Fence permit checklist — Bakersfield, California
Assembled from Bakersfield’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Bakersfield does not require a permit for a fence.
Bakersfield Municipal Code Section 15.05.010 adopts the 2025 California Building Code including Chapter 1 Division II, and Sections 15.05.020 and 15.05.030 leave that code's Section 105.2 in force, so a fence no more than 7 feet high does not need a building permit. Municipal Code Section 17.08.180 limits fences, walls and hedges in the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-6, MX-1 and MX-2 zones to 6 feet in the rear and side yards and 4 feet in the required front yard, so a residential fence at those heights is exempt. The exemption does not cover a front yard fence or wall over 4 feet, which Section 17.08.180 allows only in the situations it lists, or barbed or electrified wire in a commercial, industrial or agricultural zone, which needs the building director's approval.
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Sources
- fence — fee schedule ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Bakersfield publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
- General building work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Bakersfield before you build.