The rules on buying and setting off fireworks for a garden display
Fireworks can only be sold to the public at certain times of year, and there is a curfew on when they can be let off. A guide to the law in England and Wales before Bonfire Night.
Plenty of families prefer a small display in the back garden to a crowded organised event. Before you buy a box of rockets, it helps to know the rules, which are set out in the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and cover England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own laws, which are stricter in some areas.
When shops can sell them
Fireworks are not on general sale all year round. Unless a shop holds a special licence to sell them every day, it can only sell fireworks to the public during set periods:
- from 15 October to 10 November, which covers Bonfire Night
- from 26 to 31 December, for New Year
- on the three days before Diwali
- on the three days before Chinese New Year
Outside those dates you will need to find a licensed specialist retailer.
Who can buy them. You must be 18 or over to buy fireworks, and that includes sparklers. Shops can ask for proof of age. Some types of firework, such as the large display fireworks used by professionals, cannot be sold to the public at all.
Fireworks sold in the UK should carry a CE or UKCA mark, which shows they meet safety standards. It is safest to buy from an established shop rather than from a stall or someone selling from a van.
The curfew
You must not set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am. There are four exceptions, when the curfew starts later:
- On Bonfire Night, 5 November, fireworks can be let off until midnight.
- On New Year's Eve the cut-off is 1am.
- On the night of Diwali the cut-off is 1am.
- On the night of Chinese New Year the cut-off is 1am.
It is also against the law to set off or throw fireworks, including sparklers, in the street or another public place. A garden display has to stay in your own garden.
Running a safe garden display
The fireworks code, published by safety organisations, comes down to a few common-sense points:
- Read the instructions on each firework by torchlight, never with a naked flame.
- Keep fireworks in a closed metal box and take them out one at a time.
- Light them at arm's length using a taper, then stand well back.
- Never go back to a firework once it has been lit, even if it seems to have gone out.
- Keep a bucket of water nearby, and put used sparklers in it hot end down.
- Keep pets indoors with the curtains closed.
Thinking about the neighbours. Fireworks are noisy, and the bangs can upset pets, livestock and people who find loud noises distressing. Letting the neighbours know when your display will start and finish is a simple courtesy. Many retailers now sell "low noise" fireworks, which give a good show with less bang.
If fireworks are a regular problem in your area outside the permitted times, contact your local council, which deals with noise nuisance.
