Indiana Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
Indiana issues no homeowner burn permit and instead bans open burning generally, then carves out exemptions, so a resident may burn leaves, brush and clean wood in a burn barrel in daylight if the county has no burn ban, the day is not an Air Quality Action Day, and the town has not said otherwise.
Do you need a burn permit in Indiana?
Not from the state
Indiana requires no state permit to burn yard debris, and no part of the year is closed, so the answer is the daily check.
- Who issues it
- Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Office of Air Quality
- Issued by
- no homeowner permit; IDEM gives prior approval only for the four bigger categories, and everything else is either an exemption you follow to the letter or illegal
Open burning for fire training, disaster debris management, land clearing, and prescribed burns require IDEM’s prior approval .Open Burning, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- Prior approval from IDEM
There is no statewide permit, but residential open burning is prohibited outright in Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter counties.
No permit is not the same as no rules. Indiana still sets what may go on the pile, how far it has to be from a building, and the conditions it may be lit in, and a local ordinance can be stricter than the state on every one of those. All of it is below.
When you may burn in Indiana
Statewide dates
The state closes no part of the year, so the answer is the daily check.
Indiana sets no burning season at all: the exempt activities are open any day of the year, and what closes a day is a county burn ban, an Air Quality Action Day, high wind or nightfall.
- Who sets it
- Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Office of Air Quality
- Checked against
- Exempt Burning Activities and Required Conditions, Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Indiana’s open burning regulations generally prohibit open burning but allow some exemptions. Even if your planned activity is exempt under state rules and allowed under local ordinances you must still comply with the requirements and conditions in the applicable state rule referenced below. You must also comply with active burn bans documented on Indiana’s statewide burn ban status map .Exempt Burning Activities and Required Conditions, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The hours are part of the rule and are the piece most often missed: Indiana allows burning daylight only, and the fire must be out before sunset.
What you may and may not burn in Indiana
What the state names as burnable
- leaves
- brush
- paper
- clean wood waste
- untreated or unpainted lumber
- uncoated paper
What it names as off the pile
- trash
- household trash
- painted or treated wood
- waste tires
- asbestos-containing materials
Only burn clean wood products such as untreated or unpainted lumber, clean brush and leaves, and uncoated paper.Exempt Burning Activities and Required Conditions, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What Indiana 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 in high wind, in a temperature inversion, in stagnant air or on an Air Quality Action Day
- residential burning goes in a vented noncombustible barrel, not on the ground
- stay with the fire the whole time and put it out before sunset
- keep a hose, buckets, an extinguisher or shovels on site
- put it out at once if it becomes a nuisance or a hazard
Do not burn during high wind conditions or temperature inversions, when air is stagnant, or when an Air Quality Action Day is declared (see IDEM’s SmogWatch page for alerts).Exempt Burning Activities and Required Conditions, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in Indiana
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 Indiana it is published here.
a statewide county by county burn ban map, run by the Department of Homeland Security, plus IDEM's SmogWatch for Air Quality Action Days
Indiana Department of Homeland Security
Map : Select a county on the map or use the dropdown to select one. The county status and most recent time it was provided by the county will appear left of the map.Indiana Department of Homeland Security, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in Indiana
Local ordinances may ban the activity outright, and residential open burning is off the table statewide in Clark, Floyd, Lake and Porter counties because of federal ozone requirements.
It is not allowed: At apartment/condominium complexes, mobile home parks, and buildings with five or more dwelling units. In Clark, Floyd, Lake, or Porter counties due to federal requirements for controlling ground-level ozone pollution. In cities or counties with a local ordinance banning the activity.Open Burning, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Indiana burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
Indiana rules read September 23, 2026 from Open Burning, Indiana Department of Environmental Management. 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.