Fireworks are legal in North Dakota, but only within tight limits: the state allows the sale and use of a specific list of approved items during two windows each year, June 27 through July 5 and December 26 through January 1. Anything outside that list, or outside those dates, is illegal. And several of the state’s largest cities ban fireworks entirely within city limits, so state permission doesn’t automatically mean you can light them where you live.
When You Can Buy and Use Them
The state sets two annual sale periods:1North Dakota Attorney General. Fireworks Sales
- Summer: June 27 through July 5
- Winter: December 26 through January 1
You must be at least 12 years old to buy fireworks.2North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 23-15 – Fireworks The statute frames these as sale periods for licensed retailers, but because the general prohibition covers both selling and discharging anything outside the chapter’s exceptions, legal use falls inside the same windows. Cities and counties can shorten those windows or ban fireworks outright.
Fire conditions can shrink the window further. During periods of high fire danger, counties may impose burn bans that restrict or prohibit fireworks even on days the state otherwise allows them. The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services posts current burn restrictions at ndresponse.gov.
Which Fireworks Are Approved
North Dakota’s fireworks law bans all fireworks by default and then permits a specific list of items. If a device isn’t on the list, it isn’t legal. The approved categories, with the state’s weight and size limits:2North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 23-15 – Fireworks
- Star lights, up to 20 grams of pyrotechnic composition each
- Helicopter flyers, up to 20 grams each
- Cylindrical fountains, up to 75 grams each, with an inside tube diameter no larger than three-quarters of an inch
- Cone fountains, up to 50 grams each
- Wheels, up to 60 grams per driver unit, with no cap on the number of drivers per wheel
- Illuminating torches and colored fire, up to 100 grams each
- Sparklers and dipped sticks, up to 100 grams each, with any chlorate-containing composition capped at 5 grams
- Comets and shells with an integral mortar, non-audible effects only, up to 40 grams each
- Soft shell firecrackers no longer than one and a half inches, no wider than one-quarter inch in diameter, with no more than 50 milligrams of composition
What’s Illegal
Anything not on the approved list is illegal to sell, possess, or discharge. The statute’s general prohibition covers selling, importing into the state, and setting off any fireworks outside the listed exceptions.2North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 23-15 – Fireworks
Small bottle rockets are called out specifically. You cannot sell or distribute any skyrocket with a casing under five-eighths of an inch in diameter and under three and a half inches long. Larger skyrockets that fit within the star light category and stay under the 20-gram composition limit remain legal.2North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 23-15 – Fireworks
M-80s and cherry bombs are illegal because they exceed the 50-milligram composition limit for firecrackers by a wide margin. Roman candles, large aerial shells, and any device producing primarily an audible effect beyond what the approved categories permit are also out.
City Bans That Override State Permission
State law sets a ceiling, not a floor. Cities and counties can impose stricter rules, including complete bans, and several of North Dakota’s largest cities have done exactly that.
Fargo prohibits the possession and use of fireworks within city limits. Bismarck bans the sale, possession, and discharge of fireworks, treating violations as a class B misdemeanor. Grand Forks also bans them. West Fargo permits fireworks during the state-authorized windows. So you can legally buy fireworks at a stand outside city limits, drive home, and commit an offense the moment you light one in your own driveway, depending on which city that driveway is in.
Before buying, check with your city clerk’s office or local fire department. Municipal websites usually post fireworks rules in the weeks before the Fourth of July. A local ban is not overridden by the state’s summer or winter windows.
Penalties
Violating any part of the state fireworks chapter is a class B misdemeanor.2North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 23-15 – Fireworks That carries up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,500, or both.3North Dakota Legislative Branch. North Dakota Century Code 12.1-32 – Penalties The same penalty applies to selling without a license, selling outside the legal windows, selling to anyone under 12, and discharging prohibited fireworks.
Cities with their own bans set their own penalties. Bismarck matches the state at a class B misdemeanor; other cities use flat fines. Either way, a conviction creates a criminal record rather than a simple ticket.
Civil exposure is separate from the criminal side. If your fireworks start a fire that spreads or injure someone, you are personally responsible for the resulting costs. Homeowners insurance policies frequently exclude fireworks-related incidents, which can leave you paying directly.
State Parks and Other Off-Limits Areas
Fireworks are banned in all North Dakota state parks. Discharging any form of fireworks in a state park without authorization from the parks director is a noncriminal offense carrying a fine of up to $1,000.4Legal Information Institute. North Dakota Admin Code 58-02-08-12 – Firearms, Bows and Arrows, Slingshots, BB Guns, and Fireworks The state statute itself doesn’t set specific distances from buildings, schools, or hospitals for personal use, but local fire codes may, and lighting fireworks near dry grass or structures is a fast route to both criminal charges and civil liability.