To get a fire permit in California, you apply through the agency that has jurisdiction over the land where you plan to burn: CAL FIRE for most rural and wildland properties, your city or district fire department inside incorporated areas, or the federal agency that manages the land if you’re on a National Forest, BLM acreage, or National Park. The most common one, the residential burn permit for clearing yard debris, is free and available in a few minutes through CAL FIRE’s online portal. A separate, also free, campfire permit covers backcountry fires, camp stoves, and charcoal grills outside developed campgrounds. Getting the permit is easy. The rules about when and how you can actually use it are where people get in trouble.
Which Agency Issues Your Permit
California splits fire protection into three jurisdictions, and the permit has to come from the right one.
Land in a State Responsibility Area (SRA), which covers most of the state’s wildland and rural land, falls under CAL FIRE. You can check whether your address is in an SRA using the map tool on CAL FIRE’s burn permit site.1CAL FIRE. CAL FIRE Burn Permits
Local Responsibility Areas (LRA), which include most incorporated cities and some unincorporated urban areas, are handled by the local fire department or fire protection district. Contact them directly. Their forms, process, and any fees will differ from CAL FIRE’s.
Federally managed land, including National Forests, Bureau of Land Management acreage, and National Parks, requires a permit from the managing agency. BLM, for example, maintains its own year-round fire restrictions for California public lands.2Bureau of Land Management. California Fire Information and Fire Restrictions
Which Permit You Actually Need
The right permit depends on what you’re burning and how large the operation is. Filling out paperwork for the wrong one leaves you technically unpermitted.
Residential Burn Permit
This is what most homeowners need. It covers disposing of dry, natural vegetation from yard maintenance by burning it outdoors in small piles, no larger than four feet in diameter and four feet high. It applies to single-family and two-family residences in the SRA.1CAL FIRE. CAL FIRE Burn Permits
General Burn Permit (LE-5) and Broadcast Burn Permit (LE-7/8)
Larger operations, including agricultural burns, large pile burns, incinerator use, and hazardous projects such as outdoor welding, need a General Burn Permit. Broadcast burns, which apply fire across a broader area for fuel reduction, take an LE-7 or LE-8. These involve a CAL FIRE site inspection, so expect a longer processing time than the residential permit.1CAL FIRE. CAL FIRE Burn Permits
California Campfire Permit
To use a campfire, portable stove, or charcoal grill outside a developed campground on state or federal land, you need a campfire permit. They’re free, available online, or at any CAL FIRE, USDA Forest Service, or BLM office in California.3CA.gov. Campfire Permit On federal land, BLM’s year-round restrictions require you to clear a five-foot diameter area to bare soil, keep a round-point shovel at least 35 inches long nearby, and eliminate overhead flammable material.2Bureau of Land Management. California Fire Information and Fire Restrictions
How to Get the Residential Permit Online
The application runs through burnpermit.fire.ca.gov. The steps:
- Enter your address in the map tool to confirm the property is in a State Responsibility Area. If it isn’t, the site directs you to your local fire authority.
- Complete the application with your property details and the planned burn location.
- Watch the short safety video that covers the mandatory conditions you’re agreeing to follow.
- Accept the safety rules and permit terms.
- Receive the permit by email. Current permits expire April 30, 2026.1CAL FIRE. CAL FIRE Burn Permits
The whole thing usually takes a few minutes. CAL FIRE encourages residents to get a permit at any time of year, even when burning isn’t currently allowed in their area, so you’re ready when a permissive burn day arrives.4CAL FIRE. Current Burn Status
For the General Burn Permit and broadcast permits, expect a CAL FIRE officer to schedule a site inspection, review your burn plan, and possibly require additional safety measures before signing off.
