Fence laws in South Dakota
What South Dakota statutes and statewide codes say about fences, one topic at a time, with the section number and a link to the document behind every line.
South Dakota fence laws at a glance
| Topic | What the record says | Figure | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fences on the property line | Stated | no figure | SDCL 43-23-1 |
| Fence height | Silent | no figure | SDCL 43-23-4 |
| Permits | Stateddetached single family owner occupied homes | no figure | SDCL 11-10-15 |
| Pool barriers | Silent | no figure | ARSD 44:02:14:11 |
| Spite fences | Silent | no figure | SDCL 21-10-1 |
| How height is measured | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Corner visibility | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Retaining walls | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Materials | Not researched yet | no figure | none |
| Agricultural fencing | Stated | 4 strands | SDCL 43-23-4 |
Fence laws in South Dakota, question by question
Who owns the fence between two properties in South Dakota?
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
South Dakota makes each landowner liable for half the cost of building and keeping up a partition fence, unless the two sides agree on something else. The statute then takes that liability back in one case. If neither side keeps livestock on the tract and neither side gets any other substantial benefit from the fence, nothing is owed, measured over five years from when the fence was built or repaired.
no owner of land is liable for such expense if neither keeps livestock on the affected tract of land and neither derives any other substantial benefit from the fence for a period of five years from the date of erection or repair of the fence.
Also on fences on the property line in South Dakota
- StatedSouth Dakota says which half of the fence belongs to which owner, and the test is physical. Standing on their own land and facing the fence line, each owner builds the half on their right hand. The two sides can agree on a different split. SDCL 43-23-2South Dakota · Statute
- StatedEnforcement in South Dakota starts with a written notice and demand served on the owner who is not doing the work, describing the line and giving thirty days from the date of service. Once those thirty days run out the other owner may build or repair the fence and sue for the cost, plus an amount the court sets for the time spent doing it. SDCL 43-23-5South Dakota · Statute
How tall can a fence be in South Dakota?
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
South Dakota sets no statewide limit on residential fence height. The numbers in the fence chapter are the build for a legal fence that holds livestock, not a cap, and the residential building code statute leaves adoption to each municipality and forbids a municipality going stricter than the model code. Height is a local zoning question here.
Documents read before writing that:
- SDCL 43-23-4South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research Council
- SDCL 11-10-12South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research Council
Do I need a permit for a fence in South Dakota?
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
South Dakota forbids a county, municipality or township from requiring a building permit to repair or replace a fencing panel or post on a detached single family owner occupied home, as long as the replacement is substantially similar. The same list covers doors and windows at the same size, gutters, downspouts, fascia, soffit and nonstructural siding. The exemption does not apply to a designated historical property, and it does not switch off any other code that applies to the work.
a county, municipality, or township may not require a building permit for the repair or substantially similar replacement of any of the following existing exterior parts of a detached single-family owner-occupied residential structure
Also on permits in South Dakota
- StatedA South Dakota municipality that wants a residential building code adopts the 2024 International Residential Code, and it may amend any part of it. The one thing it cannot do is go stricter than that edition, and it cannot require sprinklers in a house. A residential structure here means a detached one or two family dwelling, townhouses up to three stories, and their accessory structures. SDCL 11-10-12South Dakota · Statute
Pool fence requirements in South Dakota
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
South Dakota states no pool barrier or fence height anywhere in its own law. The health rule for pools at licensed campgrounds and resorts points at an outside document, the Recommended Standards for Swimming Pool Design and Operation, 1996 edition, published by the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi River Board, and prints none of it. Nothing in that rule or in the statutes reaches a pool at a private home, where a barrier rule would only arrive through a residential code a municipality chose to adopt.
Documents read before writing that:
- ARSD 44:02:14:11South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research Council
- SDCL 11-10-12South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research Council
Spite fence laws in South Dakota
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
South Dakota has no spite fence statute. The general nuisance section reaches an act that annoys or endangers others, offends decency, blocks a public way, or renders others insecure in the use of property, and it names no structure and no height. The fence chapters in the property title deal only with partition fences and woven wire fences.
Documents read before writing that:
- SDCL 21-10-1South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research Council
- SDCL 43-23-1South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research Council
How fence height is measured in South Dakota
Not researched yet for South Dakota. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence rules for corner lots in South Dakota
Not researched yet for South Dakota. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Retaining wall rules in South Dakota
Not researched yet for South Dakota. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence materials allowed in South Dakota
Not researched yet for South Dakota. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Livestock and boundary fence law in South Dakota
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
South Dakota writes out what a legal partition fence is when the two owners have not agreed on something else. Wood posts stand at least six and one half feet long and four inches across, set two feet into the ground no more than thirty feet apart. Steel posts run no more than twenty feet apart and concrete posts follow the wood spacing. Four strands of ordinary barbed wire go on at eighteen, twenty eight, thirty eight and forty eight inches off the ground, with two inches of slack allowed in the spacing.
upon them shall be firmly stretched and securely attached to each at least four strands of ordinary commercial barbed fencing wire
4 strandslegal partition fence
Also on agricultural fencing in South Dakota
- StatedSouth Dakota is not an open range state on this question. Anyone whose buffalo, horses, mules, cattle, goats, sheep or swine get onto land that belongs to somebody else pays for the damage, and it makes no difference whether that land was fenced. The defense is the fence itself: no liability where the injured party let a partition fence go bad and was given notice of it, or where frozen ground excused the fence work. SDCL 40-28-4South Dakota · Statute
- StatedRunning at large has a statutory meaning in South Dakota, and it is tied to the legal fence. An animal is running at large when it has been left on purpose outside the enclosure of a legal fence and off land its owner owns or controls. SDCL 40-28-3South Dakota · Statute
Documents behind this page
10 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 43, Chapter 23, Section 43-23-1
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 43, Chapter 23, Section 43-23-2
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 43, Chapter 23, Section 43-23-5
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 43, Chapter 23, Section 43-23-4
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 11, Chapter 10, Section 11-10-12
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 11, Chapter 10, Section 11-10-15
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Administrative Rules, 44:02:14:11, Swimming pools and spas
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 21, Chapter 10, Section 21-10-1
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 40, Chapter 28, Section 40-28-4
- South Dakota Legislature, Legislative Research CouncilSouth Dakota Codified Laws, Title 40, Chapter 28, Section 40-28-3
What this page does not cover
Everything above is state law. Fence height, setback, corner visibility and materials are set by city and county ordinance in almost every state, and a local rule can be far stricter than the statewide default. A parcel can also carry an easement, an overlay district, a fire hazard zone or a recorded HOA restriction, none of which appear in a statute.
This is general information drawn from published government documents. It is not legal advice, statutes are amended, and the date beside each finding is the date the document was read. How findings are made · What the terms mean