If you’re a Chester County homeowner planning a fence, the answer is almost always yes — you need a permit. But which permit, from which office, and what your fence can look like once it’s up depends entirely on which township you live in. A 6-foot privacy fence that’s fully legal in West Goshen might require a completely different application in West Chester Borough, and the rules in New Garden Township (which covers Avondale) are different again.
Here’s what Chester County homeowners actually need to know before breaking ground.
The Short Answer for Chester County Homeowners
Yes — most Chester County townships require at least a zoning permit for any fence, and a building permit for fences over 6 to 8 feet tall. Exact rules, fees, and processing times vary by township. There is no single “Chester County fence permit” office — each municipality controls its own code.
We’ve been filing fence permits across southern Chester County since 2012. The two mistakes we see homeowners make: assuming their fence is “too small” to need a permit, and assuming their neighbor’s fence sets the rule for their own property. Both cost time and money to fix after the fact. If you’re getting a written estimate for fence installation cost, the permit fee should be a line item — or your contractor should tell you clearly that you’re handling it yourself.
Fence Permit Rules Vary by Township — Here’s How
Pennsylvania has a statewide Uniform Construction Code (UCC) that sets the baseline for building work. But zoning — including fence height, setback, and permit requirements — is controlled at the municipal level. Chester County has 73 municipalities, and each one has its own zoning ordinance.
That means your fence permit rules are set by your township or borough, not by the county. If you live in Avondale, your rules come from New Garden Township. If you live in the borough of West Chester, your rules come from the borough’s zoning code — not the surrounding West Goshen Township code. Getting the wrong office on the phone is the first way homeowners lose a week on this process.
Township-by-Township Fence Permit Requirements
Here’s how the rules stack up across the townships where we do most of our work. The table covers the specifics we’ve verified from each municipality’s current code — where a township hasn’t published a clear public figure, we say so rather than guess.
| Township | Zoning Permit? | Building Permit Threshold | Front Yard Max | Rear/Side Max | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Goshen | Yes — all fences | 8 feet or taller | 4 ft (non-solid, picket-style) | 6 ft residential / 10 ft other uses | Ordinance 6-2022, amended by 12-2024 |
| Penn Township | Yes — all fences | Over 6 feet | Confirm with the township | Confirm with the township | Office at 260 Lewis Road, West Grove |
| Londonderry | Confirm with the township | Confirm with the township | 36″ within 15 ft of road right-of-way | Confirm with the township | Ornamental fences 75%+ open exempted from height limit |
| West Chester Borough | Confirm with the borough | Confirm with the borough | 6 ft (or ornamental 4:1 open ratio) | 6 ft in NC/TC/CS districts | Applies to Neighborhood, Town Center, Commercial Service districts; other districts may differ |
| New Garden (Avondale) | Confirm with the township | Confirm with the township | Confirm with township | Confirm with the township | Call 610-268-2915 ext. 103 |
The specifics that follow break down what each township actually requires.
West Goshen Township Fence Permit Rules
West Goshen’s current fence rules trace back to Ordinance 6-2022, adopted by the Board of Supervisors in November 2022 to require zoning review on every fence and keep fences out of rights-of-way and sight triangles at intersections. A follow-up amendment, Ordinance 12-2024, cleaned up a couple of practical problems: it clarified how the rules apply to through lots (properties with frontage on two streets, which technically have two “front yards”), and it added a rule prohibiting fences or walls in easements or in a way that blocks natural water drainage — worth knowing if your lot has a drainage easement running through it.
Every fence needs a zoning permit — regardless of height. That includes a 3-foot decorative picket in the front yard. If your fence is 8 feet or taller, you also need a building permit.
Height limits break down like this:
- Front yard (between the street line and building setback line): Max 4 feet, and the fence cannot be solid. It must maintain at least a 1-to-1 ratio of open to structural area — a picket fence qualifies, a solid board-on-board does not.
- Rear and side yards, residential lot: Max 6 feet, solid allowed.
- Rear and side yards, non-residential lot: Max 10 feet, solid allowed.
Full ordinance text for the 2024 amendment is available on the West Goshen Township website; the original permit requirement is summarized in the township’s 2022 public notice.
Penn Township Fence Permit Rules
Penn Township requires a zoning permit for every fence, and a building permit only if the fence stands taller than 6 feet. This is one of the simpler thresholds in the area and easier to plan around than West Goshen’s stricter front-yard rule.