What You Can and Cannot Burn
The residential permit only covers dry, natural vegetation from yard maintenance, reasonably free of dirt, soil, and surface moisture. Everything else is off limits. California’s Air Resources Board keeps a detailed list of disallowed combustibles that you cannot burn in a residential setting, permit or no permit.5California Air Resources Board. Outdoor Residential Waste Burning
The prohibited list is broad and covers essentially all manufactured or processed materials:
- Plastics and synthetics: plastic film, pipe, twine, styrofoam, fiberglass, rubber, and tires
- Construction materials: lumber, treated or processed wood, demolition debris, shingles, tarpaper, and coated wire
- Household waste: garbage, trash, cardboard, paper products, cloth, rags, furniture, and appliances
- Petroleum products: motor oil, fuel, and petroleum-based waste
- Organic waste: animal parts, manure, food-contaminated material, and carcasses
The safe rule: if it was manufactured, treated, or processed in any way, don’t burn it.
Safety Conditions Attached to the Permit
The residential permit comes with mandatory safety conditions. Ignore them and a legal burn becomes a criminal offense.
Before ignition, clear all flammable material and vegetation within 10 feet of the pile’s outer edge, all the way down to bare earth. Keep a water supply close and a shovel on hand. An adult has to stay with the fire from ignition until it is completely out.6CAL FIRE. About CAL FIRE Burn Permits – Section: Know the Requirements Walking away from a smoldering pile to run an errand is one of the most common ways permitted burns turn into wildfire investigations.
Burn Days, Fire Season, and Red Flag Warnings
A valid permit doesn’t mean you can burn today. Before lighting, contact your local Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to confirm it’s a permissive burn day. Many districts run phone lines or websites with the current status, and some areas require a separate AQMD permit number before CAL FIRE will finalize the burn permit. Burning on a declared no-burn day is a separate violation from the fire permit itself and carries its own fines.
Fire season adds mandatory closures. Under Public Resources Code section 4423, a written CAL FIRE permit is required for any burning in an SRA, and in Zone B areas the requirement kicks in on May 1 and lasts until the CAL FIRE director declares hazardous conditions have ended for the year.7California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code – PRC 4423 Timing varies dramatically. CAL FIRE declares fire season unit by unit, southern units start much earlier than northern ones, and some southern units, including Riverside and San Diego, operate under year-round restrictions.8CAL FIRE. Statistics – Section: 2025 Fire Season Declarations Check your specific unit rather than relying on general guidance.
Red Flag Warnings add another layer. When the National Weather Service issues one for high heat, low humidity, and strong winds, recreational target shooting and campfire use on federal land are immediately suspended.9Bureau of Land Management. BLM Lifts Seasonal Fire and Target Shooting Restrictions in Southern California CAL FIRE suspends burn permits during these events too. Check the local burn status before every burn, not just when you first get the permit. CAL FIRE’s current burn status page shows real-time information by region.
Penalties If You Burn Without a Permit or Lose Control of a Fire
The consequences go well beyond a modest fine.
Criminal Penalties
Burning in an area closed by proclamation during fire season, without qualifying for an exception, is a misdemeanor carrying a minimum fine of $100 that the court cannot suspend. Violating the terms of a restricted temporary burning permit carries a minimum fine of $250, also non-suspendable.10California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code – PRC 4423.2 If a fire you started with any device or equipment escapes because of your negligence, that’s a separate misdemeanor. The occurrence of the fire itself is treated as presumptive evidence of negligence.11California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code 4435
Fire Suppression Costs
Anyone who negligently sets a fire or allows one to escape onto another person’s property is liable for the full cost of fire suppression and emergency response. Under California Health and Safety Code section 13009, those costs become a personal debt collectible against you, the same as if you had signed a contract to pay. For a wildfire that draws aerial response or multi-agency deployment, suppression alone can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
Air District Fines
Burning on a no-burn day is prosecuted by your local air district separately from any fire permit violation. Under California Health and Safety Code, more serious air district violations can be charged as misdemeanors with fines up to $10,000 per day of violation.
Defensible Space Is a Separate Rule
California law requires property owners in SRAs and high-fire-hazard zones to maintain 100 feet of defensible space around structures, clearing dead vegetation, maintaining tree spacing, and keeping roofs free of leaves and needles.12California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code – PRC 4291 If you plan to burn the vegetation you clear doing that work, you still need a burn permit. The defensible space rule requires you to clear the material; it does not give you permission to burn it. You can always pile the cleared vegetation for pickup or chipping instead, and during a fire season closure that’s your only legal option.