Texas fireworks law has three layers. The state sets when stores can sell. Your county can add extra seasons, and in a drought it can restrict certain rockets in unincorporated areas. Your city decides whether you can light fireworks at all, and most North Texas cities say no.
This page walks through each layer with links to the actual statutes and official pages, so you can check the rules for your own address before you buy. It covers sale windows, county orders, burn bans, the age to buy, and how to light and clean up safely.
Sale seasons at our store (2026-27)
- Diwali: Nov 3-Nov 12, 2026
- New Year's: Dec 20, 2026-Jan 1, 2027
- Texas Independence Day: Feb 25-Mar 2, 2027
- San Jacinto Day: Apr 16-Apr 21, 2027
- Memorial Day: May 26-May 31, 2027
- Juneteenth: Jun 14-Jun 19, 2027
- 4th of July: Jun 24-Jul 4, 2027
When fireworks can be sold statewide
Texas Occupations Code Section 2154.202 says a store with a retail fireworks permit can sell to the public only during set periods. Two of them apply in every county with no extra approval needed.
The first runs from June 24 through midnight on July 4. The second runs from December 20 through midnight on January 1 of the next year. The Texas Department of Insurance, which runs the State Fire Marshal's Office, lists the same two seasons on its fireworks selling seasons page.
In 2025 the Legislature added a one-time July 5, 2026 sale day. That provision expired September 1, 2026, so the 2027 summer season ends at midnight on July 4 again.
A third window, May 1 through midnight on May 5, exists only for stores within 150 miles of the Texas-Mexico border, and only if that county approves it. It does not apply in Hunt County or the rest of the Dallas area.
State law also bans mail order sales of consumer fireworks. That is one reason our store works on reserve online, pay at pickup. No shipping, local pickup only.
These dates limit selling, not using. Texas has no statewide season for setting fireworks off, so fireworks you bought during a season can be used later in the year wherever your city and county allow them. City bans, county drought orders and the distance rules further down this page still apply every day of the year.
Sources: Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2154 (Sec. 2154.202, 2154.252) · TDI State Fire Marshal: Fireworks selling seasons
County-option seasons and how counties approve them
Several more sale periods exist, but only in counties whose commissioners court approves them by order. If your county has not acted, these windows do not apply there.
Under Section 2154.202, the county-option periods are:
Lunar New Year: five days before Lunar New Year through midnight on Lunar New Year.
Texas Independence Day: February 25 through midnight March 2.
San Jacinto Day: April 16 through midnight April 21.
Memorial Day: the Wednesday before the last Monday in May through midnight on the last Monday in May.
Juneteenth: June 14 through midnight June 19.
Diwali: five days before the first day of Diwali through midnight on the last day of Diwali.
The commissioners court decides at a posted public meeting. Some counties approve one season at a time. Others pass a standing order that stays in place until the court revokes it.
The Texas Association of Counties advises courts to adopt these orders before set dates: February 15 for Texas Independence Day, April 1 for San Jacinto Day, May 15 for Memorial Day, June 1 for Juneteenth, and 15 days before Diwali begins. The statute sets no deadline for Lunar New Year, so TAC suggests one.
To check your county, look at commissioners court agendas and minutes on the county website, or call the county fire marshal.
Sources: Texas Occupations Code Sec. 2154.202(g) and (h) · Texas Association of Counties: Burn Ban/Fireworks resources · TAC 2026 Fireworks Calendar (PDF)
Drought orders and burn bans
Two different county tools get mixed up a lot.
A burn ban comes from Local Government Code Section 352.081. It limits outdoor burning, like brush piles and fire pits, in the unincorporated area of a county. It lasts up to 90 days per order. A burn ban by itself is not a fireworks order, though some counties treat them together, so read your county's notice.
The fireworks drought law is Section 352.051. If the Texas A&M Forest Service finds a Keetch-Byram Drought Index of 575 or higher on average in a county, the commissioners court can prohibit or restrict the sale or use of restricted fireworks in the unincorporated area. In the December season, a court can also act where high grass or dry vegetation on uncultivated rural land makes fire danger extreme.
The order has to be adopted before set dates, including June 15 for the Fourth of July and December 15 for the December season. It ends when the Forest Service finds the drought is over. Breaking it is a Class C misdemeanor.
For county-option seasons, a drought can also end the approval itself if the county's order says so. TAC's sample orders are written to expire when the Forest Service finds drought.
The Forest Service posts a daily statewide burn ban map.
Sources: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 352.051 and 352.081 · Texas A&M Forest Service: Burn Bans & Information · TAC sample order: December Fireworks Period 2026 (PDF)
Restricted fireworks: skyrockets with sticks and missiles with fins
When a county adopts a drought order, it does not ban every firework. Section 352.051 defines "restricted fireworks" as only two kinds of items: "skyrockets with sticks" and "missiles with fins," as classified in a 1986 federal regulation.
TAC's sample drought order spells this out. It bars selling or using those two types in the unincorporated area, and it says the order does not prohibit "permissible fireworks" under Occupations Code Section 2154.003. Fountains, cakes and other ground items are not restricted by a drought order alone. Your city's rules still apply, and so does any separate county order.
The county may also name one or more safe areas where restricted fireworks can still be used. Any store selling in a county with a drought order has to post notice of the order and any safe areas.
Separately, state law makes some items illegal no matter the weather. Section 2154.003 bars small sky rockets, the kind sold as bottle rockets, and items the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission does not accept. It also bars use of the term "bottle rocket" in sales and advertising.
