Selling firewood: cords, legal units, labels and heat treatment
How official sources describe the legal units for selling firewood, the delivery ticket and package label, heat treatment claims, and the England Ready to Burn scheme. Place pages follow for England, California and Minnesota.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It sets out what the US model rule in NIST Handbook 130 says, then how several US states and England describe their own versions.
The model rule
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publishes Handbook 130 each year. Its uniform regulation for the method of sale of commodities has a section on fireplace and stove wood, numbered 2.4 in the 2026 Section IV.B text. It is a model. States write their own law, though the Texas Department of Agriculture says it adopts Handbook 130 by reference. The model text says the following.
- A cord is the amount of wood in a space of 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well stowed: pieces in a line or row, touching and parallel, stacked compactly.
- Fireplace and stove wood is advertised, offered and sold only by measure, using the term cord, fractions of a cord, or the cubic meter.
- Natural wood in packages under 0.45 cubic meters (one eighth of a cord, or 16 cubic feet) shows its quantity in liters, and may add cubic feet.
- The terms face cord, rack, pile and truckload, or terms of similar import, are not to be used.
- A species claim, for example 50 percent hickory and 50 percent miscellaneous softwood, must be accurate to within 10 percent.
- A delivery ticket or sales invoice goes to the buyer for any non-packaged wood. It gives at least the vendor's name and address, the purchaser's name and address, the date delivered, the quantity delivered and the quantity the price is based on if different, the price, and the identity of the wood in the most descriptive terms commercially practicable.
How states describe the units
| Place | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| California | The California Department of Food and Agriculture says a cord must equal 128 cubic feet. It says the terms truckload, face cord, rack and pile have no legal definition, that wood can only be sold by the cord or fractions of a cord, and that an invoice or delivery ticket should show the seller's name and address, the date, the quantity and the price. See the California page and the CDFA firewood page. |
| Florida | The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says firewood must be sold by the cord or a fraction of a cord, defined as 128 cubic feet stacked compactly, for example 4 by 4 by 8 feet. It says unofficial units such as truckload, face cord, rack and pile are not allowed. See the FDACS weights and measures answer. |
| Maryland | A Maryland Department of Agriculture release dated December 14, 2012 says wood is sold only by the cord or fractions of a cord and that other terms are illegal. It says a bulk delivery ticket needs the delivery date, the seller's and buyer's names and addresses, the quantity, the cost, the wood type, and the vehicle license or identifying number. See the Maryland release. |
| Minnesota | Cubic foot, cubic meter or cord, with a cord of 128 cubic feet in four foot lengths and different figures for sawed wood. See the Minnesota place page. |
| Nevada | A Nevada Department of Agriculture release dated October 22, 2018 says the legal terms are full cord (128 cubic feet), half of a cord (64 cubic feet) and fourth of a cord (32 cubic feet), and that packages under one eighth of a cord (16 cubic feet) may use cubic feet or liters. See the Nevada release. |
| Ohio | The Ohio Department of Agriculture says non-packaged firewood must be sold by the cord or fractions of a cord, 128 cubic feet or 8 by 4 by 4 feet. It says selling by the rick, rack, face cord or truckload is illegal, and lists what a delivery ticket or sales invoice carries: contact details of seller and purchaser, delivery date, quantity, the quantity the price is based on, the total price, and the terms and conditions. See the Ohio firewood tips. |
| Pennsylvania | A Department of Agriculture consumer brochure says a cord is 128 cubic feet of firewood, gives 4 by 4 by 8 feet and 2 by 4 by 16 feet as examples, and advises against buying from sellers who use the terms truckload, face cord, rack or pile. See the Pennsylvania brochure. |
| Texas | The Texas Department of Agriculture says a cord must equal 128 cubic feet, that it carries out measurement inspections, and that businesses offering firewood must follow the method of sale rules in NIST Handbook 130. See the TDA firewood page. |
| Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington | No official page found on October 8, 2026. |
Heat treatment and labels in some places
Some places attach labels to treated or certified wood. Wisconsin's agriculture department says all packaged firewood sold in the state must be labeled, and describes a voluntary dealer certification with its own label; the details are on the Wisconsin moving firewood page. Tennessee's agriculture department describes two heat treatments for certification, 140 degrees F for 60 minutes or 160 degrees F for 75 minutes, with a certification fee of US$100 annually. See the Tennessee certification page. Where a place bans untreated wood from outside, the movement rules sit on the pages gathered under moving wood and firewood.
England
England has a different scheme. The GOV.UK guidance on selling wood says wood fuel sold in volumes under 2 cubic metres can only be supplied or sold if certified as Ready to Burn, which confirms a moisture content of 20% or less. The legal basis is the Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020, Statutory Instrument 2020 No. 1095. Larger loads come with a notice on drying. The details, including the GBP 300 fixed penalty, are on the England place page.
Firewood sale rules, place by place
Sources
- NIST, Handbook 130 (2026), Section IV.B uniform regulation for the method of sale of commodities, read October 8, 2026
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, firewood quality and measurement, read October 8, 2026
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, selling firewood answer, read October 8, 2026
- Maryland Department of Agriculture, release on buying wood, December 14, 2012, read October 8, 2026
- Nevada Department of Agriculture, firewood buying tips, October 22, 2018, read October 8, 2026
- Ohio Department of Agriculture, firewood tips, read October 8, 2026
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, weights and measures consumer brochure, read October 8, 2026
- Texas Department of Agriculture, firewood weights and measures, read October 8, 2026
- Tennessee Department of Agriculture, firewood certification, read October 8, 2026
- GOV.UK, Selling wood for domestic use in England, read October 8, 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020, read October 8, 2026