Collier County, FL Outdoor Cooking: Smoker Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Rule
- Collier County Code § 58-1(i)(1)(b)
- Allowed
- Grills, smokers, contained cooking equipment
- Required clearance
- 3 feet of cleared space
- Applies
- Even during a drought burn-ban resolution
- Permit
- None needed for ordinary outdoor cooking
- Enforced by
- Sheriff and code enforcement officers
Summary
Collier County lets you cook outdoors on any grill, smoker, or fire pit built to contain the flame, without a special county permit, under the outdoor-cooking exception written into the county's drought-burning ordinance at Code § 58-1(i)(1)(b). The catch is a hard clearance rule: every outdoor cooking area must be kept clear of burnable material for at least three feet around the fire.
Prohibit residential outdoor cooking provided the same is done on a suitable piece of equipment designed to contain the fire, flame, and heat generated thereby. Further, outdoor cooking may also be done in any public or private place where there are facilities designed for outdoor cooking which would contain the heat, flames, or fire otherwise generated by outdoor cooking. All outdoor cooking areas shall be free of burnable materials within an area having a circumference which extends not less than three (3) feet beyond the nearest edge of the fire.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 126 | Land Development Code: Supplement 33).
Full Breakdown
Collier County's drought-burning ordinance, Code § 58-1, exists to let the Board of County Commissioners shut down open flames during a declared emergency, but its exceptions clause, § 58-1(i)(1)(b), specifically protects everyday outdoor cooking. The ordinance states that residential outdoor cooking is allowed provided it is done on a suitable piece of equipment designed to contain the fire, flame, and heat generated, which covers charcoal grills, gas grills, and smokers alike as long as the unit is built to hold the fire. Outdoor cooking is also permitted in any public or private place that has facilities designed for it, such as a park pavilion grill station or a restaurant's outdoor cooking area.
The one hard numeric standard in the exception is a clearance rule: the cooking area must be kept free of burnable materials for a distance of not less than three feet beyond the nearest edge of the fire, measured in a full circle around it. Because this text lives inside § 58-1's exceptions, it stays in force even while a drought-emergency burn-ban resolution is active elsewhere in the county, distinguishing ordinary grilling and smoking from the campfires, bonfires, and yard-trash burning that a resolution can shut down.
The rule does not set hours, sound limits, or a minimum lot-line setback for grills; it regulates only the equipment and the burnable-material clearance around it.
Violations & Fines
Cooking on equipment that is not designed to contain the fire, or letting burnable debris sit within three feet of the flame, forfeits the § 58-1(i)(1)(b) exception and exposes the fire to treatment as unlawful open burning under the rest of § 58-1, enforced by the Sheriff's Office and Collier County code enforcement as a civil infraction with separate daily fines for a continuing violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a smoker or charcoal grill at my Collier County home?
How much clearance does my grill or smoker need?
Does a countywide burn ban stop me from grilling?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Collier County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Collier County to another location·View the Florida outdoor cooking overview
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