Do I need a permit for a fence in Arlington, TX?

The City of Arlington requires a fence permit for a new fence and for any replacement that covers more than 50 percent of the fence's length. That threshold is the one people trip over: replacing a whole leaning side after a storm usually crosses it, while patching a few pickets or resetting a post or two usually does not. Smaller repairs are expected to use the same material as the existing fence, or one comparable in composition, color, size, and quality.

An exemption from the permit is not an exemption from the rules. Height limits, front-yard restrictions, corner-lot setbacks, and utility easements still apply to every fence, permitted or not. If your project sits anywhere near one of those lines, it is worth a call to the City before the first post goes in.

You apply through the City's online permitting portal (Accela, reached through arlingtonpermits.com) or in person at the One Start Development Center on the second floor of Arlington City Hall, 101 W. Abram Street. Plan to show the fence line on a simple site plan, plus the height and materials.

In a back or side yard, a residential fence can be up to 8 feet tall, measured from the highest adjacent grade within 10 feet of the fence. That measuring rule matters on sloped lots: the high side of the grade sets the limit, so a fence that reads 8 feet from your yard can measure over the line from the neighbor's side.

Arlington also regulates materials and appearance. New chain link is not permitted where a fence did not exist or as a replacement for another material, and a fence along a public street has to face its finished side out, with posts and rails turned away from the street.

Welded steel fencing clears the material rules comfortably, and it handles North Texas wind and sun better than wood or thin prefab panels, especially with hot-dip galvanizing or a quality powder coat over properly prepped steel.

Front yards are where Arlington gets strict. On a single-family lot, a front-yard fence can be no taller than 4 feet, must be built of ornamental metal railing, and must be at least 75 percent transparent, meaning mostly open between the pickets. Wood pickets and solid fences are not allowed in front of the house.

In practice, that rule describes an ornamental steel fence: vertical steel pickets, open spacing, welded rails. It is one of the few fence styles the code allows in front of the house at all, and it is the kind of work we build every week.

If you want the front fence to include a matching walk gate or a driveway gate, plan them together. The gate has its own swing or slide clearances, and designing the fence and gate as one welded system looks better and avoids rework.

Corner lots carry an extra setback so drivers can see around the intersection. Any fence taller than 2 feet must sit at least 5 feet back from the side property line of a corner lot, and at least 7.5 feet back on a reverse corner lot, where the back yard faces the side street of the lot behind it.

The point of the rule is the visibility triangle: nothing tall enough to block a driver's view should stand near where streets or driveways meet. Even where a fence is technically allowed, the City can require it to stay low or open near a corner.

If you are not sure whether your lot counts as a corner or reverse corner lot, ask Planning and Development Services before you design the fence line. Moving a fence 5 feet after it is set in concrete is an expensive conversation.

Either the homeowner or the fence contractor can apply for the permit through the City's portal. Whoever builds it, make sure your contract says in writing who is pulling the permit, so it does not fall through the cracks between you and the installer. If you are in an HOA, its approval is separate from the City's and does not replace the permit.

Skipping the permit is not worth it. Unpermitted work can draw a stop-work order or code enforcement case, and you can end up paying for the permit anyway after the fact. Worse, if the finished fence violates a height limit, front-yard rule, or corner setback, the City can require you to alter or remove it. The same logic applies to other structures, like a carport, which has its own permit path in Arlington.

At CJM Metals we design, weld, and install custom steel fences and gates by hand for Arlington and the wider DFW metroplex, built to the heights and setbacks your lot calls for. For an exact figure on your project, request a free quote or call (214) 603-9142.