Open Burning Rules for Georgia

For Georgia's Burn Notification System Changes, please click here.

The Georgia Rules for Air Quality (391-3-1-.01(tt)) define open burning as any outdoor fire from which the products of combustion are emitted directly into the open air without passing through a stack, chimney, or duct. Such burning releases smoke, oxides of nitrogen, and other pollutants that have a negative impact on Georgia’s air quality. Georgia’s Open Burning Rules(391-3-1-.02(5)) were created to improve air quality in our state. 

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Georgia Forestry Commission

Outdoor burning in Georgia requires a permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) for burn activities 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, and 13.  GFC Permits are not required for burn activities 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 12.  More information on the different types of burn activities can be found here.   To learn more about open burning in your county contact your local GFC office.

Contact your local GFC Office

13 Legal Burn Types

Open burning in Georgia is prohibited with the exception of 13 types of legal burn activities: (1) reduction of leaf piles, yard debris, or hand-piled natural vegetation on premises, (2) agricultural procedures for production or harvesting of crops (if land tract is 5 acres or less), (3) burning vegetative material for agricultural operations (if land tract is greater than 5 acres), (4) prescribed burning, (5) recreational purposes and cooking, (6) fire-fighting training, (7) acquired structure burns, (8) vegetative debris from storms, (9) weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention, (10) open flame devices, (11), land clearing, construction, and right-of-way maintenance, (12) disposal of packaging  materials for explosives, and (13) land clearing with an air curtain destructor.

Additional burning restrictions may apply based on the county and time of the year.  The Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division may waive these additional restrictions upon a determination that such open burning is necessary to protect public health, safety or welfare, or there are no reasonable alternatives.

It is unlawful in Georgia to burn man made materials such as tires, shingles, plastics, lumber, or household garbage, even in a burn barrel. For more information on backyard burning, please refer to the  Download this pdf file. Hidden Hazards of Backyard Burning Brochure .

“Summer Burn Ban” (May 1 – September 30)

Air quality can deteriorate in the summer due to the formation of ground-level ozone. The Summer Burn Ban reduces ozone by prohibiting certain open burning activities from May 1 through September 30 in specific counties.  During this period, the following open burning activities are prohibited in  Download this pdf file. 54 counties : (1) reduction of leaves on premises, (7) acquired structure burns, (8) vegetative debris from storms, (9) weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention, (11), land clearing, construction, and right-of-way maintenance, and (13) land clearing with air curtain destructors. 

Prescribed burning (4) is also prohibited in 19 counties that include Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton. 

To learn more visit the Summer Burn Ban page or read our last press release (April 24, 2024).

Non-summer Burn Types (October 1 – April 30)

Download this pdf file. 27 counties  already subject to the summer burn ban with populations over 65,000, as listed in the 2010 Census, are limited to only ten of the thirteen open burning activities (burn types 1 through 7, 10, 12, and 13) from October 1 through April 30.  To reduce fine particulate matter pollution in these counties from October through April, the following open burning activities are prohibited (8) vegetative debris from storms, (9) weed abatement, disease, and pest prevention, and (11) land clearing, construction, and right-of-way maintenance.

Air Curtain Destructor

Open burning for the purpose of (13) land clearing with an air curtain destructor requires a burn permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission. If you have questions about air curtain destructors read the  Download this pdf file. ACD Operating Guide and Procedures  or contact your local EPD district office.

Prescribed Burning

Prescribed burning serves many useful purposes including the maintenance and protection of commercial timber stands, land clearing for agriculture, the reduction of vegetative fuels for wildfire prevention, and the management of fire-dependent ecosystems. Georgia’s Open Burning Rules define prescribed burning as “the controlled application of fire to existing vegetative fuels under specified environmental conditions and following appropriate precautionary measures, which causes the fire to be confined to a predetermined area and accomplishes one or more planned land management objectives as specified in paragraphs 12-6-146(3), (4), and (7) of the Georgia Prescribed Burning Act or to mitigate catastrophic wildfires.” The framework of procedures and requirements for managing smoke from prescribed fires is detailed in Georgia’s Basic Smoke Management Plan.

Wildfires, Prescribed Fires, and Air Quality

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Environmental Protection Division and Wildlife Resources Division along with the Georgia Forestry Commission work in partnership to minimize the impact of wildfires and prescribed fire events on air quality.  Learn more about current air quality conditions, wildfires, prescribed burning, and protective measures individuals can take to reduce smoke exposure by visiting the following links:

Other Sites and Documents of Interest