Winston-Salem and the Triad at a Glance
State and local laws change. This information reflects our best research as of September 2026, but you must confirm current requirements with your local building department before installing or modifying any pool barrier. North Carolina's State Building Code applies throughout the state (G.S. 143-138(e)), so Triad cities enforce the same barrier rule; zoning can still limit where a fence goes.
Last reviewed: September 2026. Report an error →
One State Code, Three Permit Counters
North Carolina writes its building rules once, for the whole state. Under G.S. 143-138(e), the North Carolina State Building Code applies throughout the state, and a city or county can add its own rules only for fire prevention and floodplain management, or with the approval of the state code council. So Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point do not each write their own pool barrier specification. All three enforce the same one.
That specification is Appendix V of the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code, a North Carolina addition that the state adopted as part of the code rather than leaving optional. It governs barriers for residential swimming pools, spas and hot tubs installed at a one- or two-family dwelling.
Two things do change as you cross the Triad. The first is who reviews your plans and inspects your fence. The second is the local development ordinance, which sits outside the building code and can regulate where a pool and its fence go. High Point, for example, says its pool requirements come from the North Carolina Building Code and the city's Development Ordinance together. Elsewhere in the state that second layer can be strict: Rocky Mount's residential pool guide requires barriers of at least 60 inches under its Land Development Code. Nothing we found gives Winston-Salem, Greensboro or High Point a height above 48 inches, but check your own zoning rules before you buy materials.
Who Handles Your Permit
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division is a joint City-County agency. It reviews and inspects building and zoning work throughout Forsyth County, with three stated exceptions: the town and city limits of High Point, Kernersville and King.
| Where the pool is | Who handles the permit |
|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division. Residential pool applications go through the city's GeoCivix portal. Permit office: 336-727-2624. |
| Rest of Forsyth County | The same City-County Inspections Division, except inside High Point, Kernersville and King. |
| Kernersville and King | Outside the City-County office's area. Contact the town before you apply. |
| High Point | High Point's own permit process, including the part of the city inside Forsyth County. The city requires a permit for any pool, spa or hot tub that can hold more than 24 inches of water and a barrier at least 4 feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates. |
| Greensboro and Guilford County | Outside the Forsyth office. Apply to the City of Greensboro inside city limits, or to Guilford County outside them. Greensboro's Land Development Ordinance regulates where a pool can go in Section 30-8-11.9 (Swimming Pools) and sends fencing to the North Carolina State Building Code. On a single-family or two-family lot under one acre, the pool, its decking and its equipment must sit behind the house as seen from the street, and the water's edge must be at least 5 feet from any property line and from any other structure. The barrier rule is the same Appendix V. |
What the Barrier Has to Do
Appendix V covers in-ground, above-ground and on-ground pools, hot tubs and spas. The core requirements:
- Height: the top of the barrier at least 48 inches above grade, measured on the side facing away from the pool.
- Bottom gap: no more than 2 inches between grade and the bottom of the barrier, or 4 inches where the fence sits over concrete or another fixed solid material. This is a North Carolina detail worth knowing: a fence line that runs from patio to lawn changes limits partway along.
- Openings and rails: the published inspection checklists used by NC departments such as Cary apply a 4-inch sphere test to openings, and where horizontal members are at least 45 inches apart, vertical spacing of no more than 4 inches.
- Nothing to climb: barriers must be placed so permanent structures, equipment or similar objects cannot be used to climb them. Cary's checklist keeps climbable structures 36 inches away.
- Above-ground pools: the pool structure itself can serve as the barrier, or the barrier can be mounted on top of it.
- Spas and hot tubs: a spa or hot tub with a safety cover that complies with ASTM F1346 is exempt from the barrier provisions.
One thing Appendix V does not set is a maximum distance between the barrier and the pool edge. The State Fire Marshal's office said so in a 2025 appeal decision, noting that fixed distances would be too restrictive for the range of pool designs. The same decision confirms that the barrier area must be shown in the permit application, and that a department may revoke a permit if the installed barrier departs substantially from the approved documents.
