About Smoke Control Checker
Can you legally burn wood or coal at your address? The Clean Air Act 1993 smoke control rules, walked through in under a minute with sources.
What is on this site
One question, "smoke control area rules", answered with a checker that works on the page with no account, 3 guides on the questions around it, a data table you can cite (the figures and their method), and the sources every figure rests on.
- Smoke control areas by postcode: how to check your address: What a smoke control area is under the Clean Air Act 1993, what's restricted inside one, the penalties after the Environment Act 2021, and how to check your address.
- DEFRA exempt stoves: what the list means and how to check it: A DEFRA-exempt stove can legally burn wood in a smoke control area. What exemption actually means, how to check a model on the official list, and the conditions attached.
- Authorised smokeless fuels: what you can burn on an open fire: Authorised fuels are the only ones legal in any appliance in a smoke control area, open fires included. What counts, what replaced house coal, and how to check a fuel.
Reach us
Contact for a question about the site, or enquiries@smokecontrolchecker.co.uk. The legal terms are on Terms and Privacy.
Smoke Control Checker is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with DEFRA, any council or any government body, and nothing here is legal advice. Smoke control designations, exemption lists and penalty schemes change and vary by council, confirm the current position for your address with your local authority before burning or buying an appliance.