Skip to main content

Permission to Burn (Burn Permit)

Closeup image of flickering yellow flames

Permission to Burn (Burn Permit)

Closeup of gloved hands lighting a campfire

Is burning allowed today?

View a map of Michigan counties with burn permit information: If “yes” appears in the “Burning Permits Issued” column on your county, you are authorized to burn today. This serves as your burn permit - you don't need to print anything.

Burn permits are available from the DNR for counties in the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula only. In the southern Lower Peninsula, permits may be obtained from the local fire department or local governing body. For more information, call 866-922-BURN (866-922-2876).

Can I burn today?

Check local ordinances

Check with your local city, township or village officials before lighting your fire. If no local ordinances are in effect, state law: 

  • Allows burning grass and leaves in municipalities with populations less than 7,500 unless prohibited by local ordinance.
  • Prohibits burning any yard debris within 1,400 feet of an incorporated city or village limit under EGLE air quality rules.

Frequently asked questions

  • A permit is needed:

    • If you are burning a road shoulder.
    • If you are clearing land that has not been cropped in the previous year.
    • If you are clearing a garden plot that is not considered part of the farm cropping operation.
    • If you are burning a pile of yard/tree clippings or other vegetative debris that is not part of the active cropping operation.
    • If you are burning Christmas trees left over from the previous year.

    Exemptions for agricultural burning:

    • If the fire is part of the cropping or approved disease/pest control system.
    • Exemptions do not include clearing land, burning road shoulders, burning fertilizer bags, chemicals, tires, etc.

    • For cooking and recreational campfires.
    • In areas where burning is not prohibited by local ordinances or air quality laws, a permit is not needed if there is continuous snow cover on the ground.
    • When burning household paper materials in a covered metal or masonry container with openings no larger than ¾ inches.
    • Never burn demolition debris, construction materials, automotive parts, or household trash that contains plastic, rubber, foam, chemically treated wood, textiles, electronics, chemicals or hazardous materials. Learn more about open burning from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. 
    • Leaves, grass, limbs, brush, stumps and evergreen needles
    • Household paper materials that do not contain plastic, rubber, foam, chemically treated wood, textiles, electronics, chemicals or hazardous materials. These must be burned in a covered metal or masonry container with openings no larger than ¾ inches.
    • Note: If you’re conducting a prescribed burn or burning to clear land for construction or road maintenance, you must obtain a burn permit from a local DNR fire manager.
  • Open burning information from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Includes information on burning trash, yard debris, campfires and more.