Sources: Texas Local Government Code Sec. 352.051(a), (f), (g) · Texas Occupations Code Sec. 2154.003 · TAC sample order: December Fireworks Period 2026 (PDF)
City bans and how to check your city
State law lets stores sell fireworks. It does not give you the right to light them anywhere. Occupations Code Section 2154.004 keeps the power of cities to prohibit or further regulate fireworks.
Most North Texas cities ban fireworks inside city limits. Dallas, McKinney, Frisco, Forney and Greenville all say so on official city pages. Many city ordinances also reach 5,000 feet past city limits. Local Government Code Section 217.042 lets a home-rule city regulate nuisances in that zone, but it says the city cannot ban the sale of fireworks outside its limits. That is why you see stands outside town.
Unincorporated county land is where use is most often allowed, with the landowner's permission, unless a county order says otherwise. HOAs, landlords and parks may have their own rules.
To check your address:
1. Find out if you live inside city limits. Your city or county appraisal district map can tell you.
2. Search your city's code of ordinances for "fireworks." Most Texas cities publish codes through Municode, American Legal Publishing or eCode360, linked from the city website.
3. Check the city fire marshal's page, or call the police non-emergency line. Do not call 911 to ask.
Sources: Texas Occupations Code Sec. 2154.004 · Texas Local Government Code Sec. 217.042 · Collin County Fire Marshal: Fireworks · City of Dallas Fire-Rescue July 4th newsletter (PDF)
Age to buy and other buyer rules
Under Occupations Code Section 2154.252(c), fireworks may not be sold to children under 16, or to an intoxicated or incompetent person. Sellers have to make a reasonable effort to check that buyers are old enough. Expect us to ask for ID.
The same section says consumer fireworks (Fireworks 1.4G) can be sold to the public only at authorized retail locations, and all mail order sales are prohibited. Fireworks also have to meet U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and state standards to be sold, transported or used in Texas.
Section 2154.254 covers who can work at a stand. In general, nobody under 16 can sell fireworks for a business, and a 16 or 17 year old seller has to work with someone 18 or older. There is an exception for the owner's immediate family.
Holding a store permit is the seller's job. Each retail location needs a permit from the state every year, and permits expire January 31. Some counties also require a county permit for stands in unincorporated areas.
Sources: Texas Occupations Code Sec. 2154.202, 2154.252, 2154.254 · Kaufman County Fire Marshal: Fireworks
Places state law says you cannot light fireworks
Even where your city and county allow fireworks, Occupations Code Section 2154.251 sets some statewide limits. A person may not explode or ignite fireworks:
Within 600 feet of a church, a hospital (other than a veterinary hospital), an asylum, a licensed child care center, or a public or private primary or secondary school or college, unless that organization gives written permission.
Within 100 feet of a place where flammable liquids or flammable compressed gases are stored and dispensed. Think gas stations and propane sales.
Within 100 feet of a place where fireworks are stored or sold. That includes our store and parking lot. Please do not light anything here.
In or from a motor vehicle. It is also illegal to put lit fireworks in, or throw them at, a vehicle.
Under Section 2154.303, many of these violations are a Class C misdemeanor when damage is under $200 and nobody is hurt. Penalties go up from there.
Collin County also notes that possessing or setting off fireworks on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property is illegal, which matters around lakes like Lavon and Lewisville.
Sources: Texas Occupations Code Sec. 2154.251 and 2154.303 · Collin County Fire Marshal: Fireworks
Safety checklist before you light
These steps come from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Fire Protection Association, plus the state rules above.
1. Confirm fireworks are legal at your address and that no county order is in effect.
2. Buy only fireworks labeled for consumer use, and read each label before lighting.
3. Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose ready.
4. Pick a flat, open spot away from houses, dry grass, cars and people. NFPA data show most fireworks fires are brush, grass or forest fires.
5. Have one sober adult do the lighting. CPSC says never use fireworks while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
6. Never let young children play with or light fireworks, including sparklers. CPSC says sparklers burn at about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Light one firework at a time, then move back quickly.
8. Never lean over a device when lighting the fuse.
9. Never point or throw fireworks, sparklers included, at anyone.
10. Do not hold fireworks in your hand unless the label says it is meant to be handheld.
11. Keep pets inside.
CPSC and NFPA both say a public display run by professionals is the safest way to see fireworks.
Sources: CPSC: Fireworks Information Center · NFPA: Fireworks safety tips (tip sheet) · NFPA: Fireworks fires and injuries report
Duds and disposal
A dud is a firework that did not go off, or only partly went off. CPSC's advice is simple: never try to relight or handle a malfunctioning firework. Soak it with water and throw it away.
Give a dud time before you walk up to it. Keep people and pets back. Then soak it with a bucket of water or a hose from a distance.
Spent fireworks can still start a fire. CPSC says to douse each used device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before you throw it away, to prevent a trash fire. Many cities suggest letting them soak in a bucket overnight, then bagging them for the regular trash. Check your city's solid waste rules. Do not put fireworks in recycling or yard waste.
Do not burn leftover fireworks, take them apart, or try to fix them. If you have fireworks you will not use, store them in a cool, dry place out of children's reach until next season. For damaged or leftover items you want gone, call your local fire department's non-emergency line and ask how they handle it.
Sources: CPSC: Fireworks Information Center · CPSC: Celebrate safely with fireworks