Memphis, TN Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)
Outdoor burning rules in Memphis, TN, also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance, set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Memphis Code § 9-12-4(A)
- Absolutely banned materials
- Tires, vinyl, plastics, asphalt roofing, asbestos
- Max fine
- $10,000.00 per day (Class C misdemeanor)
- Enforcer
- Health officer, Memphis-Shelby Co. Health Dept.
- Vegetation-burn hours
- 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
- Air curtain setback
- 500 ft from highway, 1,000 ft from school
Summary
Memphis Code § 9-12-4(A) bans open burning of refuse, garbage, trade waste, trees, limbs, brush and salvage materials citywide, and flatly prohibits burning tires, vinyl, plastics, asphalt roofing or asbestos materials under any circumstance.
A. No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning of refuse, garbage, trade waste, trees, limbs, brush, or materials from salvage operations. The open burning of tires and other rubber products, vinyl shingles and siding, other plastics, asphalt shingles and other asphalt roofing materials, and/or asbestos containing materials is expressly prohibited, and such materials shall not be lawful in any open burning conducted under the provisions of this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32 | Charter: Supplement 4).
Full Breakdown
Section 9-12-4(A) sets the baseline rule for the Air Pollution Control chapter: 'No person shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning of refuse, garbage, trade waste, trees, limbs, brush, or materials from salvage operations.' It then adds an absolute ban layered on top, tires and other rubber products, vinyl shingles and siding, other plastics, asphalt shingles and other asphalt roofing materials, and asbestos-containing materials 'shall not be lawful in any open burning conducted under the provisions of this section,' meaning even the permit exceptions elsewhere in § 9-12-4 cannot authorize burning those materials.
Limited exceptions to the general prohibition exist in subsections B and C: cooking/recreational/comfort-heating fires, firefighter training burns (with 10 days' written certification to the Memphis-Shelby County Health Department's pollution control section), smokeless flares, agricultural burns, disposal of dead animals where no other method exists, and health-officer-approved burns, plus a permitted air curtain destructor process for vegetation with strict distance rules (500 feet from any highway, 1,000 feet from a school or park, one-half mile from an airport, nursing home or hospital) and burning hours limited to 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Subsection E separately allows post-natural-disaster burning of structural, household and vegetation debris under Health Department notification and siting conditions. The health officer enforces the chapter under § 9-12-6 by issuing a notice to correct or citation, escalating to a cease-or-suspend-operation order or injunctive relief for noncompliance, and § 9-12-7 makes a knowing violation a Class C misdemeanor with fines up to $10,000.00 per day, each day a separate offense. A state-law cross-reference in § 9-12-4(E)(3) also flags T.C.A. § 39-14-306, which separately bars open-air fires between October 15 and May 15 within 500 feet of forest, grassland or woodland in unincorporated Shelby County without a state forester permit.
Violations & Fines
A knowing violation of the open-burning prohibition is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $10,000.00 per day, with each day of continued violation a separate offense (§ 9-12-7). The health officer can also issue a cease-or-suspend-operation order and, if ignored, seek injunctive relief in court (§ 9-12-6).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I burn trash or yard debris in Memphis?
Is there any material Memphis never allows to be burned, even with a permit?
What is the penalty for illegal open burning in Memphis?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Memphis
How Memphis compares: Cities with the Strictest Outdoor Burning Rules·Compare Memphis to another location·View the Tennessee fire regulations overview
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