One of the laws that governs prescribed fire in Indiana is the Open Burning Law administered by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The applicable law can be found the Indiana Code 13-17-9. State open burning rules can be found in Indiana Administrative Code 326 IAC 4-1.
Section 2 of 326 IAC 4-1-2 states, “Open burning is prohibited except as allowed in this rule.”
Sec. 3. (a) IC 13-17-9 exempts certain types of open burning for maintenance purposes listed as follows: Section 3 lists the following exemptions:
- (1) A person may open burn the following:
- (A) Vegetation from any of the following:
- (i) A farm.
- (ii) An orchard.
- (iii) A nursery.
- (iv) A tree farm.
- (v) A cemetery
- (vi) A drainage ditch.
- (vii) Agricultural land, if the open burn occurs in an unincorporated area.
Section 4.1 lists open burning that may be authorized through the issuance of a permit, which includes prescribed fire. IDEM website states, “IDEM approval is required before prescribed burns, unless the burning is being conducted on properties owned by the IDNR, municipal or county governments, the US Department of Interior, the US Department of Agriculture, or the US Forest Service.
Burners must submit the following forms to IDEM for prior approval
Please complete and submit these forms at least 60 days before the anticipated burn date. Questions regarding IDEM approvals for prescribed fires can be sent to Brock Jones at BJones2@idem.in.gov.
More information about Indiana’s Open Burning Rules can be found on the IDEM open burning website.
Indiana Prescribed Burn Act (IC 14-23-6.6)
On July 1st, 2025, Indiana’s newly enacted law (IC 14-23-6.6) on prescribed burning took effect. This law does not affect landowners or current prescribed fire practitioners’ ability to execute prescribed burns, but it does offer incentives in the form of liability protection and other benefits for individuals who follow the standards of practice included in the law. The new law does the following:
- Preserves prescribed fire as a right of a landowner
- Sets the standards of practice for executing prescribed burns
- Authorizes the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to administer a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Program (CPBM)
- Defines liability protections and other benefits for landowners or prescribed fire practitioners who follow the provisions of the law.
Standards of Practice for Prescribed Fire
Section 6 of the law defines the requirements landowners and prescribed fire practitioners must follow to take advantage of the liability protections and other incentives included in the law. Most of these requirements follow existing best practices everyone executing prescribed burns should already implement. These include:
- (1) obtaining the written consent of the landowner if someone other than the landowner is executing the prescribed burn;
- (2) having a prescribed burn plan prepared by a CPBM in a format approved by the Indiana DNR Division of Forestry;
- (3) notifying the nearest local fire department and county dispatcher or 911 dispatcher at least twenty-four (24) hours before the prescribed burn begins;
- (4) have at least one (1) CPBM on site while the prescribed burn is being executed; and
- (5) have a copy of the completed prescribed burn plan on site while the prescribed burn is taking place.
For more information on the new Indiana Prescribed Burn Law, please see the document below.
đź“„ Indiana Prescribed Burn Law Factsheet
