Model code
IRC 2024, before any state or city amendment
Exempt
- Fences up to 7 ft need no building permit. IRC 2024, R105.2
No permit under this text. Zoning and your HOA still apply, and the digging may need a call to 811 first.
Permit checker
Check my project
Pick the project and the state for the national pattern, then enter your measurements to check them against the code, line by line.
Typical pattern
Fence in California
Complexity Low · compare quotes per linear foot
Height, material and where the fence stands decide it; the fence permit brief gives Austin's and Los Angeles's lines.
California cities tend to be specific about fence height in front yards, accessory-dwelling rules, and wildfire-adjacent building. State ADU law overlays local zoning — it does not erase building permits.
Measurement check
Your fence, against the code
Enter what you plan to build. Each result names the code line it rests on.
Model code: Exempt. Los Angeles: Exempt.
Los Angeles
The city's own code and pages
Exempt
- Fences other than masonry or concrete need no permit up to 10 ft. LAMC 91.106.2, item 13
Zoning caps a fence in a required front yard at 3 ft 6 in in the R zones and 6 ft in the A zones, and at the sides and rear at 8 ft on an RW lot or a lot 40 ft wide or more outside a Hillside Area, or 6 ft on a narrower or hillside lot; a Zoning Administrator can authorize 8 ft. LAMC 12.22 C.20(f)
No permit under this text. Zoning and your HOA still apply, and the digging may need a call to 811 first.
This reads the code text cited under each line. It is not a permit decision: the building department makes that, and zoning, HOA rules and utility locates apply whatever the answer.