ARE FIREWORKS LEGAL IN ILLINOIS?

⚠️ RESTRICTEDLast reviewed: February 22, 2026

Fireworks are restricted in Illinois.

Consumer fireworks are restricted in Illinois. Only sparklers, snake/glow worms, smoke devices, and novelty items are legal. Most consumer fireworks are banned.

📅 WHEN CAN YOU USE FIREWORKS?

No consumer use windows

Consumer fireworks are banned year-round for personal use

N/A — only sparklers and novelties permitted at all times (state level)

Consumer fireworks (all 1.4G products) are banned statewide under the Pyrotechnic Use Act (425 ILCS 35). However, municipalities, villages, and county boards may adopt ordinances to grant permits for consumer fireworks displays conducted by trained operators. Sparklers and novelties are legal at the state level year-round, but municipalities (e.g., Chicago) may ban even sparklers by local ordinance per §3.4 of the Act.

🎆 WHAT'S LEGAL IN ILLINOIS?

🚀

Aerial Fireworks🚫 BANNED

Bottle rockets, Roman candles, mortars, 500g cakes

All consumer fireworks banned under 425 ILCS 35/2. Possession, sale, and use are illegal.

⛲

Ground-Based🚫 BANNED

Fountains, cones, wheels, ground spinners

All consumer fireworks including ground-based items are banned under 425 ILCS 35/2. Only permitted via local display permit with trained consumer operator.

✨

Sparklers & Novelties✅ LEGAL

Sparklers, smoke devices, snaps, poppers, snakes

Specifically excluded from the definition of 'consumer fireworks' in 425 ILCS 35/1. Sale and use permitted at all times at state level. Municipalities may ban sparklers on public property per §3.4.

🧨

Firecrackers🚫 BANNED

Firecrackers, strings

Banned under 425 ILCS 35/2. Classified as consumer fireworks.

🌀

Girandolas🚫 BANNED

Spinning aerial devices

Banned as consumer fireworks. 425 ILCS 35/2.

🔧

Homemade / Modified🚫 BANNED

Any DIY, altered, or reloaded fireworks

Illegal. Subject to all penalties under the Pyrotechnic Use Act and potentially federal charges.

📋 KEY RULES

🎂Minimum Age to Purchase (sparklers/novelties)

No state minimum for novelties, but retailers may set policies

👤Minimum Age to Use

No state minimum for novelties; consumer fireworks are banned entirely

🏠Where You Can Use Novelties

Private property; municipalities may restrict use on public property per 425 ILCS 35/3.4

🚫Where You Can't Use

Within 600 ft of any hospital, asylum, or infirmary (425 ILCS 35/3.1). Consumer fireworks banned everywhere without display permit.

📋Consumer Display Permits

Local jurisdictions may issue permits for consumer fireworks displays; requires trained consumer operator registered with OSFM

⚖️ PENALTIES

Possession, sale, or use of consumer fireworks

Up to 1 year in prison and $2,500 fine. 425 ILCS 35/5 (Class A misdemeanor).

Transporting fireworks across state lines into Illinois

State penalties plus potential federal offense — up to 1 year federal imprisonment under 18 USC §836.

Selling consumer fireworks without registration

Injunction plus fines; seizure and destruction of fireworks. 425 ILCS 35/2.3 and §3.

Operating unregistered consumer display

Class A misdemeanor — up to 1 year imprisonment and $2,500 fine.

Are Fireworks Legal in Illinois?

Not in the way most people want. Illinois is one of the most restrictive states in the country for consumer fireworks. The Pyrotechnic Use Act (PUA) bans the sale, possession, and use of virtually all consumer fireworks — firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, aerial shells, mortars, and anything else that explodes or launches. What Illinois does allow is a narrow category of approved devices, and even those can only be used in municipalities that have passed specific ordinances permitting them.

What You Can Legally Use

Illinois divides legal items into two groups. First, "unregulated novelty effects" that anyone can buy and use without a permit:

Wire or wood stick sparklers
Snakes and glow worms
Smoke devices (not cherry bombs)
Trick noisemakers: party poppers, snappers, trick matches, cigarette loads
Toy pistols, toy caps (under 16 mg of explosive compound)

Second, approved consumer fireworks that require a display permit and can only be used in jurisdictions that have opted in by ordinance:

Single-tube fountains (up to 75 grams of composition)
Cone fountains (up to 50 grams)
Multiple-tube fountains (up to 500 grams)
Low-level aerial devices with a maximum of 40 grams of chemical composition and 20 grains of lift charge

The Catch: Local Opt-In Required

Even the approved consumer fireworks listed above are only legal in villages, counties, and municipalities that have passed ordinances explicitly allowing consumer fireworks displays. Without that local opt-in, even a fountain is technically illegal. Many Illinois communities have not passed such ordinances, making consumer fireworks off-limits across large portions of the state.

What Is Banned

The prohibited list covers everything most people think of as fireworks: firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, aerial shells, mortars, chasers, pinwheels, sky rockets, and any device that explodes or launches. Bringing fireworks purchased in Indiana, Missouri, or Wisconsin back into Illinois is a violation of both state and federal law.

Age Restrictions

You must be at least 18 years old to purchase consumer fireworks in Illinois. Sparklers and novelty items do not have a statewide age restriction, though local rules may apply.

Penalties

Violating the Pyrotechnic Use Act is punishable by up to 1 year in prison and a $2,500 fine. Local municipalities can impose their own fines — the Village of Crete charges up to $750 per occurrence. If fireworks cause injury, charges escalate: the Illinois Explosives Act makes certain violations a Class 3 felony with up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A second offense under the PUA can be charged as a Class 4 felony.

Where to Buy

Novelty items like sparklers, snakes, and poppers are available at Walmart, Menards, grocery stores, and seasonal retailers across Illinois. For anything beyond novelties, there is essentially nowhere to legally purchase consumer fireworks within the state for personal use. The massive fireworks stores just over the Indiana and Missouri borders do brisk business with Illinois residents, but transporting those purchases back across the state line is illegal.

Local tip: The simple rule in Illinois: if it only smokes, sparkles, fountains on the ground, or snakes, and you bought it at an Illinois retailer, you are probably fine. If it explodes, shoots into the sky, or you had to drive to Indiana to get it, it is illegal. Illinois enforces these laws more actively than many residents expect, and your neighbors' complaints can trigger a mailed court summons even after the holiday.