Wisconsin Burn Permit: Do You Need One and When
Wisconsin gives you a free annual burning permit online in minutes, but the permit only lets you burn brush, leaves and clean wood from your own household, and every single day you must check the DNR county restrictions after nine in the morning for whether burning is open, for how long, and how big a pile is allowed.
Do you need a burn permit in Wisconsin?
Yes, and the state issues it
Wisconsin requires a state burning permit, and no part of the year is closed, so the answer is the daily check.
- Who issues it
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Issued by
- the state DNR, instantly online or by a phone line that mails one to you, and it belongs to you rather than to your address
- What it costs
- Free
- How long it lasts
- the year, issued to a person and not to an address
Get a permit : Obtain a free permit online instantly with an email address. Or call the hotline 1-888-WIS-BURN (947-2876) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily to have a burning permit mailed to you.Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Where you get one
- Online
- Phone
- Local DNR ranger station
When you may burn in Wisconsin
Statewide dates
The state closes no part of the year, so the answer is the daily check.
Wisconsin sets no closed season but ties the permit to bare ground: you need one any day the snow has gone, and the state's own advice is to wait for snow because spring is its peak fire season.
- Who sets it
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Checked against
- Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Burning permits are required in DNR forest fire protection areas (see map below) to conduct burning of legal materials when the ground is not completely snow-covered.Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin 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: Wisconsin allows burning usually late afternoon or evening, with the exact window set by that day's county restriction.
What you may and may not burn in Wisconsin
What the state names as burnable
- Brush
- Leaves
- Pine needles
- Grass
- Clean wood
- Unrecyclable paper
- Unrecyclable cardboard
What it names as off the pile
- Garbage
- Plastics
- Shingles
- Foam
- Structures
- Furniture
- Wire
- Metal
- Electronics
- Vinyl products
- Rubber products
- Oil-based products
- Painted, stained or treated wood
Burning permits are issued to individuals wishing to burn small amounts of yard debris or clean wood from a single family household on the property where it was generated either on the ground or in burn barrels.Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What Wisconsin 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.
- carry the permit with you the whole time the fire burns
- keep clear of wind and of anything flammable next to the pile
- maintain a mineral soil firebreak around the burn area
- stay inside the day's burn hours and size limit
- make sure it is completely out before you leave
Permit holders must comply with all the conditions associated with the burning permit and take all reasonable precautions to prevent escape of the fire. The person responsible for lighting the fire is required to have a valid burning permit with them at all times while burning and must be available to present to law enforcement or firefighters if requested.Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What to check before you light in Wisconsin
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 Wisconsin it is published here.
a daily burning restrictions page by county that sets whether you may burn at all, the hours and the size limit
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Check before burning : After 9 a.m. on the day you wish to burn, check the daily burning restrictions and select the county where you plan to burn. Fire conditions change quickly, so it's important to check each day you burn to find out if burning is allowed, burning hours and any size limitations.Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
What your town can add in Wisconsin
The DNR permit does not reach inside cities and villages, which run their own permits, and a township may be far stricter than the state or forbid burning altogether.
DNR burning permits do not apply within incorporated cities and villages. These municipalities often can and do create their own burning permit requirements. In addition, some townships may choose to be much more restrictive than state law and may not allow burning at any time.Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, read September 23, 2026. Read it at the source
Wisconsin burn permit questions
Burn permits in other states
Wisconsin rules read September 23, 2026 from Wisconsin Burning Permits, Wisconsin 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.