Do you need a permit to clear land in Alabama?

Usually not for the clearing itself, because Alabama has no single permit for clearing your own land. The rules that bite cover burning the debris and construction that disturbs an acre or more. City codes apply inside city limits. Burns over a quarter acre, or within 25 feet of woods or grass, need an Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) permit.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) sets conditions for every land-clearing burn. They include a 500-foot setback and an 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. start window. In Baldwin and Mobile Counties, permission for those burns is revoked May through October.

ADEM’s construction rule applies once construction disturbs 1 acre or more. Normal timber harvests not tied to construction stay outside it.

This is a contractor’s plain-language read of the rules for lower Alabama, and rules change. For ground near the state line, see our page on land clearing in Atmore. Florida rules differ, and our Florida land clearing permit guide covers that side of the line.

Is there a state permit to clear land in Alabama?

No single state permit covers clearing your own land in Alabama. Each rule turns on what happens to the debris or what the ground is for.

Burning brings in the AFC and ADEM’s air rules. Construction on an acre or more brings in ADEM’s water quality rules. Cities can add a permit of their own. The table lays out each one.

When do you need a burn permit in Alabama?

You need an AFC permit before burning any woodland, grassland, field or new ground over a quarter acre. A burn within 25 feet of woods or grass needs one at any size. A smaller fire more than 25 feet from woods or grass needs no AFC permit. ADEM’s land-clearing burn conditions still apply to it.

The AFC cites Alabama law, section 9-13-11, as the basis for its permit. Permits are issued by phone through the AFC dispatch center. Only Certified Prescribed Burn Managers can get a permit online. The request asks for the burn’s location as latitude and longitude.

A permit does not shift the risk. The person burning is still responsible for any damage the fire or smoke causes others. Burning a field, grassland or woodland without a permit may bring prosecution for a Class B misdemeanor, the AFC warns.

What are ADEM’s rules for burning land-clearing debris?

ADEM allows open burning of vegetation and untreated wood from clearing land, if the burn meets its conditions. The rule covers land cleared for a structure, a transportation or utility line, or rights-of-way upkeep. It also covers recreational or commercial areas and plant husbandry. Each burn has to meet all of these:

• The burn takes place on the property where the debris came from.
• It sits at least 500 feet from the nearest occupied home, other than one on the same property.
• Only vegetation and untreated wood go in. Plastics, rubber, garbage and treated or painted wood stay out.
• The fire starts between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nothing new goes on between 3 p.m. and 8 a.m. the next day.
• Someone attends the fire at all times.
• The prevailing wind blows away from any built-up area nearby.
• The burn is controlled so its smoke creates no traffic hazard on a public road.
• No burn runs under a National Weather Service air stagnation advisory or a Governor’s Drought Emergency.

Can you burn land-clearing debris in Baldwin and Mobile Counties?

Not from May through October. ADEM revokes permission for land-clearing burns in Baldwin and Mobile Counties for those six months. Ten other Alabama counties are on the same list. From November through April, burns there must still meet every ADEM condition and any AFC permit rule.

Escambia County, Alabama is not on that list. Atmore sits in Escambia County, so a tract there follows the year-round rules. ADEM’s conditions apply all year, and so does the AFC permit rule.

Is there a burn ban in Alabama right now?

Check with the AFC before any burn, because restrictions change with the weather. A Fire Alert or a Drought Emergency order stays in effect until the State Forester rescinds it. The AFC points people to its website for the current wildfire situation.

In a statewide Fire Danger Advisory, the AFC asks people to refrain from burning until the danger drops. Under a Fire Alert, permits for outdoor burning go only to Certified Prescribed Burn Managers. The AFC’s statewide Fire Alert of April 2026 counted a 500-acre wildfire in Mobile County over one weekend. Another fire that weekend burned 105 acres in Escambia County, Alabama.

The strongest step is a Drought Emergency declared by the Governor. In November 2023, one prohibited all outdoor burning in Alabama. ADEM’s rule bars land-clearing burns during a Drought Emergency as well.

When does clearing land need an ADEM construction permit?

Clearing needs ADEM coverage when it is part of construction and the disturbance reaches 1 acre or more. ADEM calls that an NPDES construction site, and it must get permit coverage. A smaller site counts too when it is part of a larger plan of development or sale totaling 1 acre.

ADEM’s definition of construction names land clearing and grubbing outright. It also counts significant clearing done in advance of a regulated build. So clearing a homesite ahead of the build can count toward the acre.

Coverage starts with a Notice of Registration filed with ADEM, along with fees. A qualified credentialed professional, or QCP, prepares and certifies the site’s best management practices plan. Sites under 1 acre that are not otherwise designated do not register, unless ADEM’s Director requires it in writing.

Normal timber harvests stay outside the rule if they are not planned ahead of or in support of construction. Normal farm planting and harvesting sit outside it on the same terms.

Do Alabama cities have their own clearing rules?

Some do, and inside city limits the city code decides. ADEM’s burn rule says its permission does not excuse anyone from local laws and ordinances.

The City of Mobile is one example. Its engineering notes on a 2025 planning case say any land disturbing activity needs a Land Disturbance permit. That permit ties to Chapter 17 of the Mobile City Code, on storm water and flood control. It must be approved and issued before construction work begins.

The same notes say a 25-foot buffer may be required along the edge of any water of the state. They also make the landowner or developer responsible for every needed permit and approval. Rules vary by city, so call the city office before machines arrive.

Does forestry mulching need a burn permit?

No. Forestry mulching is not burning, so the AFC burn permit and ADEM’s burn rules do not apply to it. Our skid steers run forestry mulcher heads that grind brush and small trees into chips. The chips stay on the ground, so there is no pile to burn.

That takes the May through October revocation off the table in Baldwin and Mobile Counties. Fire alerts and no-burn orders limit burning, and mulching is not burning. Dry weather still calls for care. In its September 2025 advisory, the AFC noted that equipment use such as mulching can spark ignition.

Mulching does not clear every rule. If the cleared ground is for a build that disturbs 1 acre or more, ADEM’s construction rule still applies. So does a city permit, inside city limits that require one.

Mulching runs about an acre a day in typical growth, and keeper trees stay standing. When a build needs bare dirt, our land clearing work grapples up the roots as well.

Clearview Contracting Solutions clears land across Northwest Florida and lower Alabama. Twenty-plus years of running machinery sit behind the company. Each estimate happens on site and comes with a written number. Ask for a free estimate or call (850) 910-2447.