Delaware Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
Delaware bans most open burning from May 1 through September 30 for ozone season, and for the rest of the year a homeowner may burn yard and garden material without any written approval as long as they phone their county fire board first, never burn leaves, grass clippings or garbage, and check that the day is not an Air Quality Action Day.
Do you need a burn permit in Delaware?
No, but you have to tell someone first
Delaware does not issue a burning permit. It asks you to notify someone before you light, and open burning is closed May 1 through September 30.
- Who issues it
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Air Quality
- Issued by
- nobody, for a homeowner: no written approval is needed, but you must phone your county fire board before you light branches or shrubbery. Written approval is required for prescribed burns, agricultural burns and fire training.
Homeowners do not require written approval to burn. However, they must notify their county fire board before burning cut or fallen branches, limbs, or shrubbery from their residence, unless the fire is recreational.Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- Notify your county fire board before burning
- New Castle County fire board 302-571-7331
- Kent County fire board 302-734-6040
- Sussex County fire board 302-856-6306
When you may burn in Delaware
Statewide dates
Open burning is closed May 1 through September 30.
Delaware shuts most open burning for the whole ozone season, May 1 through September 30, leaving camping, cooking and ceremonial fires; the rest of the year burning is allowed subject to the daily air quality forecast and any ban from the State Fire Marshal.
- Who sets it
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Air Quality
- Checked against
- Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Most open burning is prohibited in Delaware from May 1 through September 30, typically referred to as “Ozone Season.” Exemptions include camping, cooking, and ceremonial fires.Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What you may and may not burn in Delaware
What the state names as burnable
- residential burning of small amounts of yard/garden material by a homeowner
- cut or fallen branches, limbs, or shrubbery from their residence
- recreational burning such as cooking fires, campfires, patio fire pits or ceremonial bonfires by organized groups
- agricultural burning for crop residue, field maintenance and land clearing for agricultural operations
- prescribed burning for forest and land management
What it names as off the pile
- waste and garbage
- fallen leaves and grass clippings
- material generated from land clearing, except for agriculture
Five types of open burning activities are allowed by Delaware’s Open Burning Regulation when not prohibited by time of year, air quality condition, the State Fire Marshal, or National Weather Service: Residential burning of small amounts of yard/garden material by a homeowner. Recreational burning such as cooking fires, campfires, patio fire pits or ceremonial bonfires by organized groups. Demolition of structures by intentional burning for the purposes of firefighting instruction. Prescribed burning for forest and land management. Agricultural burning for crop residue, field maintenance and land clearing for agricultural operations.Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What Delaware asks of the weather and the site
Setbacks, wind limits and what has to be on hand. These are written into the rule rather than offered as advice.
- no burning on an Air Quality Action Day, Code Orange or Code Red
- no burning while the National Weather Service has a red flag warning out
- no burning while the State Fire Marshal has a county or statewide ban in place
- check the air quality forecast the day you plan to burn
The National Weather Service may issue a red flag warning against open burning activity due to unfavorable weather conditions that may result in dangerous fire conditions.Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in Delaware
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 Delaware it is published here.
Delaware's daily air quality forecast, because all open burning is off on an Air Quality Action Day even if it was already approved
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Air Quality
All open burning is prohibited on Air Quality Action days when Delaware’s air quality has been forecast as unhealthy by the Regional Air Quality Partnership . This includes any burning activity which may have been previously approved.Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in Delaware
Delaware's State Fire Marshal can ban open burning in one county or across the whole state, and the county fire board is the office a homeowner notifies before burning.
The Delaware State Fire Marshal may issue a ban against open burning activity in individual counties or statewide.Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Delaware burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
Delaware rules read September 23, 2026 from Open Burning, Division of Air Quality, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. 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.