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Tennessee, 2026 season, 5 offices

Tennessee Firewood Permits 2026: Prices, Seasons and Rules

Tennessee state forests hand out free firewood permits for marked collection areas and the Cherokee National Forest sells firewood permits at its ranger district offices, while a state quarantine keeps untreated firewood from outside Tennessee out of the state entirely.

5
Offices selling permits
1 federal, 4 state
On the office page
Price per cord
set district by district
Quarantine
Bringing wood in
Tennessee Dept of Agriculture
State rule
Where the rule lives
Simplified Guide: TN Firewood Quarantine Rules, Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Office by office

Where to buy a firewood permit in Tennessee

5 offices in Tennessee sell a personal use firewood permit, 1 of them federal and 4 run by the state. Each office posts its own price on its permit page. 4 of them give the permit away.

Firewood permits on Tennessee state forests are free and come from the local Division of Forestry office, and each forest has its own map of where collecting is allowed.

Cherokee National Forest

Permit on request

USDA Forest Service

Price
On the office page
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
in person at a ranger district office
Forest Products Permits for forest products are available from Ranger District Offices. Please contact a Ranger District Office for up to date information. Permits are required for the removal of most forest products, including firewood.
Permits, Cherokee National Forest, USDA Forest Service, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

You need a permit before taking firewood off the forest.

Permits are required for the removal of most forest products, including firewood.
Cherokee National Forest. Read it at the source

The districts, not the supervisor's office, issue the permit, and they are the ones to ask about current terms.

Permits for forest products are available from Ranger District Offices. Please contact a Ranger District Office for up to date information.
Cherokee National Forest. Read it at the source

Christmas tree cutting is not allowed on this forest.

The cutting of Christmas trees is prohibited.
Cherokee National Forest. Read it at the source

Cherokee National Forest firewood permit page

Franklin State Forest

Permit on request

Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry

Price
free
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
by phone from the local Division of Forestry office
A permit is required to collect firewood from Franklin State Forest. To obtain a free permit, contact the Tennessee Division of Forestry at (931) 319-6959, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding state holidays.
Franklin State Forest, Tennessee Division of Forestry, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

A permit is required before any firewood leaves the forest.

A permit is required to collect firewood from Franklin State Forest.
Franklin State Forest. Read it at the source

The permit costs nothing and comes from the local forestry office during weekday hours.

To obtain a free permit, contact the Tennessee Division of Forestry at (931) 319-6959, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding state holidays.
Franklin State Forest. Read it at the source

Collecting is confined to the areas drawn in red on the forest's firewood map.

This map shows Franklin State Forest in Franklin and Marion counties in south-central Tennessee and identifies designated firewood collection areas shown in red.
Franklin State Forest. Read it at the source

Franklin State Forest firewood permit page

Prentice Cooper State Forest

Permit on request

Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry

Price
free
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
by phone from the local Division of Forestry office
A permit is required to remove firewood from the state forest. Free permits are available from the local Tennessee Division of Forestry office at 423-658-5551, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.
Prentice Cooper State Forest, Tennessee Division of Forestry, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

A permit is required before firewood leaves the forest.

A permit is required to remove firewood from the state forest.
Prentice Cooper State Forest. Read it at the source

The permit is free and comes from the local forestry office on weekdays.

Free permits are available from the local Tennessee Division of Forestry office at 423-658-5551, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.
Prentice Cooper State Forest. Read it at the source

Roads on the forest can be closed at any time and are marked when they are.

Roads on the state forest are subject to closure at any time for management and safety purposes. Roads will be clearly marked and barricaded for visitor information.
Prentice Cooper State Forest. Read it at the source

Prentice Cooper State Forest firewood permit page

Scott State Forest

Permit on request

Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry

Price
free
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
by phone from the local Division of Forestry office
A permit is required to remove firewood from the state forest. Free permits are available from the local Tennessee Division of Forestry office at 615-443-2768, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.
Scott State Forest, Tennessee Division of Forestry, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

A permit is required before firewood leaves the forest.

A permit is required to remove firewood from the state forest.
Scott State Forest. Read it at the source

The permit is free from the local forestry office on weekdays.

Free permits are available from the local Tennessee Division of Forestry office at 615-443-2768, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.
Scott State Forest. Read it at the source

There is one designated harvest area on this forest.

