Do I need a burn permit to burn brush piles on my own land in Alabama?

Burn permits come from the Alabama Forestry Commission. Its permit page says a fire under a quarter acre doesn't need one, but since October 1, 2026, the statute requires a permit for any prescribed burn and sets no acreage cutoff. Whether a land-clearing pile counts as prescribed burning isn't spelled out, so call AFC dispatch at (800) 392-5679, describe your piles, and ask. Owning the land doesn't excuse you from the precautions the law requires.

Can I burn land clearing debris in Shelby County during the summer?

No. ADEM's open burning rule revokes permission to burn land clearing vegetation in Shelby County during May, June, July, August, September, and October. The same goes for eleven other counties, including Jefferson, Madison, and Mobile. Plan to let the piles wait until November or get rid of them another way.

How far does a brush fire have to be from a house in Alabama?

For land clearing debris, ADEM's rule says at least 500 feet from the nearest occupied dwelling, not counting one on your own property. That circle covers about 18 acres, so a neighbor's house can rule out burning on a small tract. Measure from the spot you'd put the pile.

Can I burn tires, an old shed, or trash while I'm clearing the land?

No. ADEM's rule allows only vegetation and untreated wood, and it names plastics, insulation, rubber, scrap, garbage, and treated or painted wood as off limits. The Forestry Commission's permit page also rules out tires, construction material, and household garbage. Haul those to a landfill.

Can I burn during a fire alert or drought in Alabama?

Often not. During a wildfire alert the State Forester may decline to issue permits. During a wildfire emergency declared with the Governor's approval, setting fire to woods or grass or burning trash in that county is unlawful. Check with AFC dispatch on the day you plan to burn.

What can I do with brush from clearing if I can't burn it?

ADEM lists two alternatives to burning. You can take the vegetation to an ADEM-licensed landfill, or let it decompose on the property or somewhere else, as long as nobody burns it there. A clearing contractor can also grind or chip it. Get the price in writing and ask whether hauling is included.

Can You Burn the Brush When You Clear Alabama Land?

Clearing a homesite? Who issues Alabama burn permits, what ADEM lets you burn from land clearing, Shelby County's May to October ban, and what to do instead.

Can you burn the brush when you clear a homesite in Alabama? Often, yes, under three sets of rules. The Alabama Forestry Commission issues the burn permit, and a new statute means you should call before you light. ADEM requires the fire to sit 500 feet from a neighbor's occupied home and burn only vegetation and untreated wood. In Shelby County, it can't happen from May through October.

Clearing a pad, a driveway, and a garden spot on a wooded tract leaves a lot of brush. Think pine tops, sweetgum saplings, privet, vines, and the kind of briar patch a first grader remembers for years. The easy plan is to push it into piles and light it. Before you do, we read the statutes and rules that govern that fire. Three sets apply, and owning the land settles none of them.

Owning the Land Doesn't Make the Fire a Private Matter

Section 9-13-11 of the Code of Alabama reaches brush fires on your own property. It's a Class B misdemeanor to burn brush, stumps, logs, or "debris of any sort, whether on one's own land or that of another, without taking reasonably necessary precautions." Those precautions run "both before lighting the fire and all times thereafter."

The same section covers a fire "within or near any forest or woodland." The ground around the pile has to be cleared of anything that burns "for a reasonably safe distance in all directions," and kept clear while the fire burns. You also can't walk away from a fire near woods or grass "before the fire is totally extinguished."

Section 9-13-12 adds the cost. An uncontrolled fire in woods, brush, or grass is a public nuisance. Whoever started it has to make a reasonable effort to put it out. The cost of putting it out "may be recovered from the person responsible."

The Forestry Commission Issues Permits, and the Law Changed October 1

The permit comes from the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC), through its dispatch center at (800) 392-5679. The AFC burn permit page says, "If the proposed fire is less than ¼ of an acre a permit is not necessary."

The statute behind it was rewritten this year. Act 2026-402 took effect October 1, 2026. It added Section 9-13-11.1, which says, "No person shall conduct any prescribed burn without first obtaining a burn permit from the State Forestry Commission." The act also repealed an old section about written notice to adjoining landowners. Older guides that say you must notify the neighbors in writing are describing that repealed law. Telling them anyway is still good manners.

"Prescribed burning" has a definition in Section 9-13-272. It's fire applied "to naturally occurring vegetative fuels for ecological, silvicultural, agricultural and wildlife management purposes." Brush piled up from a house pad doesn't fit those words neatly. So call AFC dispatch, describe the piles and their size, and ask whether your burn needs a permit. The same call tells you whether an alert is in effect that day.

A Permit Means You Stay With the Fire Until It's Out

To get a permit, Section 9-13-11.1 has you declare three things. First, you have "adequate tools, equipment, manpower, and other resources" to control the fire for the whole burn. Second, you are "sufficiently skilled and responsibly able to keep the fire controlled." Third, you won't leave it until it is "fully contained," meaning the fire and anything smoldering sit "entirely within established or natural firebreaks."

