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Hawaii, prohibited, with a daily check

Hawaii Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When

Hawaii is a no burning state for a homeowner: backyard burning of garbage and yard waste has been banned on every island since 2012, and the only permit the health department issues is an agricultural burning permit for a working farm's own green waste, granted after an application and a site inspection.

Prohibited
Permit for yard debris
Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch
No end date
When burning is closed
the state dates are narrower than the state
Published
Daily check
Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch
The answer

Do you need a burn permit in Hawaii?

Backyard burning is prohibited

No permit is available

Hawaii does not permit backyard burning of yard waste or garbage at all.

Who issues it
Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch
Issued by
the state health department's Clean Air Branch, on a paper application followed by an on-site inspection, and only to a working farm
The DOH-CAB regulates the open burning activities in the State and has the authority to administer the Agricultural Burning Permit (AGP) program. To burn green waste generated from their agricultural operations, legitimate agricultural businesses must obtain an AGP.
Open Burning and Agricultural Burning Permits in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Where you get one

  • Paper application form from the Clean Air Branch permit page
  • On-site inspection
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When

When you may burn in Hawaii

Hawaii is one of the states where a pair of dates on its own gives the wrong answer. What follows is the rule in the agency's own words, with the shape of the season named above it.

No end date

There is no open burning season in Hawaii. Backyard burning of garbage and yard waste has been prohibited on every island since January 2012, and the only routine open burning the state permits is agricultural burning by a working farm.

Who sets it
Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch
Checked against
Open Burning and Agricultural Burning Permits in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch
Generally open burning is prohibited with a few exceptions such as cooking, fire training, and agricultural burning with a valid permit. Other types of open burning require approval from DOH-CAB. Since January 2012, “backyard” burning of garbage and yard waste has been prohibited on all islands.
Open Burning and Agricultural Burning Permits in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
  1. HawaiiNo end date

    There is no open burning season in Hawaii. Backyard burning of garbage and yard waste has been prohibited on every island since January 2012, and the only routine open burning the state permits is agricultural burning by a working farm.

Piles of brush burnt down to rings of white ash on a forest floor with smoke drifting through the pines, a single crew member in yellow standing at a distance watching them
Piles burnt down to ash at the Grand Canyon, with one person left standing over them. Almost every state permit carries the same condition in some wording: somebody stays with the fire until it is out. That attendance requirement, not the paperwork, is what most permits are really about. “Grand Canyon National Park - Prescribed Pile Burning, May, 2019”, Grand Canyon NPS, CC BY 2.0
What may burn

What you may and may not burn in Hawaii

What the state names as burnable

  • green waste generated from agricultural activities

What it names as off the pile

  • logs
  • tree stumps
  • branches or any green waste greater than 4" in diameter
  • trash or anything not from your farm
  • waste from factories or processed materials
  • burning to clear land
  • backyard burning of garbage and yard waste
DON'T Burn logs, tree stumps, branches or any green waste greater than 4" in diameter. Burn trash or anything not from your farm or waste from factories or processed materials. Burn to clear land. Agricultural burning is not allowed during mandatory No Burn Periods, listed at health.hawaii.gov/cab.
Agricultural Burning Permits fact sheet, updated July 25, 2025, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The conditions

What Hawaii 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.

  • the operation has to be an existing farm or agricultural education operation, not a landowner clearing a lot
  • you submit a map of the burn area showing prevailing wind direction and nearby homes, schools, buildings, airports, highways and utilities
  • a water source able to put the fire out has to be on hand
  • an inspector visits the site before the permit is issued
  • the permit itself carries conditions on notification, where and when you may burn and what you may burn
Plan Ahead: You must submit an application and schedule an in-person inspection to receive a permit. Have an Existing Agricultural Operation: Agricultural burning is available for existing agricultural operations only. Create a map of the burn location that includes key details: prevailing wind direction, nearby homes, schools, buildings, airports, highways, and utilities. Ensure that you have a water source available that can extinguish the fire.
Agricultural Burning Permits fact sheet, updated July 25, 2025, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The morning of

What to check before you light in Hawaii

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 Hawaii it is published here.

the state's list of mandatory No Burn Periods by island and district, posted on the Clean Air Branch home page

Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch

The Clean Air Branch is issuing a mandatory No Burn Period for the following areas: ... Agricultural and conditionally allowed open burning is prohibited while a No Burn Period is in effect unless a waiver is provided by the Director.
Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
A volunteer fire department letter board reading BURN BAN IN EFFECT above a Smokey Bear fire danger sign showing HIGH, with a red flag flying beside it
A volunteer fire department in Florence, Texas, posting the answer on its own sign. A burn ban is usually declared by a county judge or a local fire authority, and it closes burning that a state permit would otherwise allow. Whatever the season says, the ban is the last word. “Florence Texas VFD Burn Ban Sign”, Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0
Your town

What your town can add in Hawaii

Other government agencies can restrict agricultural burning further in drought or fire danger, and the state issues its own No Burn Periods by district on top of the permit.

Agricultural burning may be further restricted by government agencies in times of drought, fire hazards or “No-Burn” periods.
Open Burning and Agricultural Burning Permits in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Hawaii burn permit questions

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Burn permits in other states

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Hawaii rules read September 23, 2026 from Open Burning and Agricultural Burning Permits in Hawaii, Hawaii State Department of Health, Clean Air Branch. 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.