Kentucky Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
Kentucky issues no statewide burn permit, so the question is timing rather than paperwork: during the spring and fall forest fire hazard seasons you may not burn within 150 feet of woods or brush between 6 am and 6 pm, eight counties shut brush and leaf burning down entirely from May through September, and your county judge-executive can put a ban on top of all of it.
Do you need a burn permit in Kentucky?
Yes, and your town or county issues it
Kentucky leaves the permit to your town, county or fire district, and the season it sets, Feb 15 to Apr 30, closes the daylight hours rather than the days.
- Who issues it
- Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, Division for Air Quality
- Issued by
- nobody at the state level. Kentucky runs no statewide burn permit for yard and brush fires: the state writes the rules, the Division of Forestry enforces the fire hazard seasons, and where a permit is needed at all it is a city or county one.
Except when a fire emergency is declared, small wood fires for warmth, cooking and camping are generally permitted across Kentucky. In some areas, local ordinances may require a burn permit first; always check with your local government before burning.Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- Local government
That makes your town, county or fire district the office with the answer, and it is usually a short call: they say whether a permit is being issued at all right now, what it covers and what it costs. What Kentucky itself publishes is below, and it is worth having in hand before you ring.
When you may burn in Kentucky
Kentucky 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.
Hours, not daysMore than one window
Kentucky runs two forest fire hazard seasons, Feb. 15 through Apr. 30 in spring and Oct. 1 through Dec. 15 in fall. They do not close burning outright: inside them, burning within 150 feet of woodland or brushland is legal only between 6 pm and 6 am, so a daytime brush pile near the woods is out.
There is a second window, October 1 through December 15: the fall fire hazard season, on the same 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. rule near woodland.
- Who sets it
- Kentucky Division of Forestry
- Checked against
- Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality
Oct. 1 – Dec. 15 and Feb. 15 – Apr. 30: Burning within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland area is allowed only in the evening hours between 6 pm and 6 am.Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Kentucky runs two forest fire hazard seasons, Feb. 15 through Apr. 30 in spring and Oct. 1 through Dec. 15 in fall. They do not close burning outright: inside them, burning within 150 feet of woodland or brushland is legal only between 6 pm and 6 am, so a daytime brush pile near the woods is out.
The hours are part of the rule and are the piece most often missed: Kentucky allows burning in fire hazard season, only between 6 pm and 6 am within 150 feet of woodland or brushland.
What you may and may not burn in Kentucky
What the state names as burnable
- fires for cooking
- recreational and ceremonial fires
- construction site warming fires (contained, clean lumber only)
- fires set for recognized agricultural practices
- prescribed burning for forest, range, ecological, or wildlife management
- fires set for weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention
- fires set to dispose of natural growth from land clearing and storms
- fires for disposal of household paper products
- fires set for the prevention of a fire hazard
What it names as off the pile
- animal bedding
- hay
- muck piles
- grass clippings
- agricultural plastic
- structures of any kind including barns, sheds, and trailers
- construction, demolition, or renovation debris
- asbestos
- shingles
- drywall
- food scraps
- plastic or products containing plastic
- cans
- glass
- styrofoam
- diapers
- fence posts
- wood mulch, chips, or shavings
- sawdust
- painted, stained, or pressure-treated wood
- all wooden building materials
- tires
- furniture
- carpeting
Always check local laws before you burn. Except for certain restrictions marked by an *, state regulation allows the following open burning activities:Allowable Open Burning and Prohibited Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What Kentucky 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.
- all open burning stops when a fire emergency is declared
- within 150 feet of woodland or brushland during a fire hazard season, burn only between 6 pm and 6 am
- in eight named counties from May 1 through September 30, household rubbish, brush, tree limbs, leaves and natural growth from land clearing may not be burned at all
- open burning is restricted in Jefferson County all year, not only in ozone season
- check the county and city rules first, because they can be stricter than the state's
From May 1 through September 30, open burning in Boone, Boyd, Bullitt, Campbell, Jefferson, Kenton, Lawrence (partial), and Oldham counties is restricted to protect air quality. During ozone season, outdoor burning of household rubbish, brush, tree limbs, leaves and natural growth from land clearing are not permitted in these counties. Open burning is restricted year-round in Jefferson County, not just during ozone season.Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in Kentucky
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 Kentucky it is published here.
the Division of Forestry's county burn ban list, which names the counties and cities the division knows to be under a ban
The following is a list of counties and/or cities with a burn ban in effect. These are the counties and/or cities known to the division. County Judge-Executives can issue local burn bans under KRS 149.401. The division isn't always notified when a burn ban is issued. Therefore, it is always best to check with your local fire department or your county judge-executive's office.Kentucky Division of Forestry, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in Kentucky
Counties and cities may be stricter than the state, and they are the ones who close burning day to day: a county judge-executive issues the burn ban, and some local governments require a permit the state does not.
Always check local ordinances, which may be more stringent than state regulations.Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Kentucky burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
Kentucky rules read September 23, 2026 from Open Burning, Kentucky Division for Air Quality. 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.