This map shows the designated firewood collection area within Scott State Forest. The harvest area runs along Ridge Road in the northeastern portion of the forest.
Scott State Forest. Read it at the source

Scott State Forest firewood permit page

Stewart State Forest

Permit on request

Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry

Price
free
Cutting season
Sold on request
Where to buy
by phone from the local Division of Forestry office
A permit is required to remove firewood from the state forest. Free permits are available from the local Tennessee Division of Forestry office at 615-748-0975, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.
Stewart State Forest, Tennessee Division of Forestry, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

Rules on this permit

A permit is required before firewood leaves the forest.

A permit is required to remove firewood from the state forest.
Stewart State Forest. Read it at the source

The permit is free from the local forestry office on weekdays.

Free permits are available from the local Tennessee Division of Forestry office at 615-748-0975, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except on state holidays.
Stewart State Forest. Read it at the source

There is one designated harvest area on this forest.

This map shows the designated firewood collection area within Stewart State Forest. The harvest area runs along Dividing Ridge South in the central portion of the forest.
Stewart State Forest. Read it at the source

Stewart State Forest firewood permit page

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Moving firewood

Can you bring firewood into Tennessee?

Tennessee has a quarantine on the books, which means untreated firewood from outside the line may not come in. The rule is written by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and it sits below in its own words.

Quarantine

Tennessee restricts moving firewood into or within the state.

Tennessee has an exterior firewood quarantine covering everywhere outside the state except counties that touch a Tennessee border. Firewood entering Tennessee has to be heat treated and to carry a treatment stamp with the producer, the quantity and the county and state it came from.

Agency
Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Certified or treated wood
Heat treated and certified wood may come in
Tennessee Department of Agriculture has a quarantine for firewood starting on Sept. 12, 2021. This quarantine is designed to protect TN's resources from invasive pests that can be transported through non treated firewood.
Simplified Guide: TN Firewood Quarantine Rules, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source

What the rule says

The quarantine reaches every area outside Tennessee other than the counties on its borders.

This is an EXTERNAL quarantine, including all areas outside of Tennessee except counties touching TN borders.
Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

Wood brought in has to be heat treated to the state's standard.

Firewood entering TN must be heat treated (160°F/75mins).
Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

The treated wood has to carry a label or receipt showing the treatment, who made it, how much, and where it came from.

Firewood must have treatment stamp on label or invoice/receipt, manufacturer name, quantity, origin county and state.
Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source

The rule covers pieces under four feet and thicker than two centimetres, and does not cover lumber or manufactured wood.

Firewood is less than 4ft and greater than 2cm used for fuel excluding wood for biomass refineries and power plants, lumber, manufactured material and composites or artisan manufacturing.
Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Read it at the source
A slender metallic green beetle about half an inch long resting on pale cracked tree bark
The emerald ash borer, photographed by USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine. It flies only a short way on its own; a load of untreated firewood carries it as far as the truck goes, which is why more states name it in their firewood rules than any other pest. “Plant Protection and Quarantine (34954841290)”, APHIS.gov, Public domain
Nearby

What a cord costs in the states next door

A permit is only good on the land the office manages, so a cheaper cord across the line still has to obey whatever Tennessee says about firewood arriving. The nearest states posting a price by the cord:

  1. Georgia$5

Tennessee firewood permit questions

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Firewood permits in other states

Tennessee heating oil and propane pricesWhat a gallon costs this winter, and how that compares with a cord.First snow in TennesseeWhen the first measurable snow usually falls, city by city.Tennessee Christmas tree permitsThe other permit the same ranger district sells each winter.Firewood permits by stateEvery price by the cord in one table, with the rule on moving wood.
An open pole woodshed in a spruce clearing, one bay filled with stacked cordwood, a hydraulic log splitter in the foreground
An Alaska woodshed in summer with the winter stacked and the splitter still out. A cord is a stack four feet by four feet by eight feet, and that is the unit nearly every permit is priced in. “Alaska woodshed”, Keith Parker, CC BY-SA 2.0

Compiled September 22, 2026 from Permits, Cherokee National Forest, USDA Forest Service and the other agency pages linked beside each quote above. Prices, seasons and quarantine boundaries change, so the agency’s own page is the one to read before you load a truck. Every state is in the national firewood permit guide.