Fireworks Laws In CA: What's Legal On July 4th In 2025

In California and almost everywhere else in the United States, the loosening of fireworks laws has extended the season people can set them off beyond the 4th of July.

Both the types of fireworks consumers can possess and when they can buy and use them have been significantly regulated over the past two decades. Many states also allow the use of fireworks on the days on either side of the 4th of July and other major holidays. The exception is Massachusetts, where a law in effect since 1943 forbids any private citizen from possessing or using consumer fireworks, including sparklers and party poppers.

Before you start procuring pyrotechnics, be sure you know California laws on consumer fireworks.

Here’s what you need to know:

The nation's strictest fireworks laws are in the Golden State, according to a map and list of state fireworks laws curated by Reader’s Digest. The law allows a limited window for fireworks use, from noon on June 28 through noon on July 6; restricts their use to people 16 and older; and also limits the kinds of fireworks people can buy.

Fireworks under the "safe and sane" category are allowed, which are usually the ones that do not explode or fly. These fireworks, however, may still pose risks to children.

Fireworks such as sky rockets, bottle rockets, roman candles, firecrackers or any fireworks that act uncontrollably in the air or on the ground are prohibited.

The permissive atmosphere around fireworks regulation isn’t universal, though. Fireworks use in neighborhoods can become contentious, and in states with permissive fireworks laws, some cities and counties have passed local laws banning them.

And in extreme drought or high-wind conditions, local fire officials may prohibit any use of fireworks. And three states — Hawaii, Nevada and Wyoming — leave it to each county to decide where and what categories of fireworks are legal.

California cities such as Long Beach, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego, Seal Beach, San Francisco, San Diego, Orange Seal Beach, Sonoma, Berkeley and Oakland have all passed local laws that have made possessing and lighting fireworks illegal.

Indiana has some of the most lenient laws. Anyone 18 or older can purchase and use fireworks whenever they want, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on non-holidays and later on special occasions — midnight on the 4th of July, two hours after sunset during 4th of July weekend and 1 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. All types of fireworks are legal as long as they meet U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission construction and labeling regulations.

Three states — Hawaii, Nevada and Wyoming — leave it to counties to set consumer fireworks regulations.

States with stricter fireworks laws have cited data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that shows thousands of people are injured in fireworks-related accidents every year, with multiple deaths reported as well. Some 10,200 people were injured and 11 died in fireworks accidents in 2022, according to the latest available data from the agency

Also according to that report:

• Nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of 2022 injuries occurred in the weeks before and after the July 4 holiday.
• About 1,300 people were injured by fireworks and approximately 600 by sparklers.
• About 38 percent of people who were injured sustained burns, most often (29 percent) to the hands and fingers, but also the head, face and ears (19 percent), eyes (16 percent) and trunk or other part of the body (12 percent).

If you’re getting fireworks to celebrate Independence Day, follow these safety tips:

• Don’t allow young children to play with fireworks, including sparklers.
• Keep a bucket of water or garden hose nearby so you can douse a fire quickly.
• Light fireworks one at a time, then quickly step back.
• Never attempt to re-light or pick up a firework that did not ignite correctly.
• Don’t use fireworks if impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Fireworks have always been part of Independence Day celebrations. After the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, that Independence Day “ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shews, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”

The first Independence Day fireworks display occurred on July 4, 1777. They came in only one color — orange — back then, according to the Smithsonian Institution. Today, they light up the sky with red, white and blue, the color of the U.S. flag, but also other colors.

At the turn of the century, about a third of firework displays were professional shows, according to Scientific American.

The gradual deregulation of fireworks occurred partly to tap lost tax revenue from residents crossing state lines to buy fireworks in states with more-lenient laws, but also because of lax enforcement.