North Dakota Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
North Dakota runs no burn permit and no burning season: state rule already authorizes brush, land clearing debris, crop burning, campfires and single family household waste any day of the year, anything outside that list needs an open burning variance signed by your health unit and fire department, and the check that actually decides your morning is the statewide burn restrictions and fire danger map, since burning is off whenever the fire index reads extreme.
Do you need a burn permit in North Dakota?
Not from the state
North Dakota 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
- North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality
- Issued by
- no permit for brush, land clearing, crop burning or a campfire; anything else needs an open burning variance signed by your district health unit and your city or rural fire department, then approved by the state or by one of four health districts
In order to legally burn any material that is not specifically listed as permissible, an application for open burning variance ( SFN-8509 ) must be signed by the local or district health unit and the city or rural fire department prior to submittal to the Department.Open Burning, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality Division of Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- No approval needed for the burning the rule already authorizes
- Open burning variance application SFN 8509 for anything else
- District health unit
- City or rural fire department
North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Air Quality's permit system
Brush, land clearing debris, crop residue and campfires are authorized any day of the year. What the state issues is a variance, for the burning that falls outside that list.
No permit is not the same as no rules. North Dakota 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 North Dakota
Statewide dates
The state closes no part of the year, so the answer is the daily check.
North Dakota sets no calendar season. Brush, land clearing debris, crop residue and campfires are authorized any day of the year, and the thing that stops you is the fire danger index or a burn restriction in your county.
- Who sets it
- North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality
- Checked against
- North Dakota Administrative Code Chapter 33.1-15-04, Open Burning Restrictions
Burning is prohibited if the fire index is in the extreme category as issued by the national weather service or if a burning ban is declared by state or local officials.North Dakota Administrative Code Chapter 33.1-15-04, Open Burning Restrictions, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What you may and may not burn in North Dakota
What the state names as burnable
- The burning of trees, brush, grass, wood, and other vegetable matter in the clearing of land, right-of-way maintenance operations, and agricultural crop burning
- Campfires and other fires used solely for recreational purposes, for ceremonial occasions, or for outdoor preparation of food
- refuse and other combustible materials generated in the operation of a domestic household, under conditions
What it names as off the pile
- rubber products (tires)
- tar paper
- asphalt shingles
- plastics
- chemically treated wood products
- trade waste
- salvage operation waste
The burning of refuse and other combustible materials generated in the operation of a domestic household if the following conditions are met: (1) No collection and disposal service is required or directed by a municipality or other government entity. (2) The material to be burned is from a building accommodating no more than one family. (3) The burning is conducted on the property on which the waste is generated.North Dakota Administrative Code Chapter 33.1-15-04, Open Burning Restrictions, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What North Dakota 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.
- do not burn upwind of or close to an occupied building
- burn only when the weather favours smoke dispersion and air mixing
- keep the smoke off any highway, public road, airport or landing strip
- someone attends and supervises the fire the whole time it is burning
- stop if state or local fire officials say conditions are unsafe
- material must be dry enough to burn cleanly and as free of dirt as you can manage
j. Burning activities must be attended and supervised at all times burning is in progress. k. If state or local fire officials determine conditions to be unsafe for open burning, such burning must cease until conditions are deemed safe by such officials.North Dakota Administrative Code Chapter 33.1-15-04, Open Burning Restrictions, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in North Dakota
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 North Dakota it is published here.
a statewide map of burn restrictions, fire danger ratings, red flag warnings and local fire emergency declarations
North Dakota Department of Emergency Services
It is critical that you verify current restrictions before burning or participating in outdoor activities as conditions may develop throughout the day, such as issuance of a Red Flag Warning, that results in a change in restriction status. Our all-in-one map (link below) enables users to check for Burn Restrictions, Fire Danger ratings, Red Flag warnings, and local declarations within one intuitive tool.North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in North Dakota
Counties, tribes, cities and land management agencies each set their own burn restrictions, and a local restriction beats a state variance.
Please Note: Although the NDDEQ does not issues burn restrictions, those local decisions would supercede a burn variance. More information on burn restrictions is located at ndresponse.gov .Open Burning, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality Division of Air Quality, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
North Dakota burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
North Dakota rules read September 23, 2026 from Open Burning, North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality Division of 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.