Phoenix, AZ

Backyard project rules in Phoenix

Phoenix exempts sheds and shade structures to 200 square feet but wants a permit for any fence over 3 feet. Its 2024 building code has been in force since August 1, 2025; zoning sets wall heights by yard, and pools need a 60-inch barrier.

Written by DueRivaEditorial review: 2026-09-30Review standard

Local workflow

Start with the parcel, not the project photo

1. Use the 2024 code, not the older handouts

The City Council adopted the 2024 Phoenix Building Construction Code on June 18, 2025, effective August 1, 2025. Some handouts still on the city's site predate it: a 2013 guideline exempts retaining walls to 3 feet, where the 2024 code allows 40 inches. Where they differ, the adopted code governs.

2. Expect a permit for most walls and fences

Only a fence up to 3 feet, or a like-for-like replacement of a permitted one at a single-family home, needs no permit. From 3 to 7 feet the permit checks the city code and zoning only, and above 7 feet it is a full building permit. The city's zoning summary keeps a front-yard fence to 40 inches.

3. Plan the pool barrier with the pool

Phoenix raises the model code's pool barrier to 60 inches, inspects it before the pool is plastered or filled, and requires construction fencing at least 4 feet high around an in-ground pool's site from the day digging starts.

Questions to take to the department

Which zoning district is the lot in, and which of its yards will the fence or wall sit in?
Is the lot on a hillside, in a historic district, or under HOA rules for walls and outbuildings?
What valuation will the city use for the project, and will it need plan review?
For a pool: when is the barrier inspection, and what construction fencing goes up first?

Eleven projects, in Phoenix’s own words

Fence

No permit: A fence up to 3 feet high, other than a pool barrier, and the replacement of an existing permitted fence at a single-family home with one of the same material, height and place.
Permit: A fence from 3 to 7 feet needs a permit that is checked only against the city code and the zoning ordinance; over 7 feet it needs a full building permit. The city's own summary of the zoning rules caps a fence at 40 inches in a required front yard, 6 feet within or bounding side and rear yards, and 3 feet in a visibility triangle; that summary dates from 2013, and a 2025 zoning hearing still treated a 4-foot front-yard fence as over height.
Fees: Minimum for a residential fence, valuation to $1,000$98.00
Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Above the minimum, a fence is priced from its valuation on Table A. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Deck

No permit: A deck or other platform no more than 30 inches above the grade beside it, not over a basement or story below and not part of an accessible route. Phoenix sets no area limit.
Permit: A deck higher than that, or over a room below, needs a building permit.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Shed

No permit: A one-story detached shed, playhouse, shade structure without a cantilever, or similar structure of no more than 200 square feet, placed where the zoning ordinance allows, and not a storm shelter; an unaltered shipping container of up to 320 square feet also qualifies.
Permit: A bigger shed needs a building permit, and so does wiring one: the electrical exemptions cover cord-and-plug equipment and temporary decorative lighting, not new circuits.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Patio

Ask the city: Phoenix's list names no patio slab. The line it would have to fit exempts interior and exterior platforms, sidewalks and driveways no more than 30 inches above adjacent grade, not over a basement or story and not part of an accessible route, and the Planning & Development Department decides whether a patio is one.
Permit: A freestanding cover fits the exempt line for shade structures without a cantilever up to 200 square feet. Fixed to the house, only a window awning reaching no more than 54 inches from the wall is exempt, so an attached patio cover needs a permit.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Driveway

No permit: A driveway no more than 30 inches above adjacent grade, not over a basement or story and not part of an accessible route.
Permit: Work past the property line, a driveway approach or a sidewalk, is a right-of-way improvement and needs a right-of-way permit.
Fees: Right-of-way concrete, per 100 lineal feet$44.00
Minimum right-of-way permit, single residential lot$195.00
As-built review, added to concrete permits$195.00
Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Pergola

No permit: A freestanding pergola that is a one-story shade structure without a cantilever, of no more than 200 square feet, placed where the zoning ordinance allows.
Permit: Larger, cantilevered or fixed to the house, a pergola needs a building permit.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Retaining Wall

No permit: A retaining wall no more than 40 inches high, measured from the top of the footing to the top of the wall, that supports no surcharge and holds back no flammable or combustible liquid.
Permit: A taller wall, or one with a surcharge, needs a building permit.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Pool

No permit: A prefabricated pool less than 18 inches deep, holding no more than 5,000 gallons and set entirely above ground.
Permit: Any other pool needs a permit. Phoenix raises the barrier to at least 60 inches and inspects it before the pool is plastered or filled, and an in-ground pool's site needs construction fencing at least 4 feet high from excavation until the barrier is done.
Fees: Minimum swimming pool permit$234.00
Aquatics program surcharge, every pool permit$30.00
A pool is otherwise priced from its valuation on Table A, never below the minimum. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Gazebo

No permit: A freestanding gazebo of one story and no more than 200 square feet, placed where the zoning ordinance allows: the city has long counted gazebos among the similar uses its shed line takes in.
Permit: A bigger gazebo needs a building permit, and wiring one for a fan or lights needs an electrical permit: the electrical exemptions cover cord-and-plug equipment and temporary decorative lighting.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

Garage

Ask the city: The exempt list names no garage. One would have to fit the line for a one-story detached shed, playhouse, shade structure without a cantilever, or similar structure of no more than 200 square feet, placed where the zoning ordinance allows, and the Planning & Development Department decides whether a garage is a similar use.
Permit: A garage past that line needs a building permit; a one-car garage is well past it.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
Phoenix prices a building permit from the job's valuation (Table A). Where the valuation passes $5,000 and plans are reviewed, plan review adds up to the permit fee again, at least $195. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.

ADU

Permit: Always. With one detached house on the lot, Phoenix allows 2 ADUs, and a third on some lots, each up to 75 percent of the house's floor area and no more than 1,000 square feet on a lot up to 10,000 square feet, or 3,000 on a larger one. The city also points owners to their HOA's rules.
Fees: Permit, first $1,000 of valuation$195.00
Each further $1,000, to $10,000$12.00
An ADU is priced from its valuation on Table A, which runs past the first lines shown here; residential plan review adds 80 to 100 percent of the permit fee. Phoenix PDD Fee Schedule, effective January 20, 2026.