Do I need a permit for fence installation or replacement in Unincorporated Gwinnett County?

It depends. Whether fence installation or replacement needs a permit in Unincorporated Gwinnett County comes down to the details of your project.

Georgia has no statewide list of work exempt from a building permit. The Georgia amendments to the 2024 International Residential Code delete Chapter 1, Scope and Administration, without substitution, and keep it in the code only as a reference and guide for local governments developing their own administrative procedures. The 7 foot fence line that Chapter 1 contains is therefore a model figure, not a Georgia rule. Permit thresholds for fences in Georgia are set by each local government. Many jurisdictions require a zoning or land-use approval for a fence of any height, and apply their own limits on front-yard height, corner sight triangles and which side the finished face must face, so confirm the local rule. Pool barrier fences are a separate matter and must meet the code height, gate and latch requirements regardless of any local fence-permit threshold. Gwinnett County's own permitting office is the Gwinnett County Planning and Development, reachable on 678-518-6020 at https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/planning-development/services/building-services. Its online permit portal is https://aca-prod.accela.com/gwinnett/welcome.aspx. It issues permits for the unincorporated county. If your city does not run its own building department, and many smaller Georgia municipalities do not, this is the office that will handle the job. Fences are usually a zoning review rather than a building permit, and the zoning office may be separate from the building office. Gwinnett County does not require a permit for fences 8 feet or less in height, excluding masonry and concrete, or for masonry and concrete walls up to 4 feet (with pilasters up to 6 feet). The county asks you to contact Planning and Development about front yard fences and brick columns. Under UDO 230-80.1, fences may not exceed 4 feet within a required front yard setback or 8 feet anywhere else. On property under 3 acres, any fence in the required front yard must be brick, stone, wood, wrought iron or split rail, and chain link or other woven wire may not extend into a front yard. Posts must be set in concrete and privacy fences must face inward. Electric and barbed wire fences are prohibited except on lots of at least 3 acres that qualify for livestock, or on industrially zoned property.