FENCE RULES – UNION (COUNTY), TENNESSEE
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Union County, subject to local regulations.
This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Union County; incorporated municipalities may regulate fences under their own ordinances.
Fence rules for Union County are thinly published. Union County does not publish a consolidated residential fence ordinance in the referenced published materials. Fence-related context appears in the Union County Subdivision Regulations, the Union County Assessor of Property building-permit materials, the Union County Highway Department right-of-way materials, Tennessee residential building-code status materials, and Tennessee 811 utility-notice materials. The Subdivision Regulations also refer to the Union County zoning ordinance, the county zoning map, and the Union County flood damage prevention ordinance; those separate zoning and floodplain materials are not available in the referenced published materials.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted code or ordinance materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one. If no local code or ordinance is available in the approved source packet, this page notes that the jurisdiction does not publish the relevant standard in the referenced published materials.
Compiled From Union County official website, Union County Assessor of Property, Union County Highway Department, Union County Subdivision Regulations, Union County Boards FY26, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Jurisdictions & Inspectors, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Permit FAQs, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Residential Permits, Tennessee State Fire Marshal Currently Adopted Codes, Tennessee 811, and CTAS Union County profile as of July 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Union County administers the published fence-related context through the Union County Regional Planning Commission and Union County Planner for subdivision and planning-region matters; the Union County Assessor of Property for county building-permit intake for new construction; and the Union County Highway Department for approved county roadways and county-road rights-of-way.
Union County does not publish a single consolidated residential fence code in the referenced published materials. Fence-related issues are instead framed through subdivision plats, easements, rights-of-way, drainage and stormwater easements, mapped flood-hazard references, building-permit intake materials, and statewide Tennessee utility-notice requirements.
Union County is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration rather than State Residential Building Permit administration. The locally enforced residential code edition is not identified in the referenced published materials.
The Union County Subdivision Regulations apply to the division of property within the planning region of the Union County Planning Commission. They also state that final plats must conform to the applicable provisions of the Union County zoning ordinance and that conflicts between the Subdivision Regulations, zoning ordinance, building code, or other governmental regulations are resolved by the higher standard.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Building-Code Permit Context: Union County is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, indicating local residential building-code administration. The Union County Assessor of Property page states that all Union County building permits must be purchased in that office and are not offered online. The locally enforced residential code edition is not identified in the referenced published materials, and Union County does not publish a separate local fence permit requirement for standard residential fences.
• Zoning and Floodplain Source Limitation: The Union County Subdivision Regulations refer to the Union County zoning ordinance, county zoning map, F-1 Flood Hazard District, and Union County flood damage prevention ordinance. Those referenced zoning and floodplain materials are not available in the referenced published materials, so this page does not state a verified zoning-based fence rule, zoning-permit rule, or floodplain fence-approval rule.
• General Development Approval Context: The Union County Subdivision Regulations require planning-commission review for covered subdivisions, plat approval, and subdivision-related improvements, but the referenced published materials do not explicitly state that standard residential fences require subdivision plat approval, development approval, or a zoning certification.
• Zoning Compliance: Building-code permit exemptions, Tennessee residential building-code status, and State Residential Building Permit status are separate from zoning, setback, subdivision, floodplain, stormwater, drainage, historic, right-of-way, easement, utility, and plat requirements. Confirm any applicable zoning conditions, setbacks, plat requirements, and site-specific limitations with Union County Planning Commission or the Union County Planner before construction.
• County Road Right-of-Way Context: The Union County Highway Department maintains approved county roadways and county-road rights-of-way, including mowing, ditching, culvert cleaning, paving, and road repairs. The referenced published materials do not publish a fence-specific right-of-way permit rule for standard residential fences.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Standard Residential Placement: The referenced published materials do not specify a setback requirement for standard residential fences from property lines; however, fences must be located entirely on the owner’s property and must not encroach into rights-of-way or easements.
• Subdivision and Plat Context: The Union County Subdivision Regulations govern covered land divisions within the planning region of the Union County Planning Commission. Where a recorded plat, permanent easement, right-of-way, private street easement, drainage easement, or subdivision condition applies, fence placement must account for that recorded property constraint.
• Road Rights-of-Way, Ditches, and Culverts: The Union County Highway Department maintains county-road rights-of-way, including ditching and culvert cleaning when needed. Fence placement in or near a county road right-of-way, ditch, culvert, or drainage feature is a site-specific county-road or drainage condition rather than a published ordinary fence setback.
