Burning brush to clear vegetation across Plymouth County requires a fire department permit under MGL c.48 §13, allowed only during the January 15–May 1 open-burn season, with a 75-foot setback from dwellings.
Massachusetts has no statewide defensible-space mandate, but disposing of brush by fire is governed by MGL c.48 §13. Plymouth County residents may burn brush, cane, and forestry debris only from January 15 through May 1, and only with a permit from the local forest warden or fire chief covering up to two days. State air regulations (310 CMR 7.07) require a 75-foot setback from dwellings and prohibit burning leaves, grass, or construction debris. Fire departments issue permits daily based on weather. Spring, March through May, is the peak wildfire period on the South Shore and in the Wareham pine barrens.
Burning brush without a permit, or outside the January 15–May 1 season, carries a fine of up to $500 plus the cost of suppression, or imprisonment for up to one month.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations at all, and where a bylaw to...
Plymouth County, MA
No Plymouth County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. On your own lawn a yard-sale sign is generally fine, but a si...
Plymouth County, MA
Towns, not Plymouth County, regulate signs, through zoning bylaws authorized by MGL c.40A. Those bylaws must stay content-neutral: after Reed v. Town of Gilb...
Plymouth County, MA
Rental registration and inspection are local powers, not county ones. The State Sanitary Code under MGL c.111 §127A lets each town's board of health enforce ...
Plymouth County, MA
Massachusetts has no statewide just-cause eviction law, and no Plymouth County town can add one. A landlord ends a tenancy at will with 30 days' written noti...
Plymouth County, MA
Rent control is illegal across every Plymouth County community. Massachusetts voters banned it in 1994 through Question 9, now codified as MGL c.40P §4: no c...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Plymouth County.
See how Plymouth's brush clearance rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.