ATLANTA — Friday marks big celebrations for the Fourth of July and celebrations will be held across the metro Atlanta area.
But if you decide you want to pop off some bottle rockets for your family’s celebrations, it’s important to know what you can launch, how long you can do it and where.
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When can you shoot fireworks?
Under a law passed in 2018, local governments in Georgia are allowed to choose how to regulate the use of fireworks.
For residents who live in cities that decide to regulate fireworks, Georgia laws allow fireworks statewide on the following days: New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, July 3, July 4 and Labor Day.
Legislators behind the law did not include Memorial Day. The law also allows the governor to suspend all fireworks use if there is a drought.
How late can you shoot fireworks?
On July 4, you have until midnight to finish shooting off fireworks. On New Year’s Eve, fireworks are allowed until 1 a.m.
Check with your county or city if they choose to regulate because their times may vary.
What kinds of fireworks can you shoot in Georgia?
Firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets, sky rockets, sparklers, smoke and punk, fountains, missiles, novelties, crackle and strobe, parachutes, wheels, spinners, sky flyers, display shells and mortars are legal under Georgia law.
You must be at least 18 years old to purchase fireworks.
Where can’t you launch them?
It’s illegal to launch fireworks while under the influence of alcohol or a combination of drugs and alcohol.
You also can’t launch fireworks within 100 yards (that’s 300 feet) away from:
- Electric plant
- Water treatment plant
- Waste-water treatment plant
- Anywhere selling gasoline or combustible liquids
- Anywhere producing, refining, processing, or blending flammable or combustible liquids or gases
- Public or private electric substations
- Jails or prisons
- Boundaries of any public-use air facility or public-use landing platform for use by helicopters
- Any historic site, park, recreational area, or property owned by a governing authority of a county or municipal corporation, or the state of Georgia
- Hospitals, nursing homes, or health care facilities
While all of those rules have been in place, there are some new ones, depending on where in Georgia you live.
In the City of Milton and unincorporated Cherokee County, local leaders passed new ordinances to block fireworks launches within 200 feet of a horse farm or other equine facility.
Those ordinances were enabled after Georgia lawmakers passed a new law in 2025 to allow local governments to set further fireworks restrictions around horse housing areas for safety.
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