Chapter 90 is the state-specific part
Wisconsin's fence statute defines legal fences, assigns duties in qualifying agricultural situations, and creates a fence-viewer process. Section 90.03 ties the partition-fence obligation to adjoining lands used and occupied for farming or grazing. Do not assume the statute makes every city neighbor responsible for half of a backyard fence.
On agricultural land, the town's fence viewers can have a formal role. A surveyor determines the boundary; a fence viewer applies the statutory fence process. Those are separate jobs.
A residential project starts with the municipality
Local treatment can differ. The City of Madison, for example, does not require a building permit for a residential fence but does regulate placement and height and tells owners to identify their lot lines. Ask your city, village, or town what applies to the exact address and what evidence it accepts for the line.
Do not confuse three lines
A boundary line divides ownership. A setback is a zoning distance measured from a boundary or another stated reference. An easement is an area where another party has recorded rights. A fence can be inside the boundary and still conflict with an easement or local requirements. Madison's guidance, for example, treats lot-line identification, placement, height, and utility easements as separate checks. Local approval of an applicant's plan does not itself prove that the sketched boundary is correct.
When a professional boundary check earns its cost
Have the line evaluated when monuments cannot be verified, an existing fence is the only evidence, the lot has curves or an irregular description, the route is wooded, or the neighbor disagrees. Tell a professional land surveyor whose credential you verify through Wisconsin DSPS whether the installer needs corners, intermediate line stakes, or a signed map.
Send the deed, subdivision or certified survey map, title documents, prior survey, and proposed fence route. Photograph the survey marks, walk the route with the installer, and request utility marking separately before digging.