Official Site of The State of New Jersey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 29, 2023

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) is reminding residents that the purchase or sale of fireworks is not only dangerous, but illegal under New Jersey law. 

“We understand that everyone associates fireworks with the Fourth of July, but for safety's sake, setting off fireworks is best left up to the trained professionals,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “Every year, far too many people are needlessly injured, and occasionally, fatally wounded, in fireworks mishaps. Fireworks are not only dangerous – they are against the law in New Jersey.”  

New Jersey’s fireworks laws (N.J.S.A. 21:2-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 21:3-1 et seq.) are enforced by NJDOL’s Division of Public Safety & Occupational Safety & Health, which conducted 19 inspections of entertainment shows using fireworks in 2022 to ensure proper licensing and oversight.  

According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, three-quarters of 2021 fireworks-related injuries occurred in the weeks immediately before and after Independence Day. The same year, the most recent for which there is information available, there were an estimated 11,500 emergency room-treated injuries involving fireworks.  

For more information on New Jersey's fireworks laws, visit https://nj.gov/labor/safetyandhealth/resources-support/laws-regulations/fireworksact_sale.shtml

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