Do You Need a Permit to Replace a Fence in Brevard County?

Usually, yes. In unincorporated Brevard County, adding or replacing a fence needs a county permit with a property survey, unless you're repairing or replacing less than half of it with the same size and material in the same location. Inside city or town limits the city's rules apply instead: Melbourne requires a fence permit, West Melbourne asks for a fence application with a survey, and Palm Bay requires a zoning permit for ordinary fences and a building permit for pool barrier fences.

Start with who governs your lot

Brevard County Planning and Development issues building permits only for the unincorporated parts of the county. Viera, Suntree and Merritt Island are unincorporated communities, not cities, so fences there normally go through the county. Melbourne, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, Grant-Valkaria, Melbourne Beach, Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach handle their own permits.

Don't go by your mailing address. A "Melbourne" address isn't always inside the City of Melbourne, and Melbourne Beach is a separate town with its own building official. If you're not sure which side of a line you're on, ask the county or your city hall before you sign a fence contract. Our Brevard County building permits guide explains how each office takes applications.

The county rule: new and replacement fences

Brevard County's residential fence page says a permit is needed to add or replace a fence. No permit is needed to repair or replace less than 50% of a fence with the same size and material in the same location. All three conditions have to hold. If any of them changes, you need a permit.

How the 50% rule plays out

Here's how the county's wording applies to common jobs in unincorporated Brevard:

The county page we reviewed doesn't say how it measures the 50%, for example by length or by value, or whether several small repairs in a row add up. If your job is anywhere near half the fence, ask Planning and Development before you start.

What the county application asks for

The county asks for a property survey showing the proposed fence lines, the fence height and the materials. If you have a survey from your home purchase, ask whether the county will accept it with the new fence line drawn on. The survey also shows where your lot ends and where easements run, which matters if the old fence was never on the line. Jobs over $5,000 also need a Notice of Commencement (see below).

Who can pull the permit

The county's online permit system, BASS, is for licensed contractors, and the county says contractors may pull permits only for work within their license type. Brevard's licensed trades page lists fencing among the trades it covers, and its handyman page says limited fence work needs a permit but not a county certificate of competency. Local trade licensing has been changing since a 2021 state law, HB 735, so if you're unsure what a fence installer needs, ask the county's contractor licensing office. Check any company on the county's Licensed Contractor Search, which lists a contractor only while it has an active license, general liability insurance and workers' compensation coverage or an exemption, and see checking a contractor before hiring.

If you're installing the fence yourself on a home you own and live in, you can apply as an owner-builder under section 489.103 of the Florida Statutes. In unincorporated Brevard, owner-builders must apply in person and sign a disclosure statement before the permit is issued. If a fence company asks you to pull an owner-builder permit for work it's doing, treat that as a warning sign, because the risk shifts to you. See owner-builder permits in Florida.

City rules: Melbourne, West Melbourne and Palm Bay

City of Melbourne

Melbourne's Building Section lists fences among the work that needs a permit. The city treats fences, along with accessory structures, driveways and flatwork, as city ordinance permits, separate from building permits, and says those permits aren't affected by the $7,500 exemption. Even a small fence job in the city still needs its permit.

Melbourne's zoning FAQ sets fence height and opacity. In the front-yard setback, fences can be no taller than 4 ft and no more than 50% opaque. Toward the rear of the property, fences can be 6 ft tall and fully opaque. A solid 6 ft privacy panel in the front-yard setback won't meet that limit. The Melbourne privacy fence cost guide prices a layout with privacy in back and an open fence in front.

West Melbourne

West Melbourne takes permit applications online. A fence permit needs the city's fence application, a hold-harmless form and a digital survey marking the fence. The city's fee schedule lists $110 for a residential fence permit under Resolution 2026-04; confirm the current fee before you apply.

Palm Bay

Palm Bay handles ordinary fences through zoning rather than a building permit:

• Non-pool residential fences need a zoning permit approved before installation, with no inspections. This covers non-masonry fences at single-family homes; masonry walls need a building permit.
• Pool barrier fences need a building permit, with zoning and building review and inspections.
• Fences can't go in drainage or utility easements.
• Work started without a permit can be charged up to four times the permit fees.

Other cities and towns

We haven't verified fence rules for Rockledge, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, Grant-Valkaria or the beachside towns. Ask yours before you order materials. In Indialantic, Malabar, Cocoa or Cape Canaveral, start by asking who reviews permits for your address.

Pool barrier fences

Brevard County's pool permit page says pools must be enclosed by a fence or screen enclosure with a secure gate, and Florida's pool safety law, section 515.29, sets the barrier rules, including a 4 ft minimum height and outward-opening, self-closing, self-latching gates. Our statewide fence permit guide lists the full requirements, and screen enclosure permits covers pool cages.

