Permits are good for one day, so always obtain your burn permit on the day on which you intend to burn.

Be sure your fire is completely out by midnight on the day you obtained your permit, or get an additional permit for an additional day.

Fires That DO Require Permits:

• Leaf piles
• Woody debris like branches
• Hurricane storm debris
• Prescribed fires

Fires That Do NOT Require Permits:

• Fires in containers/barrels with a 1/2″ mesh screen cover
• Ceremonial fires
• Grilling

For information on what materials may NOT be burned in Tennessee, please visit the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Open Burning Guidelines by clicking the button below:

• Open Burning Guidelines
• To report illegal burning, please call toll-free 1-888-891-TDEC.

Restrictions:

• When wildfire risk is meaningfully elevated, we temporarily pause the issuance of burn permits. This is a burn restriction, not a burn ban.
• That means no one may conduct burns that require a permit until the restriction is lifted.
• Restrictions do NOT prohibit campfires, outdoor grilling, or burn barrels with mesh covers.

Bans:

• If hazardous fire weather poses an uncommonly severe risk, the Commissioner of Agriculture, in consultation with the State Forester, may issue a burn ban for specific counties at the request of county mayors. The Governor may also issue a burn ban on a regional or statewide basis. Such bans carry more significant punishments when violated than burning without a permit.
• Burn bans prohibit ALL open-air burning, including campfires, outdoor grills, and leaf/debris piles.

Please note, sometimes non-state entities use language differently than we do (media or local governments, for example), so if you have any doubts about what something means or the restrictions/regulations/bans in place, always ask!