Palatine, IL Fire Regulations: Outdoor Burning (2026)

Section 22-119(b) of the Palatine Village Code makes it unlawful to start or maintain any grass fire or controlled open burn in the village without first securing a permit from the fire marshal or designee, and the village charges a permit fee, set in the village fee schedule, that must be paid before the permit is issued. Subsection (c) then lays out the burning rules that apply village-wide: it is unlawful to burn refuse of any kind anywhere in the village except as the section allows.

Leaf burning is banned outright, with no permit path around it. Burning off vegetation from any area requires a permit issued by the fire department, a separate authorization from the grass-fire and open-burn permit in subsection (b). Outdoor fires to burn construction material, wood, papers, paper goods, cardboard or plastics are unlawful unless the adopted International Fire Code allows them, though outdoor cooking remains permitted in grills or other appliances designed and listed for that purpose. These burning provisions were last amended by Ord. No.

O-141-23 on December 4, 2023, and they trace back to former §§ 25.015 and 25.018 of the 1961 code and §§ 12-41 through 12-43 of the 1976 code. A violation falls under chapter 22's general penalty in Sec. 22-234, a fine set by village ordinance or resolution, with liability for the full cost of any village abatement the violation makes necessary.