The Penn Township office handles both permits in-house:
- Address: 260 Lewis Road, West Grove, PA 19390
- Township Office: 610-869-9620
- Building Inspector: Scott Moran, 610-637-1003
The current fence permit checklist is available directly on the Penn Township website.
Londonderry Township Fence Height Rules
Londonderry’s code focuses less on permit thresholds and more on where fences can go and how tall they can be near roads.
No fence, wall, or hedge within 15 feet of a road right-of-way can be taller than 36 inches (§ 170-95C). This is a strict sight-line rule that catches homeowners off guard, especially on corner lots and along country roads where property lines sit close to the pavement.
There’s one exception: ornamental fences over 36 inches are allowed near road rights-of-way as long as they contain at least 75% open area. A traditional wrought-iron or aluminum picket fence typically qualifies. A solid vinyl privacy panel does not.
Corner lots have an additional visibility rule: within 50 feet of the intersection centerline, nothing may be erected or grown between 2½ and 10 feet above grade that would block drivers’ sightlines (§ 170-95A). Full text is available at ecode360.com.
Londonderry’s specific permit fee and processing time aren’t published in a format we could confirm for this article — call the township’s zoning office directly at 610-350-9036 before you apply, and budget an extra day or two for the paperwork.
West Chester Borough Fence Rules
West Chester Borough — the borough itself, not the surrounding township — has zoning rules that apply specifically in its Neighborhood Commercial (NC), Town Center (TC), and Commercial Service (CS) districts.
In these districts, no fence or wall over 6 feet is allowed in the required side or rear yards, except for retaining walls or building walls (§ 112-804B).
Front yard rules are the same 6-foot ceiling — but with an ornamental exception: a fence taller than 6 feet is allowed in the front yard if the portion above 6 feet has an open-to-solid ratio of at least 4 to 1 (§ 112-804C). On any lot, no fence or wall can be built, altered, or maintained in a way that obscures the view of traffic on a street. Full code at ecode360.com.
If you own property in the borough’s residential districts outside NC/TC/CS, the borough’s own zoning lookup tool will show which district your lot falls in, or call the Zoning Officer directly at 610-696-1773 — residential-district specifics weren’t confirmable from the public code text for this article.
New Garden Township (Avondale) Fence Permits
Avondale itself isn’t a borough — it’s an unincorporated area within New Garden Township. That means Avondale residents follow the New Garden Township zoning code, not any separate “Avondale” code.
We’re located right in New Garden Township at 8997 Gap Newport Pike, and most of our permit filings run through this office. If you’re in Avondale, Landenberg, Toughkenamon, or the surrounding area, this is the office you’ll deal with — reach the Department of Community Development and Safety at 610-268-2915 ext. 103, or mail applications to 299 Starr Road, Landenberg, PA 19350.
New Garden’s specific fence height limits, setbacks, and application fee weren’t accessible in a form we could verify for this article, so we’re not going to guess at numbers here. Call the office above for current requirements before you finalize a design — or skip the call entirely, since we file New Garden permits regularly as part of our standard permit processing service.
Pool Fence Code in Pennsylvania
If your fence is going around a pool, the rules change. Pennsylvania follows the Uniform Construction Code’s swimming pool barrier requirements, enforced through the state Department of Labor & Industry.
Any body of water 24 inches or deeper counts as a pool for code purposes — that includes above-ground pools and some hot tubs. The barrier requirements are:
- Minimum height: 48 inches from the outside grade.
- Gates: Must be self-closing and self-latching, swinging away from the pool, with the latch release mounted at least 54 inches above the ground.
- Openings: No gaps large enough for a 4-inch sphere to pass through in the lower portion of the fence.
Municipalities can add stricter local requirements on top of the state code. Some townships require pool fence permits separate from a standard fence permit. If you’re installing a pool fence, confirm with your township before finalizing the design. Aluminum fencing is what we install most often around pools in this area — it meets code without modification, doesn’t rot, and passes inspection the first time.
Call 811 Before You Dig — It’s the Law
While you may not need a permit in every state, you will need to call 811. Before any fence installation in Pennsylvania, you or your contractor must call 811 or submit a locate request through pa1call.org. This is a Pennsylvania state law under the Underground Utility Line Protection Law (Act 287).
811 notifies every utility with buried lines on your property (gas, electric, water, cable, fiber) so they can come out and mark their lines before you dig. State law requires notice at least three business days — and no more than ten — before excavation begins, per the PA Public Utility Commission.
