FENCE RULES – LARUE (COUNTY), KENTUCKY
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within LaRue County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of LaRue County; Hodgenville may regulate fences under its own ordinances.
Local fence-related rules appear across the Zoning Ordinance for Hodgenville & LaRue County, Kentucky, the Land of Lincoln Planning and Zoning Commission subdivision regulations, county road and driveway materials, animal-control materials, recorded land-use restrictions, and the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit framework.
This page focuses on typical single-family residential fencing. If the jurisdiction’s adopted materials do not state a specific limit or requirement, this page notes that the code does not specify one.
Compiled From the LaRue County Planning & Zoning page, the Zoning Ordinance for Hodgenville & LaRue County, Kentucky, the Land of Lincoln Planning & Zoning Subdivision Regulations, the LaRue County Roads page, the LaRue County Animal Control Ordinance, the LaRue County Clerk Land Use Restrictions page, Kentucky Residential Code source materials, and Kentucky 811 source materials as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
LaRue County uses the Land of Lincoln Planning and Zoning Commission for local planning and zoning administration. The zoning ordinance applies within the corporate limits of Hodgenville and within the unincorporated area of LaRue County.
The county does not publish a consolidated residential fence code. For ordinary residential fences, the relevant rules are spread across zoning administration, subdivision plat and easement standards, county road and right-of-way materials, driveway-entrance rules, animal-control rules, recorded land-use restrictions, and the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit framework.
The LaRue County Road Department administers county road upkeep, drainage, and driveway-entrance inspection. The LaRue County Clerk records land-use restrictions, including certain plats, variances, conditional use permits, conditional zoning permits, and development plans.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Building Permit Baseline: LaRue County has adopted the Kentucky Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings. Under the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit framework, fences not over 7 feet high are exempt from a building permit. LaRue County does not publish a separate local residential fence permit application, stricter local residential fence permit threshold, or all-fences permit rule in the official source materials reviewed for this page.
• Taller Fences: Fences over 7 feet fall outside the Kentucky Residential Code’s specific building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high, but LaRue County does not publish a separate taller-fence permit workflow for standard residential fences in the official source materials reviewed for this page.
• Zoning Compliance: Building permit requirements are separate from zoning, setback, subdivision, floodplain, historic, right-of-way, easement, and plat requirements. Confirm any applicable zoning conditions, setbacks, and plat requirements with the Land of Lincoln Planning and Zoning Commission before construction.
• Road and Driveway Context: The LaRue County Road Department inspects driveway entrances and administers county road and drainage matters. The county road right-of-way may affect fence placement near road frontage, driveway entrances, ditches, or culverts.
• State-Highway Entrances: The subdivision regulations require an encroachment permit through the Kentucky Department of Highways for streets and entrances connecting to an existing Kentucky state highway. This is an entrance and subdivision-approval rule, not a general residential fence permit rule.
• Animal Restraint: The Animal Control Ordinance allows a fence to serve as one method of keeping animals on the owner’s property. This animal-control rule does not create a general fence permit requirement.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
• Property Lines: The ordinance does not state 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 Plats and Easements: The subdivision regulations require plats to show building setback lines and drainage and utility easements. For subdivision lots, fence placement must account for recorded setback lines, drainage easements, utility easements, and plat restrictions.
• R-1A and R-1B Easement Context: For zones established as R-1A and R-1B, the subdivision materials identify drainage and utility easements of 20 feet along road frontage and 20 feet along rear lines, with 10 feet along a rear line where the rear line is common with an adjoining lot in the same development and the total is 20 feet for both lots.
• County Road Right-of-Way: The LaRue County Roads page states that, on most county roads, the right-of-way is 15 feet from the center of the road. On newly adopted county roads or in subdivisions, the right-of-way is 20 feet from the center of the road.
• Driveways, Ditches, and Culverts: The Road Department administers driveway-entrance and drainage matters. Fence placement near a driveway entrance, roadside ditch, culvert, or road shoulder should be evaluated against county road right-of-way and drainage conditions.
• Entrance Sight Distance: The subdivision regulations require residential-lot entrances onto existing city or county streets or roads to conform to Kentucky Department of Highways sight-distance requirements. The code does not publish a separate fence-specific clear-vision triangle for ordinary residential fences.
