EVANSVILLE — Fireworks are already echoing across the Tri-State, and with the Fourth of July falling on a Saturday as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the booms and skyward flashes are sure to be on full display.
Before you light a fuse, though, here is what’s legal and where, from Evansville and Vanderburgh County to Henderson and Kentucky, along with where to catch the professional shows.
The rules differ sharply depending on which side of a city or state line you’re standing on, and the gap between Indiana state law and Evansville’s city ordinance is a recurring source of confusion each summer and New Year’s Eve.
When fireworks are legal to light
What are Indiana’s fireworks laws?
Under Indiana Code 22-11-14-6, a person may set off consumer fireworks on their own property, on property where they have the owner’s permission, or at a special location approved by the local fire department. The general window is 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., extending to midnight on legal holidays — a list that, under state law, includes every Sunday.
Anyone younger than 18 must have an adult present to possess or use fireworks. Violating the statute is a Class C infraction, roughly the equivalent of a minor traffic ticket. Leaving a spent firework on someone else’s property is separately punishable as littering, a Class B infraction.
The penalties climb from there: causing property damage is a Class A misdemeanor, causing serious bodily injury is a Level 6 felony, for example.
But Sgt. Anthony Aussieker of the Evansville Police Department said arrests are rare, but not unheard of.
“The biggest problem we do see is that people are being irresponsible with fireworks.” Aussieker told the Courier & Press. “A lot of times, it’s’ juveniles shooting them into crowds, shooting them at each other, throwing them at each other.”
If at all possible, Aussieker said officers prioritize confiscating fireworks rather than making arrests.
How are Evansville’s fireworks laws different?
This is where residents most often trip up. Evansville’s ordinance, Evansville Municipal Code 9.10.020, is stricter than state law — but not on the Fourth of July.
State law bars cities and towns from prohibiting consumer fireworks during certain protected hours: 5 p.m. to two hours after sunset on the days surrounding the holiday, 10 a.m. to midnight on July 4, and the New Year’s Eve overnight window. Evansville’s ordinance tracks those mandated windows almost exactly, because the city cannot go below them.
The difference is the rest of the year. Outside those holiday windows, Evansville bans consumer fireworks entirely — there is no everyday allowance as there is under state law. The city also prohibits setting off fireworks on any public street, park or public area at any time. Sellers must post the rules at their entrances.
Evansville also attaches its own fines: $25 for a first offense, $100 for a second and $250 for a third or later violation. If fireworks spark a fire, the violator can be billed up to $2,500 for the city’s cost of sending crews to the scene. Designated hours for Memorial Day and Veterans Day were repealed in 2015.
In unincorporated Vanderburgh County, state law governs. The county’s own code bars fireworks only in county-maintained parks.
When can you set off fireworks in Henderson and Kentucky?
Kentucky’s statute (KRS 227.715) allows a person 18 or older to use consumer fireworks on their property, as long as the fireworks aren’t ignited within 200 feet of a structure, vehicle or person and the use doesn’t violate a local ordinance. Some cities, such as Louisville, have enacted additional restrictions.
Within Henderson’s city limits, fireworks are permitted from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with extensions to midnight on July 3, July 4 and Memorial Day, plus a New Year’s window running from 10 a.m. Dec. 31 to midnight Jan. 1. Henderson’s ordinance, updated in 2025, also bars use within 400 feet of an animal shelter, nursing home or hospital, and within 200 feet of any other structure, vehicle or person.
Where to watch fireworks in 2026
Evansville: Fireworks on the Ohio returns Saturday, July 4. Kids’ activities start at 6 p.m. and more than 25 food trucks will line Riverside Drive between Court and Walnut streets. The fireworks display is scheduled to begin at about 9:15 p.m. The event is free, and free parking is available in city garages at Third and Locust streets and 500 Sycamore St., and in the Back 40 lot behind the Civic Center.
Henderson: The city’s Independence Day fireworks celebration is set for 5 to 8 p.m. July 3 at Audubon Mill Park, 123 N. Water St.
How dangerous are fireworks? What the data shows
Fireworks injuries remain common, though federal data shows them easing from a pandemic-era spike. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counted an estimated 9,700 fireworks-related emergency room injuries and at least eight deaths in 2023, the most recent year available — down from a peak of about 15,600 injuries in 2020, when many professional shows were canceled. The agency notes that death counts are minimums because reporting lags. Most injuries occur in the weeks bracketing the Fourth of July.
Locally, the biggest problem isn’t in the neighborhoods, Aussieker said. It’s downtown, where large crowds gather along the riverfront for the professional show and a smaller number of people begin to act out. The department runs an enhanced patrol detail for the holiday.
“We encourage everyone to use good judgment, follow the law, and consider attending a professional fireworks display,” Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson said.
Houston Harwood may be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Fireworks laws to know in Evansville and Henderson for July 4
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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By Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
