Tree waste rules in Georgia: hand-piled yard debris, land clearing permits and the summer burn ban
What the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Environmental Protection Division say about burning tree debris: the 13 legal burn types, the hand-piled yard debris exception, the permit for land clearing and storm debris, and the burn ban in 54 counties from May 1 to September 30.
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 two agency pages and the state's air quality rules. Neither page sets a fee for a permit, the Commission page says local burning ordinances can add limits, and the Division page says more restrictions may apply by county and time of year.
What counts as open burning
The state's Georgia Rules for Air Quality, chapter 391-3-1, define open burning in rule .01(tt) as any outdoor fire whose combustion products enter the open air directly, with no stack, chimney or duct in between. The Environmental Protection Division says on its open burning rules page that the open burning rule, 391-3-1-.02(5), was written to improve air quality, and that open burning is prohibited except for 13 types of legal burn.
The 13 legal burn types
The Division lists them as: leaf piles, yard debris or hand-piled natural vegetation on the premises; agricultural procedures for crop production or harvest on a tract of 5 acres or less; burning vegetative material for agricultural operations on a tract over 5 acres; prescribed burning; recreation and cooking; fire-fighting training; acquired structure burns; vegetative debris from storms; weed abatement, disease and pest prevention; open flame devices; land clearing, construction and right-of-way maintenance; disposal of explosives packaging; and land clearing with an air curtain destructor. It adds that burning man-made items including tires, shingles, plastics, lumber and household garbage is unlawful, even in a burn barrel.
Permits and notice, as the Forestry Commission words them
The Commission's burn permits page says that under Senate Bill 119 Georgia Code section 12-6-90 was changed so that a burner no longer has to notify the Commission about burning hand-piled natural vegetation or yard debris, which it describes as leaf and limbs only. The page sets out five points for that kind of fire, and lists them as a formula.
| Letter | What the Commission lists |
|---|---|
| Space | 25 feet or more between the fire and woodlands, and 50 feet or more between the fire and structures |
| Time | Sunrise to sunset |
| Attendance | A responsible person on site until the fire is extinguished |
| Reasonable precautions | Tools or measures in place to stop an escape, such as a pressurized water source, a natural or man-made barrier, hand tools or fire-containing equipment, and awareness of red flag warnings and high fire danger days |
The same page says agriculture, silviculture, land-clearing burns and vegetative storm debris do require the burner to contact the Commission to notify it or get a burn permit, by phone or online. It says burning debris from machine clearing, such as for a small garden spot or land clearing, is a land type change under the Division's land clearing burning rules and may require an air curtain destructor depending on the county. A permit for an air curtain destructor comes from the Commission. The page adds that permits are good only for the day they are issued, and that unlawful burn notices and suppression charges may follow if section 12-6-90 is not followed and a wildfire results.
The burn bans
- From May 1 through September 30, the Division says these burns are prohibited in 54 counties (the Commission calls them northern Georgia counties): leaf reduction on premises, acquired structure burns, vegetative debris from storms, weed abatement and disease and pest prevention, land clearing, construction and right-of-way maintenance, and land clearing with air curtain destructors. Prescribed burning is also prohibited in 19 named counties.
- From October 1 through April 30, 27 of those counties with populations over 65,000 in the 2010 Census are limited to ten of the thirteen burn types. The Division says storm debris, weed abatement and disease and pest prevention, and land clearing, construction and right-of-way maintenance are prohibited there.
- The Division says its Director may waive additional restrictions when the burning is necessary to protect public health, safety or welfare, or when there are no reasonable alternatives.
For other places see the table on tree waste and chip rules. Alabama is on tree waste rules in Alabama, and Tennessee is on tree waste rules in Tennessee.