Tree waste rules in Florida: tree cutting debris, land clearing debris and pile burning authorization
What Florida Administrative Code rules 62-256.300 and 62-256.700 and section 590.125 of the Florida Statutes say about burning tree cutting debris, yard waste and land clearing debris: the banned materials, the conditions for each kind of fire, air curtain incinerators and Florida Forest Service authorization.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 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 follows the two Department of Environmental Protection rules as published on the state's rule site and section 590.125 of the Florida Statutes as shown on the Legislature's site. The rule text read here gives times and distances but no fee.
What the rules ban
According to rule 62-256.300, open burning of tires, rubber, residual and used oil, asphalt, roofing material, tar, treated wood, plastics, garbage, trash and several other listed materials is prohibited, apart from the narrow exceptions in rule .700. Open burning of vegetative debris and untreated wood is barred except where .700 subsections (1), (2), (3), (8), (9) and (10), or rule 62-296.320(3), allow it. No open burning, even in an exempt air curtain incinerator, may be done during a National Weather Service Air Stagnation Advisory or an Air Pollution Episode, or when the Florida Forest Service has found weather unfavorable for safe burning. The rule adds that it does not relieve anyone of chapter 590, Forest Service rules or local ordinances.
What rule 62-256.700 allows for tree work
| Kind of debris | Where it can be burned | Conditions in the rule |
|---|---|---|
| Yard waste | On the premises where it was generated, residential premises of not more than two family units | Ignited after 8:00 a.m. Central or 9:00 a.m. Eastern time and out no later than one hour before sunset, no burning in windy conditions. In a noncombustible container or a pile no more than eight feet across on cleared ground. Set back 25 feet from wildlands, brush or combustible structures, 50 feet from a paved public road and 150 feet from an occupied building not owned or leased by the burner. Attended, with extinguishing equipment at hand. |
| Tree cutting debris | On the site where it was generated, residential premises of not more than two family units | Ignited after the same morning time, with no visible flame from one hour before sunset (out by then in smoke sensitive areas the Forest Service sets). Attended, with extinguishing equipment at hand. The burner contacts the Florida Forest Service before burning. |
| Land clearing debris | On the site where it was generated | The same hours, attendance and moisture conditions as tree cutting debris, and the burner contacts the Florida Forest Service before burning. |
| Storm-generated debris | Vegetative debris and untreated wood only | Burned by, or on behalf of, the city or county government in charge of storm clean-up, in an air curtain incinerator or as pile burning under the Forest Service. The local government gives the Department written notice within 10 days after the burning starts. |
| Insect or disease-infested vegetation | Where the Director of the Forest Service has found an emergency need to destroy it | In an air curtain incinerator or as pile burning under the Forest Service. |
For yard waste and tree cutting debris, the rule says any other open burning must use a Department-permitted air curtain incinerator run under rule 62-296.401 and its air permit. For land clearing debris it names an air curtain incinerator that is either exempt from air permitting under rule 62-210.300 or meets rule 62-296.401 and its air permit. Campfires, ceremonial bonfires, outdoor fireplaces and other contained heating or cooking devices, including on cold days for warming outdoor workers, are not barred by the chapter.
Forest Service authorization and pile burning
According to the text of section 590.125, pile burning means burning silvicultural, agricultural, land-clearing or tree-cutting debris that comes from the site and is stacked in a round or linear pile, including a windrow. The section says authorized pile burning is temporary and operates on the same site for six months or less. For burning without certification, it lists seven conditions: the landowner's specific consent, authorization from the Forest Service or its agent before starting, adequate firebreaks and enough people and equipment to contain the fire, the fire staying inside the authorized area, the named person or a designee present until the fire is completed, no cancellation by the Forest Service, and the Forest Service finding that air quality and fire danger are favorable. The section says a violation of that subsection is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
The section also defines a certified pile burner as someone who completed the Forest Service's pile burning certification program, and it defines yard trash as vegetative matter from landscaping and routine property clean-up, such as leaves, shrub trimmings, grass clippings, brush and palm fronds.
The full conditions are in the text of rule 62-256.700. For other places see the table on tree waste and chip rules. Georgia is on tree waste rules in Georgia, and a plan for clearing around buildings is on wildfire plans and tree clearing.
Sources
- Florida Department of State, Administrative Code rule 62-256.300 open burning prohibitions, read October 9, 2026
- Florida Department of State, Administrative Code rule 62-256.700 open burning allowed, read October 9, 2026
- Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes section 590.125 open burning authorized by the Florida Forest Service, read October 9, 2026