Chittenden County, VT Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Vermont counties have no fireworks regulatory authority. All rules come from 20 V.S.A. Chapter 177. Under 20 V.S.A. §3132, no person may offer for sale, sell at retail or wholesale, possess, use, or detonate fireworks except (a) sparklers compliant with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards under 16 C.F.R. Part 1507 - hand-held sparklers may not exceed 14 inches in length and 20 grams of pyrotechnic composition; (b) novelty items including snakes, party poppers, glow worms, smoke devices, string poppers, snappers, and drop pops containing not more than 0.25 grains (16 mg) of explosive mixture per item. All other fireworks - including aerial shells, Roman candles, bottle rockets, firecrackers, missiles, fountains, and reloadable mortars - are illegal for consumer use. Display permits for supervised public displays may be issued under 20 V.S.A. §3132(c) by the chief of the local fire department (or, in towns without a fire department, the selectboard) on at least 15 days' written notice; the operator must be approved by the police and fire chiefs. Sales of any fireworks (other than the listed novelties) require both a federal ATF license and a municipal permit. Selling sparklers to minors is prohibited. Chittenden County enforcement is handled by town police, the Vermont State Police, and the Department of Public Safety, Division of Fire Safety. Burlington and other Chittenden County municipalities can adopt local ordinances further restricting noise from fireworks but cannot loosen the state statute.