Pennsylvania Fireworks Laws: What's Legal, What's Not

Fireworks laws and regulations are not simple and they vary greatly from state to state. As we head into the Fourth of July, midsummer fireworks season, here's what you need to know about fireworks in Pennsylvania.

For years, buying fireworks was something you had to do out of state. Now, recent changes in state law have made things a little easier for residents to buy certains types of fireworks. In 2017, the state passed House Bill 542, which repealed the state's existing Fireworks Act.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 class includes firecrackers, Roman Candles, bottle rockets, and similar products. Fireworks cannot contain more than 50 milligrams of explosive material, according to the new law.

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.

Pennsylvania is one of 46 states, along with Washington D.C., to allow consumer grade fireworks, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association, though the fine print can differ in important ways from there.

While the new law allows these Class C fireworks to be used in the state, it does restrict where they are allowed to be set off. The restrictions should be obvious, yet they are there anyway. According to state police, fireworks cannot be used in the following locations:

• On any public or private property without the permission of the owner
• Inside a motor vehicle or building
• Toward a motor vehicle or building
• Within 150 feet of a building that is occupied

And, of course, anyone who is intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance is not legally allowed to shoot off fireworks.

Fireworks may be purchased at any licensed facility by individuals aged 18 or older.

Fireworks caused five deaths in the United States in 2018, along with 9,100 injuries, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission. That's the lowest number of injuries reported in the nation since 2010, and the third lowest since 2003.