Fence Installation in Madison, WI
Madison needs no building permit for a fence, but fences stop at 30 inches near a street corner and an in-ground pool must be fenced.
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Fence rules in Madison
| Permit | No building permit is needed to put up a fence, but it must follow the height and placement rules. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
|---|---|
| Front yard height | A screening fence or hedge in the front yard setback can be 4 feet. An ornamental fence can be 5 feet if less than 50 percent opaque, or 6 feet if less than 20 percent opaque. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
| Back yard height | 6 feet in rear and interior side yards, or 8 feet along a lot line next to a commercial district. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
| Corners and sight lines | Within 25 feet of the corner of the lot, on either side, fences and hedges can be no taller than 30 inches. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
| Pool barrier | An in-ground pool must be enclosed by a fence at least 4 feet high with a gate that locks. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
| HOA or deed rules | Check your deed restrictions or covenants, which might restrict fencing. Look in the papers from when you bought the house. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
| Before you dig | Contact Diggers Hotline (811 or 1-800-242-8511) three working days before digging. Weekends and state holidays do not count. (City of Madison Engineering, Before You Dig, checked 2026-10-26) |
| Who to ask | If you are not sure your fence meets the rules, call Zoning at 608-266-4551 ext. 3 or email zoning@cityofmadison.com. The city does not locate lot lines for you. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
| Also good to know | Sidewalks, curbs, fences and shrubs do not always mark the lot line. Where there is a public sidewalk, the line is usually 6 to 12 inches from the sidewalk edge toward the house. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) |
How tall a fence can be in Madison
In Madison, a screening fence or hedge in the front yard setback can be no more than 4 feet tall. An ornamental fence there can reach 5 feet if it is less than 50% opaque, or 6 feet if it is less than 20% opaque. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
On a Madison corner lot, a screening fence in the street side yard is limited to 4 feet. It can be 6 feet if it sits 4 feet from the street side lot line, or behind the rear of the main building. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Madison allows a 6 foot screening fence or hedge in rear and interior side yards. If your yard is next to a commercial district, it can be 8 feet along that property line. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Madison measures fence height from the natural or approved grade. Where a retaining wall divides two properties, height is measured from the average point between the highest and lowest grade, unless the fence sits at least 4 feet back from the wall, in which case it is measured from the base of the fence. The city does not allow berms or retaining walls to be used to increase the grade relative to screening height. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Permits in Madison
Madison does not require a building permit to put up a fence, but the fence still has to follow the city's height and placement rules. The city also tells owners to check their deed restrictions or covenants, which might restrict fencing. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Where the fence can go
A Madison fence can go right up to the lot line, but no part of it, posts included, may cross over. The city does not locate lot lines for owners, and no law makes you face the good side of the fence toward your neighbor. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
At a Madison street corner, fences and hedges within 25 feet of the corner of the lot, on either side, can be no taller than 30 inches, so drivers and people walking can see traffic. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Within 10 feet of where a Madison driveway meets the street side lot line, fences and plantings can be no more than 2 feet high. The rule also covers your fence if a neighbor's driveway is closer than 10 feet to the lot line. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
In Madison's front and street side yard setbacks, a fence has to be made of a material such as wood, ornamental metal, brick, vinyl-coated chain link or stone. Uncoated chain link can be used in interior side or rear yards. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Pool fences in Madison
Madison requires an in-ground pool to be enclosed by a fence at least 4 feet high, with a gate that has a lock. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Before you dig in Wisconsin
Madison's fence page says to call Diggers Hotline to avoid rupturing underground utilities you may not know are there. A utility company employee will come out and mark the underground electric, sewer, telephone and cable lines in your yard, and you may need to change where the fence goes if it is over one of those lines. (City of Madison Development Services Center, Fence or Hedge, checked October 2026)
Vinyl, chain link and cost in Madison
Madison spells out where plain chain link can go. In the front and street side setbacks the fence has to be wood, ornamental metal, brick, stone or vinyl coated chain link; uncoated chain link is allowed only in interior side and rear yards. So a front yard chain link fence here means the coated kind, which Fixr prices at $18.75 to $40.50 a foot installed, against $13.15 to $28.50 for galvanized in the backyard. (City of Madison, Fence or Hedge, checked 2026-10-26) (Fixr chain link costs, checked 2026-10-26)
National figures, not a Madison price survey. Price your own yard with the calculator, or see the vinyl, chain link and wood cost guides.
See how Madison's rules compare with Milwaukee and the other cities we cover in the fence height and permit table.
Comparing companies?
We ranked 12 Madison fence companies on their Google ratings, years in business, insurance and emergency or storm repair work: best fence companies in Madison.
Areas served
Madison and nearby Middleton, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Verona, Monona, Waunakee.