Fireworks display regulations in France: CERFA declaration, préfecture and F4-T2 certificate

Professional firing in France is governed by a prior declaration regime rather than a permit. Decree no. 2010-580 of 31 May 2010 requires the organiser of a pyrotechnic show to declare it to the mayor of the commune and to the préfet of the département where the show takes place, at least one month before the planned date (article 4). The mayor and the préfet each issue a receipt; they may request additional documents or, under their police powers, forbid the display if safety is not ensured.

In practice, the display company fills in form CERFA 14098*02 'Déclaration de spectacle pyrotechnique', available on entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr, and sends it to both recipients. In Île-de-France and Paris, the regional préfecture or the police préfecture receives the declaration. Many préfectures now accept filing by e-mail or through an online service; the receipt, often electronic, must be kept on the firing site together with the firing plan and the crew's certificates.

Article 2 of the decree defines the pyrotechnic show subject to declaration: either it uses category F4 fireworks or category T2 theatrical articles, in any quantity; or it uses F2 or F3 fireworks, or T1 articles, whose total active pyrotechnic material exceeds 35 kg. Below that threshold and without F4/T2 products, an F2/F3 display is not a pyrotechnic show within the meaning of the decree, but remains subject to municipal and prefectoral orders.

The calculation is made in active material (powders and compositions), not in gross product weight: it is the figure given by the supplier on data sheets and CE labels. A classic mistake is to add packaging weight or, conversely, to forget the F4 shells of a small wedding display, which alone trigger the obligation. PyroDesk computes the total active mass of the firing plan in real time and flags when the threshold is crossed.

To use F4 fireworks or T2 articles, the decree requires a qualification certificate, issued by the préfet of the applicant's département of residence to individuals who demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the products and the rules (article 6). The certificate, now known as 'F4-T2', exists in two levels depending on the responsibilities held; decree no. 2019-540 and the order of 28 May 2019 modernised the scheme. Applications are made to the préfecture, often through an online service.

The order of 31 May 2010 also designates the 'responsable de la mise en œuvre': an individual appointed by the display company to oversee set-up and execution of the show in accordance with the safety rules in force (article 2). That person's name appears on the declaration, as do the names of the assisting pyrotechnicians. A show fired by an unqualified person exposes both the company and the organiser to criminal liability.

The order of 31 May 2010 sets site isolation rules: no dwelling or public building within 50 m of the firing zone, no high-rise building within 100 m (article 8). The declaration file includes a plan showing the firing zone with its safety perimeter, usable water points and emergency access routes (article 19). The actual safety distances depend on the products: they are those stated by the manufacturer on each CE reference, and never less.

Storage of fireworks near the venue, before and during set-up, is subject to security and safety conditions set by ministerial order (article 3 of the decree): a guarded room or vehicle, away from the public, with no ignition source. PyroDesk generates the site plan with the safety radius of each firing position and the CERFA annex, which avoids receipts being refused for incomplete files.

Beyond the national declaration, each département has its own prefectoral orders: permanent bans on certain articles, seasonal restriction windows linked to wildfire risk (often of the '1 June to 31 October' type in the South), distances from forests, temporary bans during drought or strong wind. These orders may target private individuals only or include professionals; some provide for an exemption on reasoned request.

The difficulty is tracking 101 départements whose texts change every summer. PyroDesk's préfecture watch transcribes and sources the permanent and seasonal orders of each département, shows recurring windows and hides expired texts, then alerts the operator when a job falls within a restricted period or area. The company remains responsible for checking the order in force the day before firing.

Professional liability insurance covering pyrotechnic activity is required by public and private organisers, and the certificate is almost always part of the file handed to the town hall. On the invoicing side, the French reform makes receiving electronic invoices mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses from 1 September 2026, and issuing them mandatory for SMEs and micro-enterprises from 1 September 2027 (DGFiP practical guide).

PyroDesk pre-fills CERFA 14098*02 from the job file (organiser, venue, date, product list with categories and active material, pyrotechnicians and certificates), produces quotes and contracts in the client's language, then issues Factur-X invoices transmitted through an accredited platform. The préfecture watch and the 35 kg threshold calculation live in the same file, so the operator prepares a complete show, from declaration to invoice, without re-entering data.