• Utility Safety: Kentucky law requires notice through Kentucky 811 before excavation where Kentucky’s underground utility damage-prevention law applies. For fence projects that involve digging, including fence post holes, notice must be given not less than two full working days and not more than 10 full working days before excavation begins, unless a different future start date is allowed by law. Kentucky locate requests are valid for 21 calendar days from the initial request. Kentucky law also includes exemptions, including certain agricultural tilling and certain nonmechanized excavation on private property where no operator right-of-way or easement is encroached.
FENCE HEIGHT AND VISIBILITY RULES
• Maximum Fence Height: The code does not specify a maximum height for standard residential fences.
• Kentucky Residential Code Threshold: The 7-foot figure is a Kentucky Residential Code building-permit exemption threshold for fences not over 7 feet high. It is not stated as a local maximum fence height in LaRue County.
• Front, Side, and Rear Yards: The code does not publish separate front-yard, side-yard, or rear-yard fence height limits for standard single-family residential fences.
• Visibility: The code does not publish a fence-specific residential sight-triangle or clear-vision height limit. The subdivision regulations separately require residential-lot entrances onto existing city or county streets or roads to conform to Kentucky Department of Highways sight-distance requirements.
• Animal Restraint: The Animal Control Ordinance requires animals to be maintained on the owner’s property by fence, electronic control device, chain, or other restraint, but it does not set a general residential fence height for that purpose.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
• Standard Residential Fences: The code does not specify permitted or prohibited materials for standard single-family residential fences.
• Finished Side / Orientation: The code does not specify a finished-side or fence-orientation requirement for standard residential fences.
• Opacity: The code does not specify opacity limits for standard residential fences.
• Barbed Wire, Electric Fence, or Chain Link: The code does not publish a standard residential prohibition or special rule for barbed wire, electric fencing, or chain-link fencing in the official source materials reviewed for this page.
• Animal Enclosures: A fence may be used as an animal-restraint method under the Animal Control Ordinance. The ordinance does not convert animal-restraint fencing into a general residential fence material standard.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
HOAs, subdivision covenants, deed restrictions, private easements, architectural-review covenants, recorded plats, development plans, conditional-use conditions, conditional-zoning conditions, agricultural agreements, and private boundary agreements operate independently of county fence rules and may be more restrictive.
The LaRue County Clerk records land-use restrictions, including variances, conditional use permits, conditional zoning permits, plats, and development plans. These recorded documents may affect a specific lot even where the county code does not publish a general fence standard.
REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT CONTEXT
Fence issues are typically reviewed during permit or approval review when required, and through complaint-based code enforcement. Examples include:
• Building-Code Review: Whether a fence is within the Kentucky Residential Code building-permit exemption for fences not over 7 feet high.
• Zoning and Plat Review: Whether the project conflicts with zoning conditions, recorded plats, setback lines, subdivision requirements, or recorded land-use restrictions.
• Easement Conflicts: Whether the fence encroaches into drainage easements, utility easements, sidewalk easements, or other recorded easement areas.
• Road Right-of-Way: Whether the fence is located within county road right-of-way, near a driveway entrance, or in a location that affects roadside drainage, ditches, culverts, or road maintenance.
• Entrance Sight Distance: Whether a fence near a residential-lot entrance conflicts with sight-distance requirements that apply to entrances onto city, county, or state roads.
• Animal Control: Whether a fence used to restrain animals is functioning as part of the owner’s obligation to keep animals on the owner’s property.
• Private Restrictions: Whether HOA covenants, deed restrictions, recorded plats, development plans, conditional-use conditions, or other private or recorded restrictions impose stricter fence requirements.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within LaRue County, based on publicly available source materials reviewed as of June 2026.
In addition to local fence rules, certain Kentucky laws apply statewide. See Statewide Fence Laws in Kentucky.
It is not legal advice and does not replace official ordinances, permits, 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 or drainage requirements, road or highway encroachment, historic district status, rural or agricultural context, livestock or farm-boundary context, pool-barrier use, and private restrictions such as HOA covenants, deed restrictions, private agreements, or agricultural conservation easements. Before purchasing materials or beginning construction, confirm current requirements and any site-specific limitations with Land of Lincoln Planning and Zoning Commission and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from LaRue County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.