FENCE RULES – PERQUIMANS (COUNTY), NORTH CAROLINA
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Perquimans County, subject to local regulations.
This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Perquimans County; incorporated municipalities may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Perquimans County does not publish one consolidated residential fence code in the referenced published materials. Fence-related rules appear primarily in Ordinance No. 107 – Zoning Ordinance, the Residential Zoning Permit Application, Ordinance No. 99 – Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, Ordinance No. 105 – Subdivision Regulations, the Planning and Zoning fee schedule, the Building Inspections fee schedule, the Animal Control Ordinance, and CAMA-related land-use materials.
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 Ordinance No. 107 – Zoning Ordinance, Ordinance No. 105 – Subdivision Regulations, Ordinance No. 99 – Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, Ordinance No. 109 – Animal Control Ordinance, Residential Zoning Permit Application, FY 2025-2026 Planning and Zoning Fee Schedule, FY 2025-2026 Building Inspections Fee Schedule, and Perquimans County CAMA Core Land Use Plan materials as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Perquimans County is the governing authority for zoning and development regulation in the unincorporated areas covered by this page.
The Perquimans County Zoning Ordinance applies within the areas designated as zoning districts on the official zoning map, which is kept in the Planning and Zoning Office. The Planning and Zoning Administrator is the official charged with enforcing the Zoning Ordinance.
The Perquimans County Planning & Zoning Office administers zoning-permit and development-review materials. The Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance designates the County Manager or designee as the Floodplain Administrator. CAMA requirements are administered separately through the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management where coastal rules apply.
Perquimans County does not publish a standalone standard residential fence ordinance in the referenced published materials. Instead, fence-related review depends on the zoning ordinance, pool-barrier rules, floodplain-development rules, CAMA responsibility, subdivision plats and easements, and statewide building-code and utility-notice rules.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Building Permit: Under the North Carolina State Building Code baseline, fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from a building permit. Perquimans County does not publish a stricter local residential fence permit threshold, zoning-permit requirement, development-approval requirement, or all-fences permit rule in the referenced published materials. Fences over 7 feet fall outside that specific building-permit exemption, but Perquimans County does not publish a separate taller-fence permit workflow in the referenced published materials.
• Zoning Compliance: Building permit requirements are separate from zoning, setback, subdivision, floodplain, historic, coastal, watershed, riparian-buffer, right-of-way, easement, drainage, and plat requirements. Confirm any applicable zoning conditions, setbacks, and plat requirements with the Perquimans County Planning & Zoning Office before construction.
• General Development Approval Context: Perquimans County publishes a Development Permit / Zoning Permit process and a Residential Zoning Permit Application for listed residential buildings, structures, pools, other land uses, and site improvements, but the referenced published materials do not explicitly state that standard residential fences require that zoning permit or development permit.
• Floodplain Development Permit: Ordinance No. 99 – Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance requires a Floodplain Development Permit before development activities in Special Flood Hazard Areas. Fence-related work in a mapped floodplain is part of this separate review layer when it involves development activity such as structures, fill, grading, excavation, drilling, storage, or other site work.
• CAMA / Coastal Review: The Residential Zoning Permit Application states that applicants are responsible for compliance with any CAMA requirement regulated by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management. For fence work in a CAMA-regulated coastal area or Area of Environmental Concern, coastal review is separate from county zoning and building-permit rules.
• Pool Barrier: The Zoning Ordinance regulates public, commercial, and private outdoor swimming pools of 3 feet or more in depth. In-ground pools must be enclosed by a fence at least 4 feet high, with a gate of equal height and a locking mechanism. This is a pool-barrier rule, not a general yard-fence permit requirement.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
The code does not specify a separate setback requirement for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Property Lines: 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.
• Accessory-Structure Setbacks: The Zoning Ordinance area, yard, and height tables list setbacks for buildings and accessory structures, but the table notes exclude fences and walls from certain accessory-structure setback notes. Those tables do not create a separate published setback for standard residential fences.
• Plats, Easements, and Drainage: The Subdivision Regulations require subdivision materials to identify rights-of-way, easements, drainage features, floodplain or floodway limits, resource-protection areas, and sight-distance triangles. Fence placement must remain outside rights-of-way and must not interfere with recorded easements, drainage facilities, watercourses, or plat restrictions.
