8 rules for unincorporated Dakota County, Minnesota.
Verified from official government sources
Recreational fires in a backyard fire pit are allowed under the Minnesota State Fire Code without a DNR burn permit if kept small: no more than 3 feet in diameter, set well back from structures, attended, and burning only clean dry wood. Cities set the exact setbacks.
MN DNR Burning Permit rules (Minn. Stat. 88.17)
A permit is not needed for a 'campfire' - a fire set for cooking, warming, or ceremonial purposes, which is not more than 3 feet in diameter by 3 feet high, and has had the ground 5 feet from the base of the fire cleared of all combustible material.
Minnesota bans aerial and explosive fireworks statewide. Only ground-based, non-explosive sparkling items (sparklers, cones, fountains) are legal. Firecrackers, bottle rockets, and Roman candles are illegal everywhere in Dakota County. Cities may restrict or ban even the legal items.
Minn. Stat. 624.20, subd. 1(c)
The term also does not include wire or wood sparklers of not more than 100 grams of mixture per item, other sparkling items which are nonexplosive and nonaerial and contain 75 grams or less of chemical mixture per tube or a total of 500 grams or less for multiple tubes, snakes and glow worms, smoke devices, or trick noisemakers.
Minnesota has no statewide residential defensible-space or brush-clearance mandate like fire-prone western states. Dakota County sets no brush-clearance ordinance. Vegetation cleanup is driven by city nuisance and tall-grass/weed rules plus DNR fire-danger burning restrictions during dry spells.
Open burning of brush, leaves, and untreated wood needs a Minnesota DNR burning permit whenever the fire is larger than a recreational fire and the ground is not snow-covered. Burning garbage, plastics, treated wood, and rubber is illegal statewide.
Minn. Stat. 88.171, subd. 2
No person shall conduct, cause, or permit open burning of rubber, plastics, chemically treated materials, or other materials which produce excessive or noxious smoke including, but not limited to, tires, railroad ties, chemically treated lumber, composite shingles, tar paper, insulation, composition board, sheetrock, wiring, paint, or paint filters.
Dakota County has no designated wildfire or wildland-urban-interface hazard zones and no defensible-space mandate. This suburban Twin Cities county is not fire-prone like western states. The only wildfire-related control is the Minnesota DNR's daily fire-danger rating and burning restrictions.
Minnesota law requires every dwelling unit to have a working smoke alarm meeting the State Fire Code, placed in and near each bedroom and on every level. This is a statewide rule; Dakota County sets no separate ordinance. Landlords must install and maintain alarms in rentals.
Minn. Stat. 299F.362, subd. 3
Every dwelling unit within a dwelling must be provided with a smoke alarm meeting the requirements of the State Fire Code.
Backyard recreational fires are legal without a DNR permit if kept to campfire size (no more than 3 feet by 3 feet), contained, attended, and set well back from buildings. Burning garbage or leaves in the backyard is illegal. Cities set exact setbacks and can ban fires during dry spells.
MN DNR Burning Permit rules
A permit is not needed... for a fire contained in a charcoal grill, camp stove, or other device designed for cooking or heating; when the ground is snow-covered - by definition, when there is a continuous unbroken cover of snow 3 inches deep or more surrounding the immediate area of the fire.
Under the Minnesota State Fire Code, propane (LP-gas) cylinders larger than 1 pound cannot be stored or used indoors at a home, including attached or detached garages. Twenty-pound grill tanks must be stored outdoors, away from doors, windows, and fresh-air intakes.
MN State Fire Code / NFPA 58 (DPS SFM guidance, sec. 6109)
Cylinders larger than 1 pound must not be stored or used indoors at a residential property, including in attached and detached garages.
See every category we cover for Dakota County — parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
Dakota County Ordinance Hub →