Mississippi Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
The Mississippi Forestry Commission issues burn permits only for forestry and agricultural fires, and only after the day's fire weather clears, while burning leaves and yard debris at a house is left to your county or city and is barred outright where no MDEQ approved local ordinance is in place.
Do you need a burn permit in Mississippi?
Yes, and the state issues it
Mississippi requires a state burning permit, and the dates come from your town, county or fire district.
- Who issues it
- Mississippi Forestry Commission
- Issued by
- the state forestry commission, through an online application, and only for forestry and agricultural burning. Residential leaf and yard waste burning is not something MFC permits at all: the state rule sends a homeowner to the county or city instead.
- How long it lasts
- one burn, applied for as a day burn or a night burn, with the hours set from sunrise and sunset
The Mississippi Forestry Commission issues burning permits based on the daily fire weather forecast. Permits are required for any fire set for a recognized agricultural and/or forestry purpose.Burning Info, Mississippi Forestry Commission, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The Forestry Commission permit covers forestry and agricultural burning. Residential burning of household rubbish is prohibited unless the county has an ordinance the Department of Environmental Quality has approved.
When you may burn in Mississippi
Statewide dates
The state sets no dates. Your town, county or fire district does.
Mississippi sets no statewide open burning season. Burning household and yard waste is prohibited by state air rule unless the county or city has its own open burning ordinance that MDEQ has approved, and it is counties that close burning for a stretch by asking for a burn ban.
- Who sets it
- Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
- Checked against
- Open Burning, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
The open burning of residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial solid waste, is prohibited with certain exceptions. Permits for agricultural and silvicultural open burning are issued by the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC).Open Burning, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The hours are part of the rule and are the piece most often missed: Mississippi allows burning the permit itself sets the window, and it is built from sunrise and sunset and the day's smoke dispersion.
What you may and may not burn in Mississippi
What the state names as burnable
- agricultural wastes in the field
- silvicultural wastes for forest management purposes
- land-clearing debris
- debris from emergency clean-up operations
What it names as off the pile
- residential solid waste
- commercial solid waste
- institutional solid waste
- industrial solid waste
- rubber tires
- plastic materials
- garbage
- rubbish containing garbage or other putrescible materials
- hazardous wastes
The open burning of residential, commercial, institutional, or industrial solid waste, is prohibited, except as specified herein. This prohibition does not apply to infrequent burning of agricultural wastes in the field, silvicultural wastes for forest management purposes, land-clearing debris, debris from emergency clean-up operations, and ordnance; and permitted open burning at hazardous waste disposal facilities subject to regulation under Subtitle C of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).Mississippi Open Burning Laws and Requirements (Updated 2025), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What Mississippi 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 permit is issued while a county burn ban is active
- no permit is issued on red flag fire weather
- no permit is issued during an air quality alert from MDEQ
- no permit is issued when the smoke dispersion forecast is poor
- day permits open only once the morning fire weather is posted, usually between 6 AM and 7 AM
- night permits open only once the evening fire weather is posted, usually around 3 PM to 4 PM
Day burns – If the mixing height (m/AGL) and transport wind (m/s) values are (< 890 and 3) or (<500 and 4), a permit cannot be issued. Night burns – If the stagnation index is 3, a permit cannot be issued.MFC Burn Permit, Mississippi Forestry Commission, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in Mississippi
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 Mississippi it is published here.
the forestry commission's county burn ban page, which is also the first thing the permit system checks before it will issue
Mississippi Forestry Commission
Burn bans are restrictions on outdoor burning during drought or wildfire conditions. The County Board of Supervisors normally requests burn bans, and the Mississippi Forestry Commission approves the requests. All burn bans expire at midnight on the stated date of expiration.Mississippi Forestry Commission, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in Mississippi
Residential burning is a county and city matter in Mississippi. State rule bans burning leaves and yard waste at a house unless the county board of supervisors or the municipality has an open burning ordinance that MDEQ has approved, and it is the county board that asks for a burn ban when conditions turn dry.
Contact the appropriate county or city officials regarding local ordinances.Burning Info, Mississippi Forestry Commission, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Mississippi burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
Mississippi rules read September 23, 2026 from Burning Info, Mississippi Forestry Commission. 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.