South Dakota Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
South Dakota runs no statewide burn permit and no burning season, and state law says the state cannot ban open burning outright: the Wildland Fire Division issues permits inside the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District, everywhere else the question is your city or county ordinance, and the state's own guidance is to burn between three hours after sunrise and three hours before sunset, keep tires, treated wood and shingles out of the pile, and tell the fire department first.
Do you need a burn permit in South Dakota?
Yes, and your town or county issues it
South Dakota leaves the permit to your town, county or fire district, and the dates come from your town, county or fire district.
- Who issues it
- South Dakota Wildland Fire Division
- Issued by
- the Wildland Fire Division inside the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District; everywhere else it is your city or county, and there is no statewide permit
South Dakota's Wildland Fire Division requires that a person obtain an open burning permit for burns in the Black Hills Forest Protection District. A person may view a map that outlines the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District and obtain the open burning permit by visiting the Wildland Fire Division's webpage(s) at https://wildlandfire.sd.gov/ or https://wildlandfire.sd.gov/burnpermits/burnpermits.aspx .Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- Wildland Fire Division, inside the Black Hills Forest Fire Protection District
- City or county 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 South Dakota itself publishes is below, and it is worth having in hand before you ring.
When you may burn in South Dakota
Statewide dates
The state sets no dates. Your town, county or fire district does.
South Dakota sets no statewide burning season and, by statute, cannot ban open burning across the state at all. Whether you can burn, and when, is decided by your municipality or your county.
- Who sets it
- South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Checked against
- Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Any general prohibition against all open burning shall be determined by each municipality or by each county for areas outside the boundaries of the municipalities. The board may not adopt any rule generally prohibiting all open burning, but any board rule regulating open burning shall be only as is necessary to address a specific problem.Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and 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: South Dakota allows burning between three hours after sunrise and three hours before sunset.
What you may and may not burn in South Dakota
What the state names as burnable
- Land clearing
- Right-of-way maintenance operations
- Agricultural crop burning
- Prescribed fires to manage ecosystems
- Elimination of fire hazards
- Untreated lumber scraps and trees
- Recreational or ceremonial campfires
- Fire training
What it names as off the pile
- Oils
- rubber
- tarpaper
- asphalt shingles
- tires
- railroad ties
- treated wood
- pesticide containers
- materials containing asbestos
- coated electrical wire
Oils, rubber, tarpaper, asphalt shingles, tires, railroad ties, treated wood, pesticide containers, materials containing asbestos, coated electrical wire, and any other material creating unreasonable amounts of smoke or air pollutants may not be burned.Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What South 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.
- burn between three hours after sunrise and three hours before sunset, and add no fuel outside those hours
- let the prevailing wind carry smoke away from any town or occupied house
- keep dirt out of the pile so it does not smoulder
- do not obscure visibility or make a traffic hazard on a public road or airport right of way
- tell your local fire department, the nearest municipality, the county sheriff and any nearby airport before you light
- someone watches the fire until it is out
Open burning should be conducted between three hours after sunrise and three hours before sunset. This allows for good smoke dispersion. Air inversions that would trap the smoke at breathing level are less likely to occur between these hours. Additionally, fuel should not be added outside the timelines listed above. An open burn should be extinguished completely to ensure smoldering of material does not persist;Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in South 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 South Dakota it is published here.
a call to your city or county, and to the land manager if you are on park or forest land, since South Dakota publishes no statewide burn ban page
It should be noted that there could be restrictions to burning in the area you are planning to burn. You will want to contact your local government (city or county), National Park Service, State Park Service, National Forest Service or State Forest Service if you are planning to burn in these areas for prior approval.South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026
What your town can add in South Dakota
South Dakota law hands the decision to ban open burning to each municipality and county, so the local ordinance is the rule that governs your pile.
To determine if there are opening burning or nuisance requirements in your area, the best place to check is the County's States Attorney's Office or the City Attorney's Office.Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
South Dakota burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
South Dakota rules read September 23, 2026 from Air Quality Guidelines for Open Burning, South Dakota Department of Agriculture and 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.