---
title: "Keremeos fence rules: permits and height limits"
question: "Do I need a permit to build a fence in Keremeos, and how high can it be?"
place: Keremeos, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/keremeos
category: Building, renovating and your property
owner: municipal
owner_body: Village of Keremeos
sources_read: 2026-11-08
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/fence-rules/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/fence-rules.json"
---

# Keremeos fence rules: permits and height limits

**Question:** Do I need a permit to build a fence in Keremeos, and how high can it be?

**Short answer:** In Keremeos a fence does not need a building permit, but the Zoning Bylaw limits its height: 1.3 m in the front setback and 1.9 m in side and rear yards, with exceptions in some zones. Retaining walls do need a building permit.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (Village of Keremeos, https://www.keremeos.ca/home)  
**Cost:** No fence permit fee is stated; a retaining wall needs a building permit (see the building-permit-fees answer).  
**How long:** Not applicable for a fence.  
**Where:**
- In person: Village Office, 702 4th Street, Keremeos, BC V0X 1N0 (Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. per the contact page.)
- Phone: Village Office, 250-499-2711
- Email: Village Office, info@keremeos.ca

## Key facts

- **Permit:** The Building Bylaw does not apply to a fence, except for retaining walls (Part 12), so a fence itself does not need a building permit. Zoning height limits still apply.
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 835, 2019 (PDF, consolidated), s. 4.3(a)](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/4584/)
  - Official wording: "Except as set out in PART 12: (Retaining Walls) of this bylaw, a fence;"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Height, front yard:** 1.3 m in the front setback. Exceptions: 1.9 m in the AG and RSM zones; 3.0 m in the M1 zone.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), s. 6.5.2](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/)
  - Official wording: "No fence shall exceed 1.9 metres in height to the rear of a front setback, or 1.3" … "metres in height in the front setback except:" … "in the RSM Zone all fences may be up to 1.9 metres in height;"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Height, side and rear yards:** 1.9 m to the rear of the front setback (side and rear yards). Exceptions: AG zone fences up to 1.9 m, with deer fences of see-through material not limited; M1 zone up to 3.0 m.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), s. 6.5.2](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/)
  - Official wording: "No fence shall exceed 1.9 metres in height to the rear of a front setback, or 1.3" … "deer fences shall not be limited in height, provided such fences are constructed of" … "in the M1 Zone all fences may be up to 3.0 metres in height."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Corner lots and sightlines:** On a corner site at a highway intersection, nothing (fence, hedge, planting, tree, sign or other structure) within 6.0 m of the corner of the site may be higher than 1.0 m above the centre of the intersection (the "sight triangle").
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), s. 6.5.3](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/)
  - Official wording: "On a corner site contiguous to a highway intersection no fence, hedge, planting," … "metres from the corner of the site at the intersection of the streets, as shown in" … "above the established elevation of the centre point of the intersection."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Other rules:** Height is measured from average grade within 1.0 m of both sides of the fence. Commercial and industrial parcels next to a residential zone need screening or a landscape buffer. Pool fences: at least 1.22 m high, openings no more than 100 mm (Building Bylaw s. 15.3). Retaining walls need a building permit (s. 12.1).
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), s. 6.5.1, 6.6](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/)
  - Official wording: "The height of a fence shall be determined by a measurement from the average" … "Screening or landscape buffers are required for all Commercial and Industrial zoned"
  - Source: [Building Bylaw No. 835, 2019 (PDF, consolidated), s. 15.3, 12.1](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/4584/)
  - Official wording: "A swimming pool, must be enclosed within a fence constructed without footholds or grips that" … "no openings greater than 100 mm at their greatest dimension." … "12.1 No person may construct, or structurally repair, a retaining wall without a building permit."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Bylaw:** Zoning Bylaw No. 851, s. 6.5 (Fence Heights)
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), s. 6.5](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/)
  - Official wording: "Village of Keremeos Zoning Bylaw No. 851" … "Fence Heights"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

Under [Building Bylaw No. 835](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/4584/) a fence is outside the bylaw, so it needs no building permit. Height is set by section 6.5 of the [Zoning Bylaw No. 851](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/). Height is measured from average grade within 1.0 m of both sides of the fence.

- **Front setback:** 1.3 m. In the AG and RSM zones it is 1.9 m, and in the M1 zone 3.0 m.
- **Side and rear yards (behind the front setback):** 1.9 m. In the AG zone fences up to 1.9 m are allowed, and deer fences of see-through material are not limited. In the M1 zone the limit is 3.0 m.
- **Corner lots:** at a highway intersection, nothing within 6.0 m of the corner of the site (fence, hedge, planting, tree, sign or other structure) may be higher than 1.0 m above the centre of the intersection.

## Steps

1. Check your zone and the height limits in the Zoning Bylaw, or call the Village Office.
2. Keep to the corner sight-triangle rule if you are on a corner.
3. If you are building a retaining wall, apply for a building permit first (see the building-permit answer).

## Good to know

- Commercial and industrial parcels next to a residential zone need screening or a landscape buffer.
- Pool fences must be at least 1.22 m high with openings no more than 100 mm (Building Bylaw s. 15.3).
- The zoning text does not mention barbed wire or electric fences. Ask the Village Office.

## Official forms and pages

- [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/)
- [Building Bylaw No. 835, 2019 (PDF)](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/4584/)

## Related questions

- [Keremeos building permits: when you need one and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/building-permit.md)
- [Keremeos zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/zoning-lookup.md)
- [Keremeos permits for decks, sheds, carports and garages](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/deck-shed-garage-permit.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Fence height limits in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/fence-rules.md)
- [Oliver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oliver/fence-rules.md)
- [Osoyoos](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/osoyoos/fence-rules.md)
- [Penticton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/penticton/fence-rules.md)
- [Summerland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/summerland/fence-rules.md)
- [Princeton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/fence-rules.md)
- [Peachland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/peachland/fence-rules.md)

## Sources

- [Zoning Bylaw No. 851 (PDF, revised June 10, 2026), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15676/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Building Bylaw No. 835, 2019 (PDF, consolidated), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/4584/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Contact, Village of Keremeos](https://www.keremeos.ca/contact) (read 2026-11-08)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Village of Keremeos. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/fence-rules/_