Hitting a gas line with a post-hole digger is a bad day. Hitting one without having called 811 first is a bad day, plus a fine, plus full liability for the repair. We file the 811 request as part of every install we do.
What Happens If You Build a Fence Without a Permit
Homeowners sometimes ask if they can just skip the permit — especially for a small backyard fence they think nobody will notice. Here’s what actually happens when they do:
Township enforcement. Most townships find out through neighbor complaints, aerial photo review, or the next building permit you file. Once flagged, you’ll get a stop-work order or a citation. The township can order the fence removed at your expense.
Real estate closing problems. Unpermitted structures show up in title searches and inspections. Buyers ask for the permit paperwork. If it doesn’t exist, the closing gets delayed while you file retroactively — and retroactive permits often carry double or triple the standard fee.
Insurance issues. If a tree falls on an unpermitted fence and damages your neighbor’s property, some homeowner policies will deny the claim on the grounds that the fence wasn’t legally installed.
The permit fee is small. The problems from skipping it are not.
Who Pulls the Permit — You or the Contractor?
Either can file. In practice, most Chester County homeowners choose one of two paths:
You file it yourself. The township gives you the application, you fill out the form, provide a property sketch showing fence location, pay the fee, and wait for approval. Turnaround is typically 2–4 weeks depending on the township. If you’re comfortable with paperwork and know exactly where your property lines sit, this is workable.
Your contractor files it. We handle permit processing for a flat fee as part of our standard service. We know which townships want what documentation, we know the current inspector at Penn Township by name, and we can catch zoning problems during the estimate before they become application rejections. For most homeowners, the time saved is worth more than the fee.
Whichever path you pick, don’t let the contractor start work before the permit is approved and in hand. A contractor who tells you, “We’ll deal with the permit later,” is not a contractor you want on your property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to build a fence in Chester County?
Yes — in nearly every township in Chester County, you need at least a zoning permit for any fence, regardless of height. Fences over 6 to 8 feet typically require a building permit as well. There is no single county-level permit; each municipality issues its own.
How tall can a fence be in Chester County, PA?
Most townships cap residential rear- and side-yard fences at 6 feet and front-yard fences at 4 feet. West Goshen requires front yard fences to be non-solid (picket-style with at least a 1:1 open ratio). West Chester Borough allows up to 6 feet in NC/TC/CS district front yards, with an ornamental exception for heights above that. Londonderry limits fences within 15 feet of a road to 36 inches. Check your specific township for exact numbers.
Do I need a permit to replace an existing fence in PA?
Usually yes — most townships treat a replacement fence as new construction requiring a fresh permit. A few townships allow like-for-like replacement without a new permit if the fence goes back in the exact same location with the same materials and height. Don’t assume — call your township or ask your contractor before starting a replacement.
How much does a fence permit cost in Chester County?
Permit fees vary by township — expect a modest fee, generally in the double- to low-triple-digit range for a standard residential fence, with larger fences or those requiring a building permit costing more. We don’t have a confirmed fee schedule for every township in this article; ask your township office for the current fee before budgeting.
Who is responsible for getting the fence permit — the homeowner or the contractor?
Either can pull the permit, but the property owner is ultimately responsible for compliance. If your contractor pulls the permit, confirm they’ve done so before installation begins. If you pull it yourself, the contractor should not start work until approval is in your hand.
What happens if I build a fence without a permit in PA?
The township can order the fence removed, issue a citation with fines, and require you to file retroactively — often at double or triple the standard fee. Unpermitted fences also cause problems at real estate closings and can affect insurance claims. It’s not worth the risk.
Do I need to call 811 before installing a fence?
Yes — Pennsylvania law requires anyone digging to notify PA One Call at least three business days before excavation. You can submit the request online at pa1call.org or call 811. Utilities will come mark their buried lines free of charge. Skipping this step exposes you to fines and full liability for any damage to buried utilities.
Ready to Skip the Paperwork?
We’ve filed fence permits in New Garden, West Goshen, Penn Township, Londonderry, West Chester Borough, and across southern Chester County since 2012 — and we’ve been voted Best of Chester County for fencing five years running (2021–2025). If you’d rather spend your Saturdays doing something other than driving to the township office, we handle permit processing as part of our standard service — property line layout, application filing, township follow-up, and inspection coordination. See the full list of areas we serve across Chester County, Delaware County, and northern Delaware.
J&A Fence · 8997 Gap Newport Pike, Avondale, PA 19311 · 484-368-2206 · PA License #PA096517
Free on-site estimates. We come to you.
