FENCE RULES – PULASKI (COUNTY), KENTUCKY
OVERVIEW
Residential fences are permitted on private property within Pulaski County, subject to local regulations. This page applies to properties in the unincorporated areas of Pulaski County; the City of Somerset may regulate fences under its own ordinances.
Pulaski County does not publish a consolidated county fence ordinance. The county’s published materials state that Pulaski County does not have zoning laws, that building permits are not required for residential construction in the county, and that the county does not issue certificates of occupancy. Fence-related county issues appear instead in the county floodplain ordinances, county road and drainage materials, the Kentucky Residential Code baseline, and Kentucky 811 utility-safety rules.
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 Pulaski County County Government materials, Pulaski County Ordinances index, Ordinance 330.0 – Flood Insurance Ordinance, Ordinance 340.5 – Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, Pulaski County Road Department materials, 2025/2026 Pulaski County Administrative Code, 815 KAR 7:125, the 2018 Kentucky Residential Code, and Kentucky 811 state dig-law materials as of June 2026.
GOVERNANCE
Pulaski County Fiscal Court is the county governing body for the unincorporated county. The county’s published administrative materials state that Pulaski County does not have zoning laws and does not require building permits for residential construction.
The county identifies a County Commercial Building Inspector for commercial construction and building-code questions, but the same county page states that residential building permits are not required in the county.
Floodplain review is administered separately through the county floodplain ordinances. Ordinance 330.0 identifies the DES Coordinator as the responsible person for receiving and reviewing flood-related applications under that ordinance. Ordinance 340.5 identifies the Director of Public Safety as the local administrator and routes development-permit applications to Pulaski County Fiscal Court.
The Pulaski County Road Department and County Road Supervisor administer county-road, right-of-way, ditch, culvert, driveway-connection, and drainage matters where a fence project affects those areas.
PERMIT AND APPROVAL REQUIREMENTS
• Residential Building Permits: Pulaski County states that building permits are not required for residential construction in the county and that the county does not issue certificates of occupancy.
• Fence Permit: Pulaski County does not publish a county fence permit requirement for standard residential fences in the unincorporated county.
• Zoning Permit: Pulaski County states that it does not have zoning laws. The county does not publish a county zoning permit or zoning approval process for standard residential fences in the unincorporated county.
• Kentucky Residential Code Baseline: The Kentucky Residential Code lists fences not over 7 feet high as work exempt from a building permit. In Pulaski County, the county’s own published administrative statement is more direct: residential building permits are not required. The 7-foot Kentucky Residential Code figure is a building-permit exemption threshold, not a county maximum fence height.
• Floodplain Development Permit: A fence project in Zone A, a mapped special flood hazard area, a floodway, or a watercourse area may require floodplain development review if the work involves a building, structure, excavation, fill, grading, paving, watercourse alteration, encroachment, or another man-made change regulated by the county flood ordinances.
• Road, Driveway, and Drainage Approval: A fence project that also involves a driveway connection to a county road, work in a county right-of-way, entrance culvert work, ditch work, or roadway drainage must be separated from the ordinary fence question. The 2025/2026 Pulaski County Administrative Code requires permission from the County Road Supervisor before a landowner connects a driveway to a county road.
FENCE PLACEMENT RULES
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.
• County Roads and Rights-of-Way: Pulaski County road materials identify county-road rights-of-way, ditches, culverts, headwalls, guard rail systems, traffic control devices, and roadway drainage as county-road system elements. Fence placement near a county road must not interfere with those county-road and drainage functions.
• Driveways and Entrance Culverts: If a fence project is combined with a new or changed driveway connection to a county road, the driveway and drainage portion is subject to the County Road Supervisor permission process.
• Floodplain and Watercourse Areas: In mapped floodplain areas, the county floodplain ordinances regulate development, man-made changes, excavation, grading, fill, structures, watercourse alteration, and floodway encroachments. A fence that involves those activities in a regulated flood area may be reviewed through the county floodplain process.
• No Published Yard Rules: Pulaski County does not publish separate front-yard, side-yard, rear-yard, corner-lot, or alley placement rules for standard residential fences in the unincorporated county.
• 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
Pulaski County does not publish a county maximum height for standard residential fences in the unincorporated county.
The Kentucky Residential Code’s 7-foot fence figure is a building-permit exemption threshold. It is not published by Pulaski County as a zoning height limit, local maximum fence height, or taller-fence permit trigger.
Pulaski County does not publish a county sight-triangle, clear-vision, corner-lot visibility, driveway visibility, or alley visibility standard for standard residential fences in the unincorporated county. Fence placement near county roads must still remain consistent with county-road, right-of-way, drainage, and safety-related controls where those controls apply.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION LIMITS
Pulaski County does not publish county material standards for standard residential fences in the unincorporated county.
The county does not publish a standard residential rule for chain link, wood privacy fencing, vinyl fencing, masonry walls, barbed wire, electric fencing, finished-side orientation, fence opacity, or fence color.
The floodplain ordinances regulate floodplain development, man-made changes, structures, fill, grading, excavation, watercourse alteration, floodways, and related flood-hazard conditions. They do not establish ordinary residential fence material rules outside that floodplain development context.
PRIVATE RESTRICTIONS
Private restrictions operate independently from county fence rules. These may include HOA covenants, subdivision restrictions, deed restrictions, private easements, utility easements, drainage easements, private road agreements, architectural-review covenants, farm-boundary agreements, division-fence agreements, or other recorded private agreements.
Private restrictions may be more restrictive than Pulaski County rules. The county materials reviewed for this page do not state that Pulaski County enforces private fence covenants or HOA restrictions for ordinary residential fences.
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 Permit Status: Pulaski County states that residential building permits are not required in the county and that certificates of occupancy are not issued.
• Kentucky Residential Code Context: The statewide 7-foot fence figure is a building-permit exemption threshold. It does not create a county fence-height maximum and does not create a separate Pulaski County taller-fence permit workflow.
• Floodplain Development: Fence work in Zone A, a mapped special flood hazard area, a floodway, or a watercourse area may be reviewed when it involves development, a man-made change, excavation, fill, grading, paving, a structure, a watercourse alteration, or an encroachment regulated by the county floodplain ordinances.
• Road and Drainage Conflicts: Fence work near county roads may raise review issues if it affects county right-of-way, side ditches, headwalls, culverts, guard rail systems, traffic control devices, driveway connections, or roadway drainage.
• Utility Conflicts: Fence-post excavation is subject to Kentucky 811 where the state underground utility damage-prevention law applies.
USING THIS INFORMATION
This page provides general orientation on how residential fence rules are structured and applied within Pulaski 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 Pulaski County Fiscal Court and any applicable private agreements. If this page conflicts with official ordinances, published guidance, or direction from Pulaski County staff, the official sources control. For legal advice or legal interpretation, consult a licensed attorney.