Benton County, WA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)
Key Facts
- Sale dates
- June 28-July 4; Dec 27-31
- Discharge hours
- Noon-midnight July 3-4; 6pm-1am NYE
- Sale/possession permit fee
- $100, issued by Fire Marshal
- Public display permit fee
- $100, granted by Commissioners
- Minimum age
- 16, adult 18+ must supervise
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor plus $500-$2,000 civil infractions
Summary
Consumer fireworks may only be sold and set off in unincorporated Benton County during two short windows each year, June 28 through July 4 and December 27 through 31, under BCC 7.30.020. A Fire Marshal permit is required to manufacture, import, sell, or publicly display fireworks, and the county can shut down all fireworks use during extreme fire danger.
7.30.020 FIREWORKS - DATES AND TIMES ALLOWED TO BE SOLD AND DISCHARGED. (Effective June 24, 2026.) ... (a) It is legal to sell and purchase consumer fireworks within unincorporated Benton County from twelve o'clock noon to eleven o'clock p.m. on the twenty-eighth of June, from nine o'clock a.m. to eleven o'clock p.m. on each day from the twenty-ninth of June through the fourth of July, from twelve o'clock noon to eleven o'clock p.m. on each day from the twenty-seventh of December through the thirty-first of December of each year... (b) Consumer fireworks may be used or discharged each day between the hours of twelve o'clock noon and twelve o'clock p.m. midnight on July 3rd, and on July 4th, and from six o'clock p.m. on December 31st until one o'clock a.m. on January 1st of the subsequent year.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 7.30 BCC applies only within the unincorporated areas of Benton County, since Kennewick, Richland, West Richland, and Prosser each set their own fireworks rules. Under the version of 7.30.020 now in effect, consumer fireworks may be sold from noon to 11:00 p.m. on June 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. each day from June 29 through July 4, and from noon to 11:00 p.m. each day from December 27 through 31. Discharge is narrower: fireworks may only be set off between noon and midnight on July 3rd and July 4th, and from 6:00 p.m. on December 31st until 1:00 a.m. on January 1st.
Anyone who manufactures, imports, possesses for sale, sells, or transports fireworks needs a permit from the Benton County Fire Marshal under 7.30.040, and the permit fee is $100 under 7.30.050, though state law waives that fee for religious or private organizations seeking only a consumer-fireworks permit. A separate public display permit, also $100, is granted by the Benton County Board of Commissioners under 7.30.080 through 7.30.090 after the Fire Marshal investigates and reports on safety and insurance. Retailers must post their approved fireworks list at each outlet by May 31 each year under 7.30.070.
Section 7.30.140 bans a list of specific devices outright, including helicopter or aerial spinners, mine or shell devices, sky rockets, missile-type rockets, and firecrackers or salutes exceeding the section's size and pyrotechnic-composition limits, regardless of season. Section 7.30.145 layers on a fire-danger shutdown: whenever the Department of Natural Resources rates the Southeast Washington Region's Energy Release Value at 17 or higher and the Fire Marshal posts an Extreme classification, discharge of all fireworks is banned for that period, even during the July 3-4 window. A minimum-age rule in 7.30.150 bars anyone under 16 from possessing, using, discharging, or transporting fireworks unless supervised by an adult 18 or older.
Violations & Fines
Violating any part of Chapter 7.30 is a misdemeanor under 7.30.155, punishable by a court-set fine of up to $1,000, except where state fireworks law, Chapter 70.77 RCW, imposes something else. Section 7.30.156 adds an escalating civil infraction on top of that: $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second, and $2,000 for a third, with each day of a continuing violation counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I legally buy and set off fireworks in unincorporated Benton County?
What happens to fireworks rules during a wildfire danger period?
Is there a minimum age for using fireworks in Benton County?
What's the penalty for illegal fireworks in Benton County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Benton County
How Benton County compares: Cities Where Fireworks Are Banned or Heavily Restricted·Compare Benton County to another location·View the Washington fire regulations overview
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