No. The federal rule for wood stoves, 40 CFR part 60, subpart AAA, does not ban owning or using one in the United States. It sets emission limits for new stoves made or sold; the EPA says it does not affect stoves already in use.
So are wood stoves being banned? Not by federal law. Local rules are a separate matter, and so is the chimney a new stove needs. Below are the federal text, what it means for the stove you have, and what a new stove still needs.
Why the Federal Rule Is Not a Wood Stove Ban
The EPA wood stove regulations set limits for new wood heaters; they do not ban the stoves people own. The rule's title says so: Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters.
Section 60.530(a) says who the rule applies to. In our words, it reaches anyone who makes, sells, imports, distributes, installs or operates an affected wood heater in the United States. An affected wood heater is, in our summary of the same section:
- A wood heater made on or after July 1, 1988 that holds a current EPA certificate of compliance issued before May 15, 2015.
- Any other residential wood heater made or sold on or after May 15, 2015.
For those heaters the rule sets a smoke limit, a certification test and a permanent label. None of sections 60.530, 60.532 and 60.538 tells a homeowner to remove a stove.
What Does the Federal Rule Regulate?
The amount of particulate matter, the fine particles in wood smoke, that a new stove may give off. Section 60.532 sets the limits in two steps, by date:
| Section | From | Limit (weighted average) | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60.532(a), 2015 standard | May 15, 2015 | 4.5 g/hr | Each affected wood heater made, imported or sold at retail |
| 60.532(b), 2020 standard | May 15, 2020 | 2.0 g/hr | Each affected wood heater made or sold at retail for use in the United States |
| 60.532(c), cord wood option | May 15, 2020 | 2.5 g/hr | A heater tested with a cord wood method the EPA has approved |
Section 60.532(a) also gave stores a short window. A wood heater made before May 15, 2015 could still be imported or sold at retail on or before December 31, 2015.
Section 60.538(a) then closes the loop: "No person is permitted to advertise for sale, offer for sale, sell or operate an affected wood heater that does not have affixed to it a permanent label pursuant to § 60.536 (b) through (e), as applicable."
So when you buy a new stove, look for that permanent label on it.
What Does the Rule Mean for a Stove Already in Your Home?
The EPA says the federal rule does not affect it. The EPA's page on the standards says: "The rule does not affect existing woodstoves and other wood-burning heaters currently in use in people's homes."
The user rules are a separate matter. If your stove is an affected wood heater, one of the two kinds listed above from section 60.530(a), the rule still sets how it is used. In our summary of sections 60.532 and 60.538:
- Run it in a manner consistent with its owner's manual (60.532(g)).
- Install and operate it as its permanent label and owner's manual say, with only the fuels it is certified for (60.538(e)).
- Never burn the materials on the list in 60.532(f), which include garbage, plastic, pressure-treated wood, pallets, waste petroleum products, paints and unseasoned wood.
- Never run it with a catalytic combustor it came with removed or deactivated (60.538(f)), and never alter, deface or remove its permanent label (60.538(h)).
Which Stoves and Fireplaces Does the Rule Leave Out?
Several, by its own text and by the EPA's account of it:
- Cook stoves and camp stoves are exempt from the emission limits and the certification requirements (section 60.530(b)(4) and (5)).
- Residential masonry heaters and manufactured or site-built masonry fireplaces are not affected wood heaters (section 60.530(c)).
- The EPA's page says the rule does not apply to heaters fueled solely by oil, gas or coal. Nor does it apply to outdoor fireplaces, fire pits, pizza ovens or chimineas.
- The same page says new indoor fireplaces were not included for regulation.
Hydronic heaters and forced-air furnaces burning wood fall under a different subpart, QQQQ, which this page does not cover.
Can a State or Town Restrict Wood Burning?
Yes. The EPA's list of wood smoke resources in each state names what a state agency's site may carry. Among them are "Alerts related to burn restrictions" and "Links to ordinances and regulations."
The EPA's page on the federal standards also says it has tools to help local governments address existing heaters, among them a document that covers local regulations. The rules differ from place to place, so we do not restate any one of them here.
- Ask your local air agency whether it calls burn bans or no-burn days, and how it announces them.
- Ask your building department whether your city or county limits new wood-burning installations.
- Ask both before you buy the stove, not after.
The EPA's Burn Wise pages, where that state list sits, say the program ran from 2009 to 2025. They are no longer updated as of October 30, 2025. So treat the local agency as the source for what applies to your address.
What Does a New Certified Stove Still Need?
A chimney that meets the code: a listed factory-built chimney installed to its instructions, or a masonry chimney with a lining that suits the stove (IRC sections R1003.11 and R1003.11.1).
The EPA certifies the stove's emissions; it does not certify a chimney, and the chimney has its own rules in the building code.
For a factory-built chimney such as Class A pipe, the clause is IRC section R1005.1 in chapter 10 of the 2021 International Residential Code, a model code that applies where your state or town has adopted it. It reads: "Factory-built chimneys shall be listed and labeled and shall be installed and terminated in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions."
Section R1005.3 of the same chapter adds, for homes with a wood stove: "Factory-built chimneys installed in dwelling units with solid-fuel-burning appliances shall comply with the Type HT requirements of UL 103 and shall be marked 'Type HT' and 'Residential Type and Building Heating Appliance Chimney.'"
The exception that follows it in the code covers open fireplaces, not wood stoves. Our UL 103 HT testing guide explains what that listing tests.
The stove itself is covered by IRC section M1410.1 in chapter 14. In our words, it requires a vented room heater that burns solid fuel to be tested to UL 1482 and installed to its listing, the manufacturer's installation instructions and the code.
Points to Settle Before You Order
- Read the stove's listing label and manual for its clearances to combustibles and its floor protection; we give no figure for the stove itself.
- Note the size of the stove's flue collar. The chimney is never smaller than the stove's outlet.
- Ask your building department about the permit and the inspection. There is no national building code in the United States: codes are adopted locally, by the state, the county or the town, often with amendments.
- Plan the chimney height. It must be at least 3 feet above the highest point where it passes through the roof and at least 2 feet higher than any portion of a building within 10 feet, as NFPA 211 and our Class A installation instructions set it out.
Our guide to wood stove chimney code requirements sets out the clauses for the chimney. Our guide to the chimney height rule works it through on example roofs.
Which Chimney Kit Fits a New Stove?
The one that matches your stove's outlet and your route out of the house. Each wood stove pipe kit we sell is a matched set of Class A chimney pipe and parts for one route. Each is configured to the height of your run.
Under an open, vaulted or cathedral ceiling, a stove with a 6 or 8 inch collar can use our through the roof chimney kit, built in both sizes. For a 6 inch collar, choose 6 inch in the builder of our 6 inch through the roof chimney kit. The kit runs the chimney straight up through the roof without passing through an attic or framed ceiling.
No chimney in the house yet? Our guide to a wood stove in a house without a chimney compares the route inside the house with the route up an outside wall.
A capable owner can do a standard installation of our kits by following their installation instructions. Send your measurements through our free chimney design for your home and we send back a solution for your layout, or call 888-834-0880.
Need More Information?
Clearance, temperature and code questions are answered on our chimney and stove pipe questions page.
Each route is taken step by step in our stove pipe installation guide pages. To go through your own house with someone, talk to a chimney specialist or call 888-834-0880.