What changes locally is the permit. In Palm Bay, a pool barrier fence needs a building permit with inspections instead of a zoning permit. In unincorporated Brevard, a new or replaced fence needs the county fence permit either way; say on the application that the fence is your pool barrier, and ask what the county will inspect. Even a repair small enough to skip the permit has to leave the barrier working, so don't leave the pool open overnight, and check that the gate closes and latches on its own when the work is done.

Need a contractor for this project?Request a fence estimate

Height, easements, HOAs and the coast

• Height. Only Melbourne's limits were confirmed for this guide. For unincorporated Brevard and the other cities, ask the zoning office for front, side and rear limits before you choose a style, and mention it if you're on a corner lot.
• Easements. Palm Bay doesn't allow fences in drainage or utility easements; ask your office about its rule. A fence on a neighbor's land or across an easement may have to be moved later.
• HOAs. An HOA can control material, color, height and placement, and its rules may be stricter than the city's or county's. Get approval in writing before you order. Since July 1, 2026, an HOA can't require a building permit before it reviews your application, so you can apply to both at once. See HOA approval in Florida.
• Beachfront lots. Brevard's Coastal Construction Control Line runs along the Atlantic coast from Port Canaveral Inlet to Sebastian Inlet. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) says alteration, excavation or construction seaward of the line, with certain exceptions, needs its approval. If your fence would go seaward of the line, check with DEP before you dig. See the CCCL in Florida.
• Wind. We didn't find a Brevard rule requiring engineered designs for residential fences. Ask your permit office whether your fence type needs engineering or product approval, especially a tall solid fence on an exposed lot.
• Salt air. On the barrier island, ask what the hinges, latches and fasteners are made of. See salt-air corrosion on the Space Coast.

Paperwork and the $7,500 exemption

Notice of Commencement over $5,000

Brevard County's fence page requires a Notice of Commencement when the job is worth more than $5,000, the same threshold Florida uses for requiring a recorded notice before the first inspection. Many full replacements cross that line. As an estimate on our Florida planning ranges, 150 ft of 6 ft pressure-treated wood privacy fence with one walk gate comes to about $3,200–$7,400 installed (150 ft × $20–$45 per foot, plus $200–$600 for the gate), and vinyl runs higher. The owner signs the notice in front of a notary; ask your contractor who will record it. Inside a city, ask whether its fence permit needs one. See the Notice of Commencement.

Does the $7,500 exemption help?

Since July 1, 2026, the owner of a single-family home, or the owner's contractor, can ask in writing for some work valued under $7,500 to skip the building permit. It never covers structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical or gas work or property in a flood hazard area, and zoning and HOA rules still apply. Our guide to the $7,500 permit exemption explains the state rule. For fences:

• Melbourne: no. The city says its ordinance permits, including fences, aren't affected.
• Unincorporated Brevard: unclear. We found no county page or form on exemption requests, so ask Planning and Development whether a fence replacement qualifies and how to file. A like-for-like repair of less than half the fence doesn't need a permit anyway.
• Palm Bay: ordinary fences need a zoning permit, not a building permit, and the exemption doesn't lift zoning rules. Ask the city before assuming anything changes.
• Flood zones: check your lot on Brevard County's flood zone map before you count on the exemption.

Sunshine 811 before posts go in

Section 556.105 of the Florida Statutes requires the excavator to notify Sunshine 811 at least 2 full business days before digging on land, so utility operators can mark their lines. A fence company setting posts is the excavator, so ask your installer to make the request and wait for the marks. If you're digging the holes yourself, contact Sunshine 811 first. The locate covers utility operators' lines, not private ones such as irrigation pipes or landscape lighting wire, so show the installer where those run.

What to watch for

• Calling a replacement a repair. Swapping wood for vinyl, raising the height or straightening the line takes even a small section out of the county's repair exception.
• Going by the mailing address. A Melbourne mailing address doesn't always mean the City of Melbourne. If your lot is unincorporated, the county's survey requirement and repair rule apply instead of the city's.
• Pricing before checking height limits. A solid 6 ft panel in Melbourne's front-yard setback breaks the 4 ft, 50% opacity limit, and other offices set their own limits.
• Skipping the permit. Brevard County's code enforcement page names fences among the exterior structures that need a permit, and Palm Bay can charge up to four times the fee for work started without one.

Next steps

1. Confirm whether your home is in unincorporated Brevard or inside a city or town.
2. Decide whether your job is a like-for-like repair of less than half the fence or a replacement. If it's close, ask the permit office.
3. Find your survey, mark the fence line, height and material on it, and check for easements.
4. Get HOA approval in writing, and check height limits with your zoning office.
5. Price the job with our fence cost calculator and the Melbourne privacy fence cost guide.
6. Before you sign, get in writing who pulls the permit, who records any Notice of Commencement and who requests the Sunshine 811 locate.