Orlando Fence Permit Guide: When You Need One

Do I need a permit to build a fence in Orlando?

Usually not. The City of Orlando exempts a fence from permitting when every one of the following is true:

• The fence is on a one or two-family residential property
• The fence is six feet or less, measured from established normal building site grade
• The fence is not in a Historic Preservation district
• The material is one of: wood, plastic or vinyl, chain link, aluminum, wrought iron, or plant material
• The fence complies with any Special Plan (SP) overlay, Planned Development (PD) district rules, and Orlando Code Chapter 58 Part 5B(5)

That covers the large majority of residential fence projects in the city, including most replacements.

One thing homeowners consistently miss: the City is explicit that all fences must comply with City Code even when no permit is required. Skipping the permit does not mean skipping the height limits, the setbacks or the sight-visibility rules. And if you’re in an HOA, HOA approval is still required regardless of what the City does.

When does Orlando require a fence permit?

A permit is required if any one of these applies:

1. The property is commercial, or residential with three or more dwelling units
2. The fence is taller than six feet
3. The fence is in a Historic Preservation district (Chapter 62 applies and Appearance Review is required)
4. The material is concrete, masonry or block, including posts, or includes concrete or rebar reinforcement
5. The fence is used as a required pool or spa barrier
6. The fence is on or near any public easement shown on a property survey
7. The property has an alley at the rear
8. The fence includes vehicular gates or powered gates (electric, solar, or otherwise)
9. The fence is associated with a demolition permit or the demolition of a structure
10. The fence is required under FBC Chapter 33, Safeguards During Construction (see temporary construction fencing)
11. The property is in a floodplain or floodway

Numbers 8 and 11 are the two that catch people out most often in Central Florida. A standard six-foot wood privacy fence needs no permit, but add an electric sliding gate at the driveway and the whole project becomes permitted work.

What is the maximum fence height allowed in Orlando?

Four feet in front yards. Six feet in side, street-side and rear yards. All heights are measured from established normal building site grade, not from wherever the ground happens to sit after landscaping.

Two exceptions worth knowing:

• A street-side yard drops to four feet where that yard abuts your neighbor’s front yard.
• A side or rear fence may go to eight feet where it abuts commercial or industrial property.

Your fence must sit on or inside your property line, and it cannot block corner or driveway sight-visibility triangles. If your driveway has a gate across it, that gate must be set back at least 20 feet from the property line so a vehicle can pull clear of the road while it opens.

Anything above six feet needs a permit or a variance.

Can my neighbor put up a 7-foot fence?

Not in an Orlando residential side or rear yard without a permit, and not without a height variance. The six-foot cap applies to the fence, regardless of who is paying for it.

If a neighbor’s fence exceeds six feet on a one or two-family lot and was never permitted, that’s a matter for City code enforcement rather than something to settle over the fence line. Where the property line actually falls is a separate question and a civil one between owners. Pull your survey before you argue about either.

Which side of the fence faces my neighbor?

The City’s guidance is direct: the finished side of a wood fence should face outward. The posts and rails face in, toward your property. This is the single most common source of neighbor friction on a new privacy fence, and it’s worth settling before the posts go in rather than after.

Do these rules apply outside Orlando city limits?

No, and this is where most online fence permit advice goes wrong. Everything above is City of Orlando code. It applies inside city limits only.

Much of Central Florida is not in the City of Orlando. Winter Park, Winter Garden, Maitland, Apopka and Casselberry are separate municipalities with their own codes. Unincorporated Orange County and all of Seminole County are governed separately again. An address with an “Orlando, FL” mailing address is very often not in the City of Orlando.

Check which jurisdiction you’re actually in before assuming the city exemption covers you. If you’re not sure, we’ll confirm it as part of your estimate. We’ve been building fences in Central Florida since 2004 and work across Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties.

What does Florida law require for a pool fence?

Florida Statute § 515.29 sets the barrier requirements for residential pools. The barrier must:

• Be at least four feet high measured on the outside
• Have no gaps, openings, indentations or protrusions that would let a young child crawl under, squeeze through or climb over
• Be separate from the yard fence, unless that yard fence sits at the pool’s edge and meets every barrier requirement on its own
• Sit far enough back from the water’s edge that a child who gets through it does not immediately fall in

The requirement most often missed is the gate. Gates that give access to the pool must open outward, away from the pool, be self-closing, and have a self-latching locking device. A standard gravity latch on an inward-swinging gate does not comply.

In Orlando, a fence used as a required pool or spa barrier triggers a building permit even where a six-foot fence of the same material would not.

Can I put a fence on an easement?

Sometimes, but it triggers a permit in Orlando, and it carries a risk worth understanding. The utility or municipality holding the easement keeps the right to remove your fence to get access, and they do not have to compensate you for it or put it back.

Check your survey for easements and their stated purpose before you finalize a fence line, not after the posts are set. Easements are one of the reasons we ask to see your survey during the estimate.

What do I need to apply for an Orlando fence permit?

For a fence, you need a site plan, which can be drawn on top of a copy of your property survey. A survey should already show the legal description, property lines and dimensions, easements and their purpose, adjacent streets, buildings and structures with setbacks, and driveways, patios and decks. You add the proposed location and height of the fence to it.

For walls rather than fences, you’ll need electronically signed construction drawings instead.

Two extras that catch people: fences in a historic district need a Certificate of Appropriateness, and if any trees have to come out to run the fence line, that’s a separate tree permit.

Properties zoned Planned Development (PD) may have their own rules on height, material, location and style. Orlando’s Planning department will provide a visual fence diagram for your property type if you contact them.