Pennsylvania Does Not Require a Survey for a Fence, but You Should Get One
Pennsylvania state law does not require a property owner to hire a land surveyor before installing a fence. No statute at the state level mandates a survey as a condition of fence construction on private residential or commercial property. What exists instead is a practical reality: without knowing exactly where your property lines are, you risk building a fence in the wrong place, which can cost you far more than a survey ever would.
A boundary survey typically costs $400 to $1,600 for a residential lot in Pennsylvania, depending on your region and parcel complexity. A fence removal dispute, or a lawsuit over an encroachment, can cost tens of thousands of dollars and years of your time. The math is straightforward.
Local Permit Requirements in Pennsylvania
While state law does not require a survey, many Pennsylvania municipalities require a fence permit, and those permits often include rules tied to property lines. This is where local rules matter more than state law.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia requires a permit for fences over six feet in height and has specific rules about fence materials and setbacks from property lines and the street. The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections enforces these requirements. The setback rules assume you know where your property line is. If your fence is installed too close to or over the line, L&I can require removal.
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh's zoning code includes fence height limits and placement rules that vary by zoning district. The Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections handles fence permits. In residential neighborhoods throughout Allegheny County, setbacks from property lines are standard requirements. Knowing your property line before applying for a permit saves time and prevents permit rejections.
Other Pennsylvania Municipalities
Fence permit requirements vary widely across Pennsylvania's 2,562 municipalities. Some townships require no permit for standard residential fences. Others require permits for any fence over four feet. Some require a plot plan showing the fence location relative to property lines as part of the permit application. Check with your local building department or zoning office before starting any fence project.
The Pennsylvania Fence Act and Agricultural Properties
The Pennsylvania Fence Act, codified at 3 Pa. C.S. section 1711 et seq., applies specifically to partition fences between agricultural properties. Under the act, adjoining agricultural landowners share responsibility for constructing and maintaining the fence along their common boundary. The act includes a process for resolving disputes about fence placement and cost-sharing through the court of common pleas.
If you are not an agricultural landowner building a fence along a shared boundary with another agricultural operation, the Fence Act does not apply to your fence project. Residential and commercial fence disputes are governed by general property law, local ordinances, and the civil courts.
Adverse Possession and Fences in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's adverse possession statute requires 21 years of continuous, open, notorious, hostile, and exclusive possession to establish a legal claim to another person's land. This is one of the longest adverse possession periods in the United States.
The relevance to fence construction is this: if you build a fence that encroaches on your neighbor's property by even a foot, and your neighbor does not challenge the encroachment for 21 years, you may gain a legal basis to claim ownership of that strip of land. Conversely, if a neighbor's fence encroaches on your property and you do not address it for 21 years, you risk losing that land through their adverse possession claim.
A survey before fence construction documents the correct boundary, prevents encroachments from occurring, and protects both you and your neighbor from future disputes. It also provides a clear record if a dispute does arise later.
What the Survey Gives You
A boundary survey from a licensed Pennsylvania surveyor produces a signed and sealed plat showing the exact location of your property lines, the dimensions of your lot, corner monument types and conditions, and any easements that may affect where you can build a fence. The surveyor may also set or verify corner monuments on the ground so you have physical reference points during construction.
Once you have the survey, you can stake out the fence line accurately before installing any posts. This is particularly important in dense urban neighborhoods like those in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville, or Allentown's residential districts, where lots are narrow and a few inches off the line can create a legal problem.
When to Get a Survey Before Your Pennsylvania Fence
Get a survey before building a fence in these situations: you do not have a recent survey of your property, there is any question about where the boundary is, your lot is irregular or irregularly shaped, you are in a dense urban area where lots are narrow, your neighbor has placed objects near what you think is the line, or the fence will be close to a neighbor's structure. If you are on a simple suburban lot with clear monuments, no prior disputes, and a cooperative neighbor, you can make a judgment call. But if any uncertainty exists, the survey is worth the cost.