California Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
In California you need a written CAL FIRE burn permit anywhere the state is responsible for fire protection, you need your local air district's permit and burn season on top of it, and you can only light on a day the air district has called a permissive burn day.
Do you need a burn permit in California?
Yes, and the state issues it
California requires a state burning permit, and the dates come from your town, county or fire district.
- Who issues it
- California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE)
- Issued by
- CAL FIRE or its authorized representative in a state responsibility area, with a separate burn permit and burn day clearance from the local air district
A person shall not burn any brush, stumps, logs, fallen timber, fallows, slash, grass-covered land, brush-covered land, forest-covered land, or other flammable material, in any state responsibility area, area receiving fire protection by the department by contract, or upon federal lands administered by the United States Department of Agriculture or Department of the Interior, unless the person has a written permit from the department or its duly authorized representative or the authorized federal officer on federal lands administered by the United States Department of Agriculture or of the Interior and in strict accordance with the terms of the permit: (a) At any time in Zone A. (b) At any time in Zone B between May 1st and the date the director declares, by proclamation, that the hazardous fire conditions have abated for that year, or at any other time in Zone B during any year when the director has declared, by proclamation, that unusual fire hazard conditions exist in the area.Public Resources Code, Division 4, Part 2, Chapter 6, Article 2, Section 4423, California Legislative Information, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- CAL FIRE unit office
- Local air district
The season is the air district’s to set, and even inside it burning is legal only on a day the air agency has called a permissive burn day.
When you may burn in California
Statewide dates
The state sets no dates. Your town, county or fire district does.
California sets no single statewide open burning window; the local air district sets the burn season for its area, and burning is only legal on a day the air quality agency has called a permissive burn day.
- Who sets it
- California Air Resources Board
- Checked against
- Agricultural Burning, California Air Resources Board
Burning is allowed only on Permissive Burn Days, which are issued based on the forecast of air quality and meteorological conditions that can affect smoke dispersion. All burn permit holders must comply with fire protection agency requirements.Agricultural Burning, California Air Resources Board, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in California
A permit or a season says you may burn in general. What says you may burn today is separate, it changes daily on a wind and humidity forecast, and it overrides a permit already in hand. In California it is published here.
a daily burn day call, published the afternoon before as permissive burn, no burn or marginal
California Air Resources Board
Permissive Burn, No Burn or Marginal 24-hour decisions are based on air quality and meteorological conditions. Decisions are updated by 3:00 p.m. daily for the following day.California Air Resources Board, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in California
The local air district runs its own burn permit and burn season on top of the CAL FIRE permit, and CAL FIRE can suspend permits by proclamation when fire conditions are bad.
CARB supports the state's mission to protect our natural and working lands through the safe, beneficial burning of cropland wastes and accumulated wildland debris. Our agricultural and prescribed burning programs support local decisions to ensure that public health and safety are protected during managed burns.Public Resources Code, Division 4, Part 2, Chapter 6, Article 2, Section 4423, California Legislative Information, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
California burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
California rules read September 23, 2026 from Public Resources Code, Division 4, Part 2, Chapter 6, Article 2, Section 4423, California Legislative Information. Rules change, a county or town may be stricter than the state, and a burn ban issued today overrides a season that is otherwise open. Every state is on the burn permit hub.