendry County Building & Licensing publishes a Fence|Wall Permit Application for fence and wall work. The application requests the project address, owner, work description, material, proposed use, contract price, and contractor or owner-builder information, and includes staff review fields for zoning approval, plan examiner approval, setbacks, and flood zone.
• Zoning Review: The Fence|Wall Permit Application includes a zoning approval field and asks whether zoning regulations require zoning department approval, whether the use conforms to Hendry County Codes, and whether the primary use has been established.
• Required Submittals: The application checklist calls for ownership documentation, contractor or owner-builder documents, contract price, completed driveway sign-off, a signed and sealed boundary survey, and a site plan showing existing structures with the fence and gate placement highlighted.
• Other Agency Permits: The application states that issuance of a permit is not authorization to violate public or private restrictions, laws, or regulations, and that other agency permits may be required where another agency has jurisdiction.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines: Perimeter fences and walls may be permitted along property lines. Internal fences and walls are permitted in addition to perimeter fences and walls, provided adequate provision is made for easements.
• Setbacks and Site Plan: The Fence|Wall Permit Application includes staff review fields for front, side, and rear setbacks and requires a site plan showing all existing structures with the fence and gate placement highlighted.
• Rights-of-Way and Easements: The Fence|Wall Permit Application states that the permit does not authorize construction or installation of any structure or utility above or below ground within any right-of-way or easement reserved for access, drainage, or utility purposes. The application specifically prohibits fencing in those areas unless any separate required approval is obtained from the responsible department or agency.
• Survey and Road Information: The permit checklist requires a signed and sealed boundary survey with flood zone information and a site plan identifying adjacent county, city, state, or federal road systems and connections to those roads.
• Drainage Features: The site plan checklist requires existing or proposed ponds, drainage systems, or retention ponds to be shown.
• Utility Safety: Florida law requires notice through Sunshine 811 before excavation or demolition. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice generally must be given at least 2 full business days before excavation begins on land.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Residential Height Limit: No fence or wall in a residential district may exceed 6 feet in height except by variance.
• Height Measurement: Fence height is measured from finished grade. If a retaining wall is required to achieve finished grade, the fence is measured from the top of the retaining wall.
• Rear and Side Yard Grade Variation: In rear and side yards, the director has discretion to allow a height deviation where required to compensate for variations in grade or drainage.
• Sight Distance Triangle: No fence, wall, other structure, or vegetation may be permitted over 30 inches in height above the average road grade in a sight distance triangle.
• Sight Triangle Measurement: The sight distance triangle consists of the area bounded by the edge of pavement of a road, or the edge of an unpaved road; the edge of pavement of an intersecting road or driveway, or the edge of an unpaved road or driveway; and an imaginary line connecting the other two lines at points 25 feet from their intersection.
• Floodway Limitation: Fences in regulated floodways that have the potential to block floodwaters, including stockade fences and wire mesh fences, must meet the floodway limitations in the flood damage prevention regulations. Development or land-disturbing activity involving fill or regrading in a regulatory floodway requires the required encroachment analysis showing no increase in base flood elevation.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Conventional Materials: Fences and walls may use conventional and traditional materials including wood, concrete, brick, stucco, picket, basket weave, split rail, plank, panels, woven saplings, cast or wrought iron, chain link, PVC, or vinyl. A combination of these conventional and traditional materials may be permitted.
• Prohibited Non-Traditional Materials: Non-traditional materials, including tires, wood pallets, plywood, and hubcaps, are prohibited.
• Sheet and Net Materials: Fabric sheets or nets, or plastic, metal, or vinyl sheets, may not be used as part of a fence except in commercial and industrial zoning districts for required screening.
• Finished Side: Fences and walls must be constructed to present the finished side of the fence or wall to the adjoining lot or any abutting right-of-way. Where there is an existing fence, wall, or continuous landscape hedge on the adjoining parcel, this provision may be administratively waived upon written request.
• Barbed Wire and Farm Fencing: Barbed wire fencing is allowed in agriculture zoning districts. Rural residential and rural residential farm zoning districts may have field fence, hog wire, and/or barbed wire if farm animals are kept on the property. Farm fences qualifying for the exemption from regulation in Florida Statutes section 604.50 are not subject to the section 1-53-6.3 requirements and limitations.
• Maintenance: Hendry County property maintenance regulations require fences and walls to be maintained in good condition and secured. Materials other than decay-resistant varieties must be protected against decay or mildew by paint, stain, or another wood or surface preservative.
• Vacant Property Storage: The code does not allow temporary or permanent storage of materials or equipment, including fence material, on vacant property except in conjunction with an active building permit.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
• Private Covenants: Private covenants, deed restrictions, architectural controls, and HOA rules operate independently from Hendry County permits and may be more restrictive than county requirements.
• Permit Limitation: Hendry County’s Fence|Wall Permit Application states that issuance of a permit is not authorization to violate public or private restrictions, laws, or regulations.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Permit Review: Residential fence construction is reviewed through the county’s fence-permit requirement and the Hendry County Building & Licensing Fence|Wall Permit Application.
• Zoning Review: Zoning approval, zoning designation, future land use, setbacks, flood zone, and conformity with Hendry County Codes appear in the fence permit review materials.
• Height Review: Residential fence and wall height is reviewed against the 6 feet residential district limit unless a variance applies.
• Sight Triangle Review: Fences, walls, structures, and vegetation are reviewed for the 30-inch height limit inside the 25-foot sight distance triangle.
• Site and Placement Review: Review is based on the submitted boundary survey, site plan, fence and gate placement, roads, drainage, rights-of-way, easements, and flood zone information.
• Floodway Review: Fences in regulated floodways that can block floodwaters are reviewed under flood damage prevention limitations.
• Code Enforcement: Hendry County Code Enforcement handles complaints in unincorporated Hendry County, including construction, remodel, or repair without a permit and property maintenance matters.
• Maintenance Review: Fences and walls are reviewable for maintenance condition, security, and protection of non-decay-resistant materials under property maintenance regulations.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Hendry County, based on publicly available source materials reviewed as of May 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Florida laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Florida.
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, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Hendry County Building & Licensing and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Hendry County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.