Missouri Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
Missouri issues no state burn permit and sets no burning season: the state air rule lets you burn yard waste and untreated wood between sunrise and sunset well away from other people's buildings, bans tires, treated wood, roofing and household trash from larger properties outright, and everything else comes down to your local fire department, which is also who tells you whether a burn ban is on today.
Do you need a burn permit in Missouri?
Not from the state
Missouri requires no state permit to burn yard debris, and the dates come from your town, county or fire district.
- Who issues it
- Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Air Conservation Commission
- Issued by
- no state permit; the state rule sets conditions and tells you to notify the local fire department, and a city or county may require its own permit
The local fire control or other authority with jurisdiction shall be notified of the burning activities prior to initiation;10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- Notify the local fire department before you light
No permit is not the same as no rules. Missouri 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 Missouri
Statewide dates
The state sets no dates. Your town, county or fire district does.
Missouri sets no statewide open burning season. The state rule allows burning of vegetative waste and untreated wood year round under fixed conditions, bans a named list of materials outright, and leaves the timing to local authorities and to whatever burn ban is in place.
- Who sets it
- Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Air Conservation Commission
- Checked against
- 10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Open burning that causes or constitutes a public health hazard, a hazard to vehicular or air traffic, is composed of material listed in subsection (3)(A) of this rule, or violates any other rule or statute, is not allowed unless specified otherwise. A public health hazard is to be as determined by the local fire department, police department, health department, or other local authorities on a case-by-case basis.10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
The hours are part of the rule and are the piece most often missed: Missouri allows burning between sunrise and sunset.
What you may and may not burn in Missouri
What the state names as burnable
- Vegetative waste
- Tree trunks, tree limbs, tree trimmings, vegetation, and yard waste
- Untreated wood
What it names as off the pile
- Petroleum-based materials, including but not limited to, tires, asphalt roofing material, carpet, and used oils
- Asbestos containing materials
- Trade waste, except untreated wood
- Construction or demolition waste, except untreated wood
- Salvage operation waste
- Household waste on or from properties with five (5) or more residential units, such as mobile home parks or multi-family dwellings
- Household waste originated from another's property
- Durable goods
The following materials must not be disposed of by open burning: 1. Petroleum-based materials, including but not limited to, tires, asphalt roofing material, carpet, and used oils; 2. Asbestos containing materials; 3. Trade waste, except untreated wood; 4. Construction or demolition waste, except untreated wood; 5. Salvage operation waste; 6. Household waste on or from properties with five (5) or more residential units, such as mobile home parks or multi-family dwellings; 7. Household waste originated from another’s property; or 8. Durable goods.10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What Missouri 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.
- burn only between sunrise and sunset
- stay at least 200 yards from the nearest structure you do not own
- someone supervises the fire the whole time
- notify the local fire department before you light
- no burning on an ozone alert day in an ozone non-attainment or maintenance area
1. Burning is to take place only between sunrise and sunset; 2. Burning is to occur at least two hundred (200) yards from the nearest structure not owned by the party conducting the burning, unless an Air Curtain Incinerator is used and— A. Waivers are obtained from the owner or occupant of the structure; or B. The local fire department provides approval in those circumstances where the distance cannot be maintained; 3. Burning is to be supervised at all times; 4. The local fire control or other authority with jurisdiction shall be notified of the burning activities prior to initiation;10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in Missouri
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 Missouri it is published here.
a call to your local fire department, which is where Missouri burn bans are declared and tracked
Missouri Department of Conservation
Ask your local fire department if there is a burn ban in place.Missouri Department of Conservation, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in Missouri
Local authorities decide case by case whether a fire is a public health hazard, declare the burn bans, and may require a permit the state does not.
A public health hazard is to be as determined by the local fire department, police department, health department, or other local authorities on a case-by-case basis. The staff director reserves the right to prohibit or restrict open burning where burning is considered detrimental to air quality standards.10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Missouri burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
Missouri rules read September 23, 2026 from 10 CSR 10-6.045 Open Burning Requirements, Missouri Department of Natural Resources. 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.