Washington, state permit, with a daily check

Washington Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When

Q: Do I need a permit to burn leaves in Washington?

Yes. Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Wildland Fire Management Division issues it, online, paper application and local fire district.

Q: What can't you burn in Washington?

Washington names Paper, cardboard, or junk mail, Construction debris, lumber, or treated wood, Petroleum products, Plastics, Rubber and Metal among others. The lists across the fifty states agree on a core of it: tires, treated and painted wood, plastics, roofing and household garbage. The full list is quoted below from the state.

Q: How much does a burn permit cost in Washington?

Washington's permit costs $105.50 for a permit covering under 100 tons of consumable debris, rising with tonnage. The state takes the application online. Read on September 23, 2026, and a fee can change; the agency's page is linked below.

Q: Does a burn ban override a permit in Washington?

A permit or a notification settles whether you may burn at all. Whether today is a day for it is a separate question, answered each morning by fire danger ratings, burn bans and air quality forecasts, and several states revoke permits outright when the weather turns. Washington State Department of Natural Resources posts that check, linked below.

Washington lets you burn a small natural vegetation pile without a permit if you meet DNR's rule burn conditions, needs a paid DNR permit through its online burn portal for anything larger on forest land, bans most burning inside urban growth areas, and requires you to check the fire danger and burn ban for your county on the day you light.

State permit

Permit for yard debris

Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Wildland Fire Management Division

No closed season

When burning is closed

the daily check is the answer

$105.50 for a permit covering under 100 tons of consumable debris, rising with tonnage

What the permit costs

Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Wildland Fire Management Division

Published

Daily check

Washington State Department of Natural Resources

The answer

Do you need a burn permit in Washington?

A state permit

Yes, and the state issues it

Washington requires a state burning permit, and no part of the year is closed, so the answer is the daily check.

Who issues it: Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Wildland Fire Management Division
Issued by: DNR through its statewide online burn portal on forest land; off forest land the local fire district gives permission and a local clean air agency may require its own permit
What it costs: $105.50 for a permit covering under 100 tons of consumable debris, rising with tonnage

For burn piles that do not meet the requirements of a Rule Burn, a Burn Permit is needed from DNR. DNR does not permit burning of debris from land clearing operations.

Burn Permits, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Where you get one

Online
Paper application
Local fire district

Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Wildland Fire Management Division's permit system

When

When you may burn in Washington

Statewide dates

The state closes no part of the year, so the answer is the daily check.

Washington sets no statewide open and close dates; a small pile may be burned on any day no burn ban is in force, and DNR only shrinks the allowed pile size from July 1 to October 15.

Who sets it: Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Checked against: Rules for Burning Without a Permit, Washington State Department of Natural Resources

When there is no burn ban, you may burn following these conditions.

Rules for Burning Without a Permit, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Piles of brush burnt down to rings of white ash on a forest floor with smoke drifting through the pines, a single crew member in yellow standing at a distance watching them — Piles burnt down to ash at the Grand Canyon, with one person left standing over them. Almost every state permit carries the same condition in some wording: somebody stays with the fire until it is out. That attendance requirement, not the paperwork, is what most permits are really about. “Grand Canyon National Park - Prescribed Pile Burning, May, 2019”, Grand Canyon NPS, CC BY 2.0

What may burn

What you may and may not burn in Washington

What the state names as burnable

natural vegetation
dry yard and garden waste
dry, seasoned firewood

What it names as off the pile

Paper, cardboard, or junk mail
Construction debris, lumber, or treated wood
Petroleum products
Plastics
Rubber
Metal
Dead animals
Asphalt
Anything that emits toxins or bad odors when burned

Burning garbage or construction debris is illegal. This includes: Paper, cardboard, or junk mail; Construction debris, lumber, or treated wood; Petroleum products; Plastics; Rubber; Metal; Dead animals; Asphalt; Anything that emits toxins or bad odors when burned

Outdoor and residential burning, Washington State Department of Ecology, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

The conditions

What Washington 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.

only one pile burning at a time, and it must be out before the next is lit
pile no larger than four feet from July 1 to October 15, ten feet from October 16 through June 30, with tighter county limits either way
pile at least 50 feet from structures and 500 feet from any forest slash
burn only natural vegetation, not yard and garden debris off improved property
do not burn if trees are swaying, flags are extended, or waves appear on open water
keep a connected hose or five gallons of water and a shovel at hand
attend the fire until it is completely out
burn barrels are illegal anywhere in the state

The winds are calm or light. It is too windy to burn if trees are swaying, flags are extended, or waves appear on open water.

Rules for Burning Without a Permit, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

The morning of

What to check before you light in Washington

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 Washington it is published here.

a DNR fire danger and burn restriction lookup you are required to check the day you light, backed by a statewide burn line, plus Ecology's air quality burn ban check

Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Call the DNR burn line (800-323-BURN) or visit https://fortress.wa.gov/dnr/protection/firedanger/ each day of ignition prior to lighting any fire. The instructions provided for the county you are burning in, including fire danger and air quality burn bans, become a condition of burning.

Washington State Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

A volunteer fire department letter board reading BURN BAN IN EFFECT above a Smokey Bear fire danger sign showing HIGH, with a red flag flying beside it — A volunteer fire department in Florence, Texas, posting the answer on its own sign. A burn ban is usually declared by a county judge or a local fire authority, and it closes burning that a state permit would otherwise allow. Whatever the season says, the ban is the last word. “Florence Texas VFD Burn Ban Sign”, Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0

Your town

What your town can add in Washington

Local clean air agencies regulate burning in the counties that have one, and Ecology covers only the counties that do not, so the rule a reader lives under depends on the county; fire districts and tribes can also close burning on their own.

We regulate burning of land clearing debris and residential yard waste in counties with no local clean air agency.

Burn Permits, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source

Washington burn permit questions

Do I need a permit to burn leaves in Washington?

When can you burn in Washington?

How do I find out if there is a burn ban in Washington today?

What can't you burn in Washington?

What are the rules for a legal burn pile in Washington?

How much does a burn permit cost in Washington?

Who do I call before burning in Washington?

Does a burn ban override a permit in Washington?

Washington rules read September 23, 2026 from Burn Permits, Washington State 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.