Fire Pit Codes, Permits and Clearances by State
Each figure on these pages cites its code section and the date we verified it. State law sets the minimum. Your city almost always adds to it, and the inspector has the final word, so check with your local authority before you build.
Four states published. We add a state once we can source every figure on its page.
Published states, with the adopted code, the headline clearance and the date each page was last verified. Each state links to its page.
- Adopted code
- The 2024 International Fire Code as the State Fire Code (A.A.C. R4-36-201), effective April 13, 2026
- Headline clearance
- 25 ftWood fire to structure, State Fire Code (IFC 2024, 307.4.2)A.A.C. R4-36-201; 2024 IFC §307.4.2
- Last verified
- Adopted code
- The 2025 California Fire Code (Title 24, Part 9), based on the 2024 International Fire Code, effective January 1, 2026
- Headline clearance
- 25 ftWood fire to structure, CFC 307.4.2 as adopted locally2025 California Fire Code §307.4.2
- Last verified
- Adopted code
- No statewide fire code for private homes; cities adopt their own, and the statewide Colorado Fuel Gas Code adopts Chapters 2 to 8 of the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code
- Headline clearance
- Set locally25 ft in Colorado Springs. Denver: wood fire pits prohibited8 CCR 1507-101 for the absence of a statewide rule; Colorado Springs City Code §8.4.102; Denver Revised Municipal Code §4-24(a)(1)
- Last verified
- Adopted code
- No statewide fire code for private homes; cities adopt their own, Austin and San Antonio the 2024 International Fire Code
- Headline clearance
- Set locally25 ft in Austin and San Antonio (2024 IFC 307.4.2)Tex. Local Gov't Code §233.062(a) for the absence of a statewide rule; Austin City Code §25-12-171 and San Antonio City Code §11-32 for the city figure
- Last verified
Fire pit rules come in layers, and which layer matters depends on the fuel.
Model Codes
Private standards bodies write the model codes. The International Code Council publishes the International Fire Code (IFC) and the International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC). The National Fire Protection Association publishes NFPA 1, NFPA 54 and NFPA 58. CSA Group publishes ANSI Z21.97 / CSA 2.41 for outdoor decorative gas appliances. A model code has no legal force until a government adopts it. The current IFC is the 2024 edition.
For a wood fire, the distance is in the fire code.
Recreational fires shall not be conducted within 25 feet (7620 mm) of a structure or combustible material.
Portable outdoor fireplaces get 15 ft under section 307.4.3, with an exception for one- and two-family dwellings. Both are solid-fuel rules. A gas fire table follows a different one.
Permanently fixed-in-place outdoor decorative appliances shall be listed in accordance with ANSI Z21.97 and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
The clearance for a gas unit is whatever its installation manual says. No model code section we read measures a distance to a property line.
How Local Adoption Works
States adopt some, all or none of the model codes, often with amendments. California and Arizona adopt a statewide fire code. Texas and Colorado set none for private homes, so your city does: Austin and San Antonio use the 2024 IFC, and Colorado Springs the 2021 edition. Cities and counties can amend on top of the state, and in Texas and Colorado they are usually the only fire code there is.
Air rules sit alongside the fire code and often stop a backyard wood fire first. A fire that meets every distance can still be illegal on a No-Burn day in the Los Angeles basin, during a restricted-burn period in metro Phoenix, or at all in Denver without a permit. Maricopa County's restricted-burn rule exempts gas.
The ordinance does not apply to "Devices or equipment, including fire pits and fireplaces, that are designed and used to burn natural gas, propane, or liquefied petroleum gas exclusively."
NFPA's codes can be read free only behind a login, so we cite their section numbers only where an adopted code reproduces them. The inspector, the authority having jurisdiction, interprets all of it for your address.
This page is reference, not a permit. Your local authority having jurisdiction makes the final call, and their interpretation governs. Confirm before you build or buy.
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