• Floodplain and Watercourse Conditions: In Special Flood Hazard Areas, floodplain review applies to development activity, including grading, fill, excavation, drilling, structures, storage, watercourse alteration, and other site work. Fence placement in those areas is evaluated through the floodplain-development process when the proposed work qualifies as development activity.
• CAMA / Coastal Conditions: On sites affected by CAMA or a coastal Area of Environmental Concern, coastal review is a separate site-condition layer. The county’s residential zoning application preserves the applicant’s responsibility for applicable CAMA requirements.
• Pool Barriers: A fence or wall used to enclose an in-ground swimming pool must comply with the swimming-pool location and barrier provisions, including the accessory-building location requirements referenced for pool fencing.
• Utility Safety: North Carolina law requires notice to the North Carolina Notification Center / NC 811 before excavation where the Underground Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice for non-subaqueous excavation must be given not less than three full working days before the proposed start date, and the notice expires 28 calendar days after the work start date. North Carolina law also includes specific exemptions, including certain work by the owner of a single-family residential property on the owner’s own land and certain agricultural or gardening excavations. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, coastal/CAMA approvals, watershed or riparian-buffer rules, floodplain review, stormwater review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Standard Residential Fence Height: The code does not specify a maximum height for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Building-Permit Exemption Threshold: The North Carolina State Building Code baseline treats fences not over 7 feet high as exempt from a building permit. This 7-foot figure is a building-permit exemption threshold, not a Perquimans County maximum fence height and not a published local zoning-permit trigger for taller fences.
• Pool Barrier Height: In-ground pool fences must be at least 4 feet high. The pool gate must be equal height and must include a locking mechanism.
• Visibility: The code does not specify a standard residential fence sight-triangle or clear-vision height limit in the referenced published materials. Subdivision plats and development materials may identify sight-distance triangles or rights-of-way that affect site layout, but the referenced published materials do not state a separate standard residential fence visibility height rule.
• Corner Lots: The zoning ordinance defines corner lots for corner-visibility purposes, but the referenced published materials do not state a separate standard residential fence height or setback rule for corner lots.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Materials: The code does not specify permitted or prohibited materials for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Barbed, Razor, or Electric Fencing: The referenced published materials do not state a standard residential rule for barbed wire, razor wire, or electric fencing. Material restrictions found for wireless facilities, screening, commercial uses, or other special uses do not apply as ordinary single-family residential fence rules.
• Pool-Barrier Construction: Fencing around swimming pools must be designed to minimize unauthorized or unwary entry. For a semi-open pool fence, open space between each section of fencing material must be no larger than 16 square inches. A pool fence or wall may be constructed of wood, masonry, or similar materials if it meets the location requirements for accessory buildings in the applicable district.
• Animal-Control Enclosures: The Animal Control Ordinance regulates locked enclosures for dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs, including secure sides, top, and bottom, and separately defines outside enclosures for animal shelter. Those provisions are animal-control rules and do not create a general material or height standard for ordinary residential fences.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
HOAs, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, recorded plats, conservation easements, and private agreements operate independently from county fence rules and may be more restrictive.
The county’s residential zoning application places responsibility for private deed restrictions and covenants on the applicant, and the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance states that more restrictive easements, covenants, or deed restrictions may continue to control. Perquimans County does not state that it enforces private covenants as part of ordinary residential fence review.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Whether a fence remains within the North Carolina building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high or falls outside that exemption.
• Whether a fence is included as part of a larger residential building, pool, site-improvement, or submitted zoning/development permit package.
• Whether a fence is being used as an in-ground pool barrier and must meet the 4-foot height, gate, locking-mechanism, and 16-square-inch semi-open-fence standards.
• Whether work in a Special Flood Hazard Area involves development activity requiring floodplain review.
• Whether the property is affected by CAMA, an Area of Environmental Concern, a watercourse, a floodway, or other mapped coastal or floodplain condition.
• Whether fence placement conflicts with rights-of-way, easements, drainage facilities, subdivision plats, or sight-distance triangles shown in subdivision or development materials.
• Whether a fence or enclosure is part of an animal-control condition for a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog.
• Whether digging for fence posts requires notice to the North Carolina Notification Center / NC 811 under the statewide utility-notice framework.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Perquimans County, based on the referenced published materials as of June 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain North Carolina laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in North Carolina.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, 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, watershed status, riparian-buffer status, coastal or CAMA jurisdiction, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or stock-law 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 Perquimans County Planning & Zoning Office and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Perquimans County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.