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

PENNSYLVANIA — In Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania's fireworks laws. Here’s what you need to know:

• "Consumer-grade” fireworks including Roman candles, firecrackers, bottle rockets, and other fireworks which contain up to 50 milligrams of explosive material are legal
• "Display" fireworks, which contain up to 130 milligrams of explosive materials, can only be used with a permit from the local municipality
• Anyone over the age of 18 years can purchase, possess and use consumer fireworks
• Municipalities may restrict use of consumer fireworks between 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. except on July 2-4 and Dec. 31, when they may be fired until 1 a.m.
• Must always have the permission of the property owner
• A specific license for individuals is not needed
• The state says that adults can buy "consumer fireworks from a stand-alone, permanent structure licensed by the Department of Agriculture," as well as through "online, mail-order, or other transactions, but delivery of consumer fireworks to a purchaser shall take place at a licensed, permanent structure"

Fireworks have not always been legal in Pennsylvania. In 2017, the state passed House Bill 542, which repealed the state's existing Fireworks Act.

Thanks to the new bill, Pennsylania residents are legally allowed to purchase — and set off in state — Class C fireworks, also known as "consumer grade" fireworks.

This is the most noteworthy change in the new law, as previously, only the smallest products and "ground-based" material could be legally used. What's still not permitted: the purchase or use "display" fireworks, which contain professional grade aerial shells.

The permissive atmosphere around fireworks regulation isn’t universal, though. Fireworks use in neighborhoods can become contentious, and in other 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.

The strictest fireworks laws are in California, 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 July 6; restricts their use to people 16 and older; and also limits the kinds of fireworks people can buy.

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.