Installing a Residential Fence

No permit is required to install a fence in the City of Champaign. However, there are a few requirements that need to be followed:

Contact J.U.L.I.E. BEFORE you Dig! Simply call 811 or visit Illinois1call.com and request that buried utilities be located and “flagged” on your property. This is a free service and helps ensure that you don’t dig where you shouldn’t.
In the front yard setback area (from the front wall of your house up to the front property line, about 1-foot towards your house from the sidewalk if you have one,) the height limit is 3-feet for a solid fence and 6-feet for a transparent fence.
Around the rest of the perimeter of your property (side & rear) the height limit is 8-feet.
Use of barbed wire, electrified fences, or sharp spikes are prohibited.
You may build your fence right up to the property line, but you must not cross over the line.
The City of Champaign has no rules regarding which side of a wooden fence faces in or out.

Planning and Development Department