| The New Hampshire Forests and Lands Division is pleased to offer citizens the option to purchase open burning permits online! Through our easy online process you will be able to purchase an open burning permit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing permits are being issued at the time. Although online burn permits can be purchased at any time, open burning can only be conducted after 5pm and before 9am. The only exception to the allowable burning times occurs if you have purchased a permit and there is a steady rain, or the ground is completely covered with snow. Depending on what town you are burning in, there are some variances to these times. Please read the minimum requirements on your permit carefully and make sure you have selected the proper location before starting your fire. Permits purchased for the wrong location are considered invalid. The online service is easy and payment by credit card (Mastercard, Visa, Discover) is quick and secure. You will be able to print your permit at the end of the online process. The small processing fee of $3.00 is non-refundable, even in the event of weather condition changes deeming the permit invalid. Credit card charge will appear on your statement as "S3 NHFIS, Smyrna TN" (they are the third-party vendor holding the NH contract for this system) |
| Category I and Category II permits can be purchased either as a daily permit or a seasonal permit. You can apply for either a daily (CAT1 or CAT2) or seasonal (SCAT1 or SCAT2) by selecting the appropriate permit category type from the drop-down list during the purchasing process. If you intend to burn for more than just one specific day, it is suggested that you choose the Seasonal option. Seasonal permits are valid through December 31 of the current year, following all the pertinent rules for the selected category burn type. Not all category options are available for online purchase in all communities |
Anyone who wishes to burn clean, ordinary combustibles such as leaves, brush or untreated lumber, or have a camp or cooking fire must have written permission from the landowner and a fire permit from the local forest fire warden or local fire department in the town or city where the fire will be kindled. You must be at least 18 years of age to obtain a written fire permit.
Public or privately owned camp or picnic grounds must obtain an annual written fire permit from the town forest fire warden for use of outside fireplaces, camp or cooking fires used in the operation of the camp or picnic grounds. Such camp or cooking fires should:
- be in an area cleaned to mineral soil at least 8 feet across;
- have at least 6 inches of sand or gravel under the fire for any fire built on the ground;
- have no limbs or other burnable material to a height of 10 feet above the fireplace area; and
- be constructed so they cannot be moved from their mineral soil area.
What You Can Burn and When
Only leaves, woody debris or brush less than 5 inches in diameter, or untreated wood and dimension lumber (subject to Env-A 1001.05(g) below) can be burned. For any open burning a written fire permit is required. Even with the permit, no open burning is allowed between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm unless it is raining.
When the ground where you are burning is completely covered with snow no fire permit is required. However, be sure to check local ordinances that might restrict winter-time burning.
The permittee will be required to have suppression equipment on site while the burning is being done and the fires will have to be totally extinguished or be constantly attended.
Air quality regulations restrict the type of material burned in the open. Stumps, painted or treated lumber, tires, tubes, plastics, foam rubber and shingles are some of the prohibited materials (see Department of Environmental Services, Air Resources Division Open Burning Rules). Per Env-A 1001.05(g) "On-site burning, by the owner of a private, single-family residence occupied by the owner, of untreated wood, provided the material originates on site"
Commercial Permits
The Forest Ranger for your town/city and local Warden are needed to issue a commercial permit to burn when no other means of disposal of material is available, such as chipping, hauling to a landfill or other methods of legal disposal. |
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You will need a printer to print the permit and sales receipt. Printing requires that Adobe Acrobat Reader has been installed in your computer. If it has not been installed on your computer, click here to download the free Acrobat Reader software. The permit you print at your printer is the official permit and you should carry it together with a photo ID whenever you are burning.
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For answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions, read the FAQ page. For comments, suggestions, and problem reporting, contact us using our Email Customer Support form or by phone. If you have questions about license regulations and requirements, call NHDFL at (603) 271-2214. |
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