Home › New Hampshire › Bedford
Fence Installation and Repair in Bedford, NH
In Bedford, a fence or retaining wall over 6 feet counts as a structure that has to meet setbacks and stay 50 feet from wetlands, and corner lots keep a low sight area at the intersection. Call (978) 800-2452 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Bedford zoning, wetland and historic notes on this page
- Wood, vinyl, chain link and aluminum
Ask About Fence Service in Your Area
Tell us about the yard and the fence you want. A person reads it and replies with what happens next.
Please add your name, a 10-digit phone number and a valid email.
Your request didn't go through on our end. Please call (978) 800-2452 so it isn't lost.
Too many requests have come from this connection in a short time. Please call (978) 800-2452 and we'll take it from there.
We couldn't finish the spam check. Wait a moment and send it again, or call (978) 800-2452.
Fences in Bedford
Which fence fits the yard?
Wood Fences
Privacy, picket, stockade and split-rail fences in cedar or pressure-treated lumber, new or replaced.
Vinyl Fences
Low-upkeep PVC privacy, semi-privacy and picket fences, with matching gates.
Chain Link & Aluminum
Galvanized or coated chain link and ornamental aluminum, including pool enclosures built to code.
Fence Repair
Leaning or rotted posts, sagging gates, storm-damaged sections and broken pickets or panels.
Over 6 feet, near a wetland or in Bedford Center?
(978) 800-2452Tell us the height and where the fence runs, and we'll connect you with an installer who knows Bedford's structure and setback rules and its historic district rules.
Permits
Fence permits in Bedford
What the town says, and doesn't. Bedford's page on obtaining a building permit walks through decks, sheds, pools, detached garages, storage buildings and pool cabanas, and never mentions fences (Obtaining a Building Permit). Zoning is what governs tall fences. Bedford's definition of "Structure" already included "fences and retaining walls over six feet in height" and swimming pools. The warrant article passed on March 10, 2026, by 3,688 votes to 353, added that the height is "measured from the base of the footing of the wall to the top of the retaining wall" (2026 warrant; results). Bedford issues no building permit for a structure that doesn't comply with zoning (Zoning, Ch. 275), so a fence over 6 feet has to clear the zoning rules first. For anything shorter, ask the building department whether a permit applies.
Starting early costs more. When work that needs a permit begins without one, the town charges the greater of $100 or twice the permit fee (§92-11).
- Fence or retaining wall over 6 ft
- A zoning structure; setbacks apply
- GR district setbacks
- 25 ft front, 15 ft side and rear
- Corner sight area
- Nothing over 1 1/2 ft within the 20-ft triangle
- Wetland setback
- 50 ft for fences over 6 ft, pools and other listed structures
- Bedford Center
- Visible fences 48 in or less; a fence that meets the rules is exempt from review
- Permit for 6 ft or less
- Not stated; ask the town
- Work without a required permit
- Greater of $100 or twice the fee
New Hampshire basics. Under RSA 155-A:2 permits and their fees belong to each town. The 2024 state codes apply to all permit requests from January 1, 2027; until December 31, 2026, applicants may use either edition. The Attorney General notes that contractors in New Hampshire "do not need to be licensed," and advises references, proof of insurance, a written contract before any work or payment, and caution if a deposit tops 50% (NH AG). RSA 359-G's notice-of-claim steps cover residential construction; its reach to a fence-only contract isn't spelled out. Our New Hampshire fence rules page has the details.
Dig Safe first. A post-hole auger counts as excavation. Notify Dig Safe at 811 or 888-DIG-SAFE 72 hours or more before digging, leaving out weekends and legal holidays, and no earlier than 30 days ahead; premark the area with white paint, stakes or other white markings; and the ticket runs 30 days. Dig Safe says property owners as well as contractors are required to call. A homeowner digging on their own property is exempt from the civil penalty in RSA 374:55, not from notifying (Dig Safe; RSA 374). The notice rule in RSA 374:51 covers digging within 100 feet of an underground facility.
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by January 2027. New England Fence Pros is a referral service: we don't build fences or pull permits, and the company you hire handles any paperwork.
Height and placement
Height limits, setbacks and corner lots in Bedford
The 6-foot line. Bedford hasn't posted a general height cap for residential fences that we could find. What it has set is the point where a fence becomes a structure: over 6 feet. Above that, the fence has to meet the district setbacks, which in the General Residence district after the March 2026 vote are 25 feet from the front line and 15 feet from the sides and rear. A 6-foot privacy fence stays below the line; a 7- or 8-foot screen, or a tall terrace wall, needs the setback room.
