Fence laws in Wyoming
What Wyoming 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.
Wyoming fence laws at a glance
| Topic | What the record says | Figure | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fences on the property line | Stated | 50% | W.S. 11-28-106(a) |
| Fence height | Silent | no figure | W.S. 11-28-101 through 11-28-108 |
| Permits | Stated | no figure | W.S. 35-9-106(a)(i) |
| Pool barriers | Silenta pool at a private home | no figure | Ch. 1, applicability |
| Spite fences | Silent | no figure | W.S. 6-6-201 through 6-6-209 |
| 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 | 3 strands | W.S. 11-28-102(a)(i), (c) |
Fence laws in Wyoming, question by question
Who owns the fence between two properties in Wyoming?
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Wyoming treats a boundary fence as a partition fence once it separates the land of two owners. The owner of a lawful fence that becomes a partition fence may require the adjoining owner to pay half of what the fence cost, or half of what it would cost to build, and may sue for that half plus the costs of suit if the adjoining owner refuses. There is no notice step before building. The remedy is a civil action after the fact. Where private land adjoins unleased state land, the Office of State Lands and Investments pays half of the construction cost, and where the state land is leased, the lessee pays.
may require the person to pay for one-half (1/2) of what it would or does actually cost to construct the partition fence
50%the share of construction cost an adjoining owner may be required to pay
Also on fences on the property line in Wyoming
- StatedUpkeep is split the same way the fence is used. Joint users of a partition fence contribute to the cost of maintenance in proportion to their respective interests, and a share left unpaid is recovered by the same civil action that recovers the construction share. W.S. 11-28-106(a)Wyoming · Statute
How tall can a fence be in Wyoming?
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Wyoming sets no statewide limit on residential fence height. The fence chapter is written around livestock containment and specifies wire counts, wire spacing, post diameter, post depth and post spacing. The only height figure anywhere in it is the six foot minimum for a hay corral outside a lawful enclosure, which is a floor for an agricultural use rather than a ceiling for a yard. The codes the state has adopted reach public and state owned buildings, and the International Residential Code, where a residential fence height rule would normally live, is adopted only by individual counties and towns.
Documents read before writing that:
- W.S. 11-28-101 through 11-28-108Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
- Ch. 1, Sec. 2Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety, Council on Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety
- W.S. 16-13-101Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
- W.S. 35-9-108(a)Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
Do I need a permit for a fence in Wyoming?
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Wyoming does not write its own building code. The Council on Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety is directed to set minimum fire standards not exceeding the International Fire Code, the International Building Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Existing Building Code and the International Fuel Gas Code. The International Residential Code, which is where a fence rule for a house lot would normally sit, is not on that list.
Establish minimum fire standards not exceeding the standards prescribed by the International Fire Code, the International Building Code, the International Mechanical Code, the International Existing Building Code and the International Fuel Gas Code
Also on permits in Wyoming
- StatedThe state fire marshal reviews plans for state and local government buildings, public buildings over five thousand square feet, multistory public buildings, larger child care centers, public assembly occupancies and fuel dispensing facilities. One and two family dwellings appear nowhere in that list, which is the clearest statement in Wyoming law that a house, and anything built in its yard, sits outside state plan review. W.S. 35-9-108(a)(ii)Wyoming · Building code
- StatedThe council named the editions. Its rules adopt the 2024 International Building Code by reference, along with the 2024 fire, mechanical, existing building and fuel gas codes. The numbers a fence would be judged against at state level therefore come from a model code, not from Wyoming text. Ch. 1, Sec. 2(a)(i)Wyoming · Building code
- StatedThe International Residential Code is pulled in only where the other adopted codes point at it, and only through their own chapters one to ten. Wyoming has not adopted a residential code whole at state level, which is why a fence at a house is a local question. The misspelling of "Conservations" is in the original rule. Ch. 1, Sec. 2(a)(vi)Wyoming · Building code
- StatedA separate statute gives the point away. The building permit timeline chapter frames its deadlines around a board of county commissioners that has adopted a version of the International Residential Code, wording that only makes sense if some counties have not. Adoption of a residential code in Wyoming is a county or town decision, so the answer to whether a fence needs a permit is a local answer everywhere in the state. W.S. 16-13-101(a)(i)Wyoming · Statute
- StatedWhere a local government does issue residential building permits, state law puts a clock on it. The government says whether an application is complete no later than ten business days after receiving it, and approves or denies a completed application no later than thirty calendar days after it is submitted. The chapter covers dwellings up to three stories and three thousand square feet of finished floor area per unit. W.S. 16-13-102(b)Wyoming · Statute
Pool fence requirements in Wyoming
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Wyoming sets no statewide barrier requirement around a pool at a private home. Pool regulation runs through the Department of Agriculture under the Public Pool and Spa Health and Safety Act, and the act reaches only a pool that is open to the public or a segment of the public. The act sets no fence, barrier or enclosure requirement of its own and leaves specifications to agency rules. The applicability section of the Department of Agriculture rules then states that the regulations do not apply to private-use pools, and gives a pool at a single family residence used by the family and invited guests as the first example.
