Nashua, NH Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Nashua City Code Chapter 160 (Fireworks), originally adopted by the Board of Aldermen and most recently amended in August 2024, makes it 'illegal for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, purchase, possess, use or explode any fireworks' without a permit issued in accordance with the provisions of RSA 160-B (Sale and Use of Fireworks) and RSA 160-C (Permissible Fireworks). The ordinance bans consumer/permissible fireworks outright at the local level: 'There shall be no permits granted, except to the City of Nashua for programs and displays under its control, for the sale, purchase, possession, use or explosion of Class C fireworks.' RSA 160-C:6 (Local Option) expressly authorizes any municipality to vote to allow or to prohibit, within that municipality, the issuance of permits or licenses to sell permissible fireworks or the display or possession of permissible fireworks - Nashua has chosen prohibition. Professional / display fireworks are handled separately: 'The Fire Marshal may grant a permit for firework displays when he or she determines that proper safety will be provided,' and the ordinance imposes time-of-night limits even on permitted displays: 'It shall be unlawful to use, discharge or display salute, reports, or thunder shell fireworks between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. There shall be only color shells, cakes, and whistlers used, discharged or displayed after 10:00 p.m.' The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal's Permissible Fireworks Community Restrictions List identifies Nashua as a community that prohibits consumer fireworks. State law (RSA 160-C) sets the buyer age at 21 (18 for active military with valid ID) and restricts display fireworks (Class B / 1.3G) to licensed pyrotechnicians under RSA 160-B. Penalties in Nashua are imposed in addition to the penalty provisions of RSA 160-B and 160-C, and may be subject to the City Code's general penalty under § 1-12.