Corner lots. Since March 11, 2014, Bedford's zoning has kept a sight area at corners, a triangle measured 20 feet from the lot corner, where "No planting, wall, fence, sign, or other object that creates an obstruction to motorists' vision shall be planted, erected or maintained higher than 1 1/2 feet above the adjoining street grade" (Zoning, Ch. 275). A corner lot's fence has to drop to almost ground level, or stop short, at the intersection.
The town hasn't posted a rule on which side of the fence faces out or on fences in easements. Where the property line is in question, a survey or the town can confirm it.
Pool fences. Bedford posts no pool barrier rules of its own. Pools need a building permit with a plot plan that shows the pool and the septic system, swimming pools count as zoning structures, and they must sit 50 feet from any wetland edge (building permits; Wetlands). Barriers follow the state's adopted pool code; CPSC guidance, which is not law, describes a 48-inch minimum height and gates that close and latch by themselves (CPSC Pub. 362).
Historic and wetlands
Historic districts and wetlands in Bedford
Bedford Center. The Bedford Center Historic District takes in parts of Bell Hill, Church, Meetinghouse, Ministerial, North Amherst and Wallace roads, and the Historic District Commission meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. (Historic District Commission). Zoning requires a certificate of approval to build or rebuild any stone wall or fence there, or to remove walls, fences and trees (§275-49).
The fence rules. The commission's Chapter 285 regulations carry "DRAFT CHAPTER 285" in their page footers next to the words "Adopted September 1, 2026," which the cover also reads (HDC Regulations). For fences seen from the public way they say "Fencing shall be of the same style and design throughout the property" and "Fencing shall be 48 inches or less in height," built as granite posts with wood rails, wood post-and-rail, or a picket fence of wood, simulated wood, or vinyl with a wood-textured surface, with gates to match. New fencing that meets those terms is exempt from review; a fence over 48 inches, or one in another style, needs a full certificate from the commission.
Stone walls. Existing landscape walls are to be kept in place and repaired, reusing the original stones where feasible. New walls stay at 48 inches or less, in unfinished rock with a dry-laid look and any mortar hidden. Visible repairs in other materials go to staff, and new, altered or removed walls go to the full commission.
Wetlands and brooks. Structures must be 50 feet from any wetland edge, and the town's list names "sheds, buildings, fences and retaining walls greater than 6 feet in height," along with decks and swimming pools (Wetlands). On Hydric A soils, fences may go in only on posts or pilings that substantially keep the natural contour, after Conservation Commission review (§275-27). The Stream Protection Ordinance approved March 11, 2025 adds a 50-foot buffer on ten named brooks, including Baboosic, Bog, McQuade and Riddle, marked with metal tags on projects that need a building permit (Stream Protection Ordinance).
Bedford's homes
A single-family town with wet ground and sandy pockets
About 85% of Bedford's 8,161 housing units are single-family homes in the ACS 2016–2020 figures (Bedford town profile). On detached-house lots like these, check three rules first: the 6-foot structure line, the 50-foot wetland setback and the corner sight area.
The Pines Area. A February 4, 2026 staff memo describes the Pines Area as mostly residential septic systems on small lots over deep, rapidly percolating sands (staff memo). Elsewhere, wet soils and the protected brooks shape where a fence line can go, so walk the route with your installer before settling on it.
FAQ
Bedford fence questions
What are the rules for tall fences in Bedford?
Bedford's zoning already counts fences and retaining walls over six feet as structures. On March 10, 2026 voters approved, 3,688 to 353, a change spelling out that a retaining wall is measured from the base of its footing. Taller fences have to meet the zoning setbacks, which in the General Residence district are 25 feet in front and 15 feet on the sides and rear after a separate 2026 amendment.
How high can a fence be at a Bedford street corner?
Inside the corner sight area, a triangle measured 20 feet from the lot corner, nothing that blocks drivers' view can stand higher than 1 1/2 feet above the street grade. That rules out a privacy fence at the corner itself.
What fences are allowed in the Bedford Center Historic District?
Under the commission's Chapter 285 regulations, adopted September 1, 2026, fences seen from the road should be 48 inches or less, one style across the property, and built as granite posts with wood rails, wood post-and-rail, or a picket fence of wood, simulated wood or wood-textured vinyl. A fence that meets those rules is exempt from review.
Can I put a fence near a wetland in Bedford?
The 50-foot wetland setback names fences over 6 feet, so a taller fence has to stay back. On Hydric A soils, fences are allowed only on posts or pilings that keep the natural contour, after Conservation Commission review.
What does it cost me to use New England Fence Pros?
Nothing. Asking is free for homeowners; the contractor prices the job, and the price and contract are between you and them.
Nearby