Apex, NC Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

NCGS § 14-410 (Article 54, Sale of Pyrotechnics) prohibits the manufacture, sale, possession, use, transport, advertising, exhibition, or discharge of any pyrotechnics in North Carolina, with limited exemptions for permitted public displays whose operators are trained and licensed under Article 82A of NCGS Chapter 58. NCGS § 14-414 carves out the only consumer-legal items: explosive paper caps (not over 0.25 g each), snakes and glow worms, smoke devices, trick noisemakers (party poppers, string poppers, snappers), wire or stick sparklers coated with nonexplosive pyrotechnic mixture (not over 100 g), and other sparkling devices that emit a shower of sparks (sometimes with whistling or crackling), do not detonate or explode, do not spin, are hand-held or ground-based, cannot propel themselves through the air, and contain not more than 75 g of chemical compound per tube (or, for multi-tube devices, not more than 200 g total). Violations of Article 54 are Class 2 misdemeanors per NCGS § 14-413 (Class 1 for indoor exhibitions). In 2025 the North Carolina General Assembly raised the minimum age for purchase or use of legal fireworks from 16 to 18. Apex does not add a separate local fireworks ordinance - the Apex Fire Department's official guidance simply restates the state law (Apex Firework Safety page: illegal items include "firecrackers, ground spinners, bottle rockets, Roman candles, and aerial fireworks"). Public fireworks displays inside Apex require a NC State Fire Marshal (OSFM) display operator's license under Article 82A and coordination with the Apex Fire Department (919-362-4001). Wake County does not authorize consumer aerial fireworks - the state ban applies countywide and in every NC municipality.