The AFC page lists what dispatch asks for. That's the location as latitude and longitude, the approximate size, what's being burned, and why. AFC can cancel a permit if the weather turns and causes "erratic and dangerous fire behavior." A permit issued on a false declaration counts as no permit at all. And the page is plain about one more point. Even with a permit, the burner "is still responsible for any damage to others that may be caused by the fire or smoke."

ADEM Decides What Clearing Debris Can Burn, and Where

Air quality falls under a separate rule, from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). ADEM Rule 335-3-3-.01 allows open burning of "vegetation or untreated wood" generated by clearing land for several purposes, including "erection of any structure." A homesite fits. The conditions are strict.

The burning has to happen on the property the material came from.
The fire must be "at least 500 feet from the nearest occupied dwelling," not counting a dwelling on the same property.
Smoke can't create a traffic hazard on a public road.
Fires start between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nothing gets added from 3 p.m. until 8 a.m. the next day.
Burning needs good ventilation, with the wind blowing away from any built-up area nearby.
No burning under a National Weather Service air stagnation advisory, or during a "Drought Emergency" declared by the Governor.
"The fire shall be attended at all times."

The rule also lists what can't go on the pile. Off limits are "heavy oils, asphalt products, plastics, vinyl materials, insulation, paper, cardboard, natural or synthetic rubber, salvage or scrap materials, chemicals, garbage, treated or painted wood, or any trash." The AFC page rules out "vehicle tires, construction material, household garbage." So the tires in the gully and the old painted shed stay out of the brush pile. They go to a landfill.

The 500-Foot Line Reaches Past Your Own Tract

Do the arithmetic before you push anything into piles. A circle 500 feet out from a burn pile covers about 18 acres. Of the 11,125 parcels LandScout scores in Shelby County, the median is 4.9 acres, and 49.1 percent are forested, per our October 1, 2026 export on the Shelby County numbers. A wooded homesite that size can't hold an 18-acre circle by itself. Where the nearest occupied house sits decides if you can burn at all.

Measure it on an aerial map from each open spot where a pile could go. If a neighbor's house sits inside 500 feet of every one of them, plan on another way to get rid of the brush. While you're looking at the map, settle which way the house should face, since the clearing crew decides which trees stay.

In Shelby County, Clearing Fires Wait for November

The same ADEM rule revokes this kind of burning "during the months of May, June, July, August, September, and October" in twelve counties. Shelby is one, along with Jefferson, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery, and seven others. ADEM's handout on disposing of vegetation from land clearing puts it as May 1 through October 31. It says some agricultural and silvicultural burning in those counties may be allowed with prior approval from ADEM and AFC. A homesite clearing is neither one.

So a Shelby County buyer who closes in June and clears in July has a choice. Let the piles sit and dry until November, or get them off the tract another way.

Local rules sit on top of the state's. The ADEM rule says burning under it doesn't excuse anyone from "all applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, and orders of governmental entities having jurisdiction." The AFC page says some county and city laws "also restrict outdoor burning," and that burners are responsible for contacting their local government. We didn't find a county-wide burning ordinance for Shelby County. If the tract is inside a city's limits, call that city's fire department before you plan a fire. Outside city limits, ask the county.

Fire Alerts and Wildfire Emergencies Come First

Dry weather can shut burning down no matter what you planned. Under Section 9-3-5.1, the State Forester may declare a wildfire alert for all or part of the state. The trigger is "a heightened level of danger from fire or smoke." During an alert, Section 9-13-11.1 lets the State Forester decline a permit after weighing the number of wildfires, the weather, and the burner's ability to control the fire.

One step further, the Forestry Commission can declare a wildfire emergency in one or more counties, with the Governor's approval, under Section 9-13-140. While it's in effect, Section 9-13-141 bars two things in that county. One is to "set fire to any forest, grass, woods." The other is "to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass, or woods fire." A violation is a Class B misdemeanor. None of that shows up on a permit you got last week, so check the day you burn.

When Burning Won't Work, the Brush Still Has Somewhere to Go

ADEM's handout lists the alternatives. Take the vegetation to an ADEM-licensed landfill. Or let it decompose, on the property or somewhere else. It can be hauled off site, "but it cannot be burned there."

A clearing contractor can also grind or chip the brush and spread it along the driveway edges or the garden spot. Get any contractor's price in writing, and ask whether hauling is included. If the drive meets a county road or state highway, the driveway permit comes before the dozer anyway. The law also directs the Forestry Commission to "give advice, assistance, and cooperation" to private landowners under Section 9-13-3. For a big clearing job, the county AFC office is a reasonable first call.

The rules for a brush fire are public. They're just not in one place. LandScout's parcel view shows a tract's mapped road frontage, flood zone, and soil screen side by side before you ever get in the truck. The pricing page lists what each plan includes.