• Flood-Hazard Areas: The Union County Subdivision Regulations identify land subject to flooding as the F-1 Flood Hazard District on the county zoning map and state that development within the flood-hazard area is subject to the applicable provisions of the Union County flood damage prevention ordinance. Fence work that involves development, fill, obstruction, grading, excavation, or drainage changes in a mapped flood-hazard area must be evaluated under that floodplain framework where it applies.
• Stormwater and Drainage Easements: The Union County Subdivision Regulations address stormwater management for subdivision improvements and require stormwater easements or drainage rights-of-way along natural streams where needed for widening, deepening, relocating, improving, or protecting drainage. Fence placement must account for recorded drainage easements and rights-of-way where they apply.
• Utility Safety: Tennessee law requires notice through Tennessee 811 before excavation where the Tennessee Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including digging, drilling, augering, boring, grading, or other movement of earth, notice generally must be given at least three full working days before excavation begins. Tennessee 811 is a notification center and does not mark lines itself; member utilities or their locators mark covered facilities, and the excavator must check the positive-response status before beginning work where required. This statewide utility-notice framework is separate from local fence permitting, zoning, development approval, easement limits, right-of-way approvals, floodplain review, stormwater review, drainage review, historic or design review, HOA restrictions, and other applicable requirements.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Standard Residential Height: Union County does not publish a defined maximum height for standard residential fences in the referenced published materials.
• Building-Code Height Context: Union County is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, but the locally enforced residential code edition and any code-specific fence permit exemption are not identified in the referenced published materials. The referenced published materials do not state that fences over a stated height require a local building permit.
• Corner Lots and Visibility: The referenced published materials do not publish a fence-specific sight-triangle, clear-vision, or corner-lot visibility rule for standard residential fences. The Union County Subdivision Regulations contain subdivision street-design, building-setback-line, and corner-lot width context, but they do not publish a general residential fence visibility standard.
• Floodplain and Subdivision Context: Flood-hazard and subdivision conditions in the Union County Subdivision Regulations are site-condition rules. They are not published as a general maximum fence height for ordinary residential lots.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Materials: Union County does not publish a defined residential fence material standard in the referenced published materials.
• Barbed Wire, Electric Fence, and Security Fence: The referenced published materials do not publish a residential rule prohibiting or authorizing barbed wire, electric fencing, razor wire, or security fencing for standard residential lots.
• Subdivision Improvements: The Union County Subdivision Regulations include construction standards for subdivision streets, stormwater, drainage, utilities, private streets, and related improvements. Those standards are not published as ordinary residential fence material or construction standards.
• Maintenance and Drainage Context: Fence construction must account for recorded easements, road rights-of-way, stormwater easements, drainage rights-of-way, ditches, culverts, and mapped flood-hazard conditions where those site constraints apply.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from Union County requirements. HOAs, covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, private street agreements, property owners association documents, conservation easements, and recorded plat notes may be more restrictive than the county materials summarized here.
Union County does not enforce private restrictions unless a specific public ordinance, permit condition, plat requirement, or recorded public approval gives the county that role.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Residential Building-Code Status: Union County is listed as EXEMPT for Tennessee residential building-code enforcement, and the locally enforced residential code edition is not identified in the referenced published materials.
• Building-Permit Intake: The Union County Assessor of Property page states that all Union County building permits must be purchased in that office and are not offered online, but the referenced published materials do not state a fence-specific local building-permit requirement.
• Subdivision and Plat Conditions: The Union County Subdivision Regulations may matter when fence placement intersects recorded plats, lot-line changes, easements, rights-of-way, private street easements, stormwater easements, drainage rights-of-way, or subdivision conditions.
• Zoning and Floodplain References: The Union County Subdivision Regulations refer to the Union County zoning ordinance, county zoning map, F-1 Flood Hazard District, and Union County flood damage prevention ordinance; those referenced documents are not available in the referenced published materials.
• County Road and Drainage Context: The Union County Highway Department maintains approved county roadways and county-road rights-of-way, including ditches and culverts.
• Utility Safety: Tennessee 811 notice and positive-response requirements apply when fence work involves excavation or other covered earth movement.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Union County, based on the referenced published materials as of July 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Tennessee laws apply statewide. See Statewide fence laws in Tennessee.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, zoning approvals, zoning certifications, development approvals, State Residential Building Permits, adopted building codes, surveys, or professional guidance. Rules and interpretations may change, and application may vary based on zoning district, site conditions, easements, rights-of-way, floodplain status, stormwater requirements, drainage conditions, historic district status, design-review status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or enclosed-land context, residential building-code status, adopted-code status, opt-out status, pool-barrier use, Tennessee 811 utility safety requirements, overhead utility-line safety, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Union County Planning Commission, the Union County Planner, the Union County Assessor of Property, or the Union County Highway Department and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Union County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.