The 2024 Code That Has Not Arrived
North Carolina adopted a 2024 edition of its building code, but it is not in force. The General Assembly delayed it twice. Under S.L. 2025-2, as the State Fire Marshal explained in a March 31, 2025 letter to code officials, the 2024 code takes effect 12 months after the Fire Marshal certifies that the code has been published and distributed and that the new Residential Code Council is fully constituted. Until then, the 2018 code "remains in full force."
The NC Licensing Board's June 1, 2026 update put the earliest possible effective date at May 1, 2027, and said that date has not been set. For a pool built in 2026, design to the 2018 Appendix V. An owner can ask to use the 2024 code as an alternate method, but that is a conversation to have with the Inspections Division before you submit, not after.
What Forsyth County Asks For
The City of Winston-Salem's single-family permit page lists what a residential pool application needs:
- A scaled site plan or survey showing property lines, all structures, and the pool footprint with dimensions and setbacks marked.
- Any proposed pool decking, concrete or lumber, shown on the plan.
- A completed Worker's Compensation Coverage Affidavit.
- Approval from the Forsyth County Health Department first, if the lot is served by a septic tank.
The fence can need its own paperwork. The city's permit policies list fences over 6 feet among the items that require a permit, which matters if you plan a tall privacy fence to double as the pool barrier.
A private backyard pool is not a Health Department matter otherwise. Forsyth County Environmental Health inspects public pools, a term that covers apartment, condo, hotel and club pools but not a private pool serving a single-family home and its guests.
Pool Fence Cost in the Piedmont Triad: National Ranges
We found no published source that prices pool fences by state or city, so these are national installed ranges from our pool fence cost guide. Quotes where you live can land above or below them.
| Material | Installed, per linear foot | Full breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Removable mesh | $15 to $35 | Mesh fence cost |
| Aluminum | $30 to $60 | Aluminum fence cost |
| Vinyl / PVC | $20 to $45 | Vinyl fence cost |
| Tempered glass | $90 to $500 | Glass fence cost |
National typical installed ranges, not quotes. Multiply by your fence perimeter. Some sources include one gate in the figure; extra gates, permits and hard deck surfaces add to the total. Sources: HomeGuide (Feb 3, 2026), Life Saver Pool Fence (Aug 5 and Sep 23, 2026) and Pool Guard USA (May 20, 2025). Full source list and method: pool fence cost guide. Reviewed September 2026.
Two code details move the price here. A fence that crosses from a concrete deck to lawn has to meet the tighter 2-inch gap on the lawn side, which can mean a lower bottom rail or extra grading. And if your existing privacy fence is over 6 feet and you want it to serve as the barrier, budget for the separate fence permit.
Sources
Every rule on this page traces to one of these. Links checked September 2026.
- 2018 North Carolina Residential Code, Appendix V, Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs (ICC)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-138, North Carolina State Building Code (subsections (e) and (h))
- Office of the State Fire Marshal, letter on the 2024 code effective date, March 31, 2025
- NC Licensing Board, code update, June 1, 2026
- OSFM appeal decision 2025-0209, 2018 NCRC AV105 barrier requirements
- City of Winston-Salem, Inspections Division
- City of Winston-Salem, Single Family Building Permits
- City of Winston-Salem, Inspections policies
- Forsyth County Environmental Health, public pool information
- City of Greensboro, Land Development Ordinance, Section 30-8-11.9, Swimming Pools (enCodePlus; amended by Ord. 18-46, April 24, 2018; read September 25, 2026) (fencing per the State Building Code; location behind the house; 5-foot setbacks)
- City of High Point, Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs
- Town of Cary, Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs FAQ (rev. March 11, 2026), for the Appendix V inspection checklist
- City of Rocky Mount, Residential Swimming Pools, Spas and Hot Tubs Guide, for an example of a local 60-inch rule
Frequently Asked Questions
The Triad in Short
Every pool in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point answers to the same barrier rule: Appendix V of the 2018 North Carolina Residential Code, with its 48-inch minimum and its 2-inch or 4-inch bottom gap. The 2024 code will not change that until the state lets it take effect, and that is not expected before 2027.
What you do need to get right locally is the office. Inside Forsyth County that is almost always the joint Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division, unless you are in High Point, Kernersville or King. Then read your zoning rules, show the barrier on the site plan, and build it to match what you submitted.
Full state guide: North Carolina Pool Fence Requirements: the statewide code, other cities, and the full detail. Also see the Charlotte guide.