Documents read before writing that:
- Ch. 1, applicabilityWyoming Department of Agriculture
- W.S. 35-28-101(a)(viii)Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
Spite fence laws in Wyoming
SilentThe documents were read and none of them cover it. The list of what was read is printed with the finding.
Wyoming has no spite fence statute. A full text search of the Wyoming Statutes for the phrase "spite fence" returns zero hits across every published year. The statutory nuisance article, W.S. 6-6-201 through 6-6-209, defines a nuisance only in terms of structures used for lewdness, prostitution, gambling, liquor or controlled substances, and never mentions a fence, a fence height, or a structure put up to annoy a neighbor. The fence chapter itself sets construction standards and livestock liability and says nothing about motive.
Documents read before writing that:
- W.S. 6-6-201 through 6-6-209Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
- W.S. 11-28-101 through 11-28-108Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
- Wyoming Statutes, full text search for the phrase "spite fence", zero resultsWyoming Legislature, Legislative Service Office
How fence height is measured in Wyoming
Not researched yet for Wyoming. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence rules for corner lots in Wyoming
Not researched yet for Wyoming. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Retaining wall rules in Wyoming
Not researched yet for Wyoming. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Fence materials allowed in Wyoming
Not researched yet for Wyoming. Nothing on this page states what the rule is, because nothing has been read that says.
Livestock and boundary fence law in Wyoming
StatedThe code gives a plain answer, and the line it appears on is quoted.
Wyoming defines three lawful fence types by statute. The barbed wire type runs on steel, concrete or sound wooden posts and carries three spans of barbed wire spaced no more than fifteen inches and no less than ten inches apart, or two spans with a wooden rail on top. A hay corral outside a lawful enclosure is held to a different standard: at least six feet high with at least seven spans of wire.
three (3) spans of barbed wire not more than fifteen (15) inches or less than ten (10) inches apart, or two (2) spans of barbed wire
3 strandsspans of barbed wire in a lawful barbed wire fence
Also on agricultural fencing in Wyoming
- StatedPosts in a lawful fence sit no more than twenty-two feet apart. That stretches to thirty-three feet where at least two iron or wooden stays are set between the posts. W.S. 11-28-102(a)(i)Wyoming · Statute
- StatedA wooden post in a lawful fence measures at least four inches in diameter. This is the only dimension the statute puts on the post itself, and it is a floor rather than a ceiling. W.S. 11-28-102(a)(i)Wyoming · Statute
- StatedPosts in a lawful fence go at least twenty inches into the ground and are set firmly. Depth is written into the statute the same way wire count and post spacing are, so a fence that meets every other part of the definition and sits shallow is not a lawful fence. W.S. 11-28-102(a)(i)Wyoming · Statute
- StatedAn animal owner is on the hook when the animal breaks into someone else's lawful enclosure. The statute reaches livestock and domesticated buffalo, and the damages cover all injury caused by the breaching. Where the dispute goes to arbitration under the same section, each side picks a property holder, the two pick a third, the arbitrators examine the fence under oath, and the finding is filed with a circuit court judge within three days. W.S. 11-28-108(a)Wyoming · Statute
- StatedThe liability rule has a hard condition attached, and this is the fence-out rule people usually cite to the wrong section. A landowner suing over animal damage loses if the enclosure was not a lawful fence, and the judgment then runs the other way: costs of suit and damages go to the defendant. The quality of the fence decides the case before the damage is ever weighed. W.S. 11-28-108(d)Wyoming · Statute
Documents behind this page
8 documents, each read on the date shown. Nothing on this page rests on a summary of one.
- Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service OfficeWyoming Statutes, Title 11 (Agriculture, Livestock and Other Animals), Chapter 28, Fences and Cattle Guards
- Wyoming Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety, Council on Fire Prevention and Electrical SafetyChapter 1, General Provisions, Reference Number 041.0002.1.06262024, effective 06/26/2024 to current
- Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service OfficeWyoming Statutes, Title 16, Chapter 13, Building Permit Timelines
- Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service OfficeWyoming Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 9, Article 1, Department of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety
- Wyoming Department of AgriculturePublic Swimming Pools rules, Chapter 1, General Provisions, Reference Number 010.0008.1.10092003, effective 10/09/2003 to current
- Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service OfficeWyoming Statutes, Title 35, Chapter 28, Public Pool and Spa Health and Safety
- Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service OfficeWyoming Statutes, Title 6, Chapter 6, Article 2, Nuisances
- Wyoming Legislature, Legislative Service OfficeWyoming Statutes, full text search for the phrase "spite fence", zero results
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