Open Burning in Massachusetts: Permits, Windows & Penalties

Open burning in Massachusetts is prohibited by default under MassDEP regulation 310 CMR 7.07. If you live outside the 22 cities and towns where it is banned year-round, you can burn brush, cane, driftwood, and forestry debris between January 15 and May 1 with a permit from your local fire department, but only during specific hours, at a safe distance from buildings, and only when air quality allows it that day. Everything else, including leaves, grass, stumps, trash, and construction debris, stays outside the exception, and violations can carry fines up to $25,000.

Where Open Burning Is Never Allowed

The seasonal exception does not apply at all in 22 of the state’s most densely populated communities. If you live in any of these towns or cities, no fire department can issue you a residential brush-burning permit at any time of year:¹

Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea
Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell
Malden, Medford, New Bedford, Newton, Somerville, Springfield
Waltham, Watertown, West Springfield, Worcester

MassDEP can also suspend open burning in additional communities if it would contribute to air quality violations or if a town has repeatedly failed to enforce burning rules properly.² Check your town’s status with the fire department before assuming the seasonal rules apply to you.

What You Can and Cannot Burn

The seasonal exception under 310 CMR 7.07(3)(e) covers a narrow list of natural materials: brush, cane, driftwood, and forestry debris. That list is exhaustive. Grass, hay, leaves, and stumps are excluded from the exception even though people routinely assume raking leaves into a burn pile is fine.² It isn’t.

Household trash, construction debris, tires, plastics, and painted or treated wood are never legal to burn in the open. These produce toxic pollutants and fall squarely under the general prohibition. If you are unsure whether a material qualifies as brush or forestry debris, assume it does not.

When and Where You Can Burn

The season runs from January 15 through May 1. Outside that window, no seasonal permit can be issued. Within it, burning is only allowed between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and the fire must be set at least 75 feet from any dwelling.² The burn must take place on land near where the material was generated, so hauling debris from another property to burn on yours is not permitted.

Weather can override your permit on any given day. MassDEP can suspend all open burning statewide during periods of poor atmospheric ventilation, and local fire chiefs can shut down burning for their town based on wind, drought conditions, or other safety concerns. Before lighting anything, call the MassDEP Air Quality Hotline at (800) 882-1497 or check MassAir Online to confirm burning is allowed that day.¹ Many departments also require you to call after 10:00 a.m. on the day you plan to burn for a final go-ahead.

Getting a Permit

Every open burn requires a permit issued by your local fire department under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 48, Section 13. Permits are valid for no more than two days from the date of issue, so you cannot pull one at the start of the season and rely on it through May.³ Most residents apply each time they plan to burn.

Many fire departments offer online permit applications, and you can typically apply in person during business hours. The department keeps a written record of every permit, including your name, address, the burn location, and the type of material to be burned. These records are available for public inspection.² Fees vary by community but are generally modest.

A valid permit is permission, not a right. If the chief or duty officer decides conditions are unsafe on the day you planned to burn, the department can revoke your authorization.

Safety Requirements While the Fire Is Burning

An adult must be physically present and attending the fire from ignition until it is completely extinguished. Stepping inside for 20 minutes while the fire burns down is a violation. You also need fire control tools on hand before you light anything: a water source such as a garden hose, pressurized extinguisher, or pump can, along with shovels and rakes. The Department of Fire Services recommends testing your water source before you start the fire to make sure it works under pressure.⁴

The fire must be conducted without creating a nuisance, and any starting aids must be smoke-minimizing. If wind picks up or conditions change after you start, you are expected to extinguish the fire immediately rather than let it burn out on its own.

For demolition burning, the fire department may require fire personnel to be present at the site for the entire duration, with their cost charged to whoever requested the permit.³ Costs can escalate quickly beyond the permit fee itself.

Burning Allowed Outside the January-May Window

A handful of activities fall outside the seasonal exception. Most still require good atmospheric conditions and prior approval.

Commercial agricultural operations on more than one acre can burn material such as blueberry patches for pruning, dead raspberry stalks, fruit tree prunings, and infected beehives for disease control. The local fire chief decides whether a specific operation qualifies. Agricultural burns must start two hours after sunrise and be fully extinguished by 4:00 p.m.⁵
Brush and trees from clearing land for agricultural purposes can be burned. Commercial or institutional land clearing for non-agricultural purposes does not qualify.²
Fire departments and affiliated organizations can run training burns with specific MassDEP approval.
Fungus-infected elm wood can be burned when no suitable alternative disposal method exists.
Cooking fires are exempt from the general prohibition entirely under 310 CMR 7.07, with no seasonal limits or permits.
MassDEP can approve burning of other materials when the applicant demonstrates that no suitable alternative disposal method is available.²

Ceremonial or celebratory bonfires do not have a blanket exception. A community bonfire would need to fall within the seasonal brush-burning window with a proper permit or receive specific MassDEP approval under the catch-all provision. Coordinate with the fire department well in advance.

Penalties for Illegal Burning

Massachusetts has three overlapping penalty structures for illegal burning, and depending on what went wrong, you can face consequences under more than one at the same time.

Fines Under Chapter 48

Burning without a permit or violating any permit condition is punishable under Chapter 48, Section 13 by a fine of up to $500, plus the cost of suppressing the fire, or imprisonment for up to one month, or both.³ The suppression cost is separate from the fine and can dwarf it. If the department sends an engine and crew to put out your illegal burn, you pay for that response.

Environmental Penalties Up to $25,000

Because open burning regulations were adopted under Chapter 111, Section 142A, violating them also triggers the environmental penalty structure. Each violation can result in a criminal fine of up to $25,000 or imprisonment for up to one year, or both. MassDEP can alternatively pursue a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation, and each day the violation continues counts as a separate offense.⁶ These penalties exist for serious or repeated violations rather than a homeowner who accidentally burns a few leaves, but the statutory authority is there and MassDEP has discretion to use it.

Civil Liability If the Fire Escapes

If your fire escapes and damages a neighbor’s property, civil liability comes on top of any criminal penalty. Under Chapter 266, Section 9, anyone who negligently allows a fire on their own property to escape is liable for all damages caused and can be fined up to $100 or imprisoned for up to one month, or both.⁷ The “all damages caused” language is the real exposure. Replacing a neighbor’s fence, shed, or landscaping adds up fast, and a homeowner’s policy may not cover damage caused through an illegal activity.

Alternatives to Burning

Composting and municipal yard waste programs handle most of what a homeowner would otherwise burn. Most Massachusetts communities offer curbside yard waste pickup or drop-off sites. Composting brush on-site avoids the permit process entirely and produces usable material for the garden. For larger volumes of brush, many towns run periodic chipping programs that convert branches into mulch.

1
Mass.gov. Open Burning Safety
2
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. 310 CMR 7.07, Open Burning
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 48, Section 13 – Setting Open Air Fires; Conditions and Restrictions; Penalty for Violation
4
Mass.gov. Open Burning Season Safety Tips
5
Mass.gov. Open Burning in Massachusetts: General Prohibitions – Section: Agricultural Burning
6
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111, Section 142A
7
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 9