Fireworks display regulations in Chile: Law 17.798, DGMN and authorisation by the Autoridad Fiscalizadora

Law 17.798 on the Control of Weapons and Explosives gives the Ministry of Defence control over weapons, explosives, fuegos artificiales and artículos pirotécnicos; its Article 3 names the Dirección General de Movilización Nacional (DGMN) as central authority and the Autoridades Fiscalizadoras, meaning army garrison commands and the most senior Carabineros de Chile authorities in each jurisdiction, as executing bodies. The Reglamento Complementario (Decree 83 of 2007) details its application to fireworks in Articles 284 to 312.

The split is clear: DGMN authorises manufacture, import, entry and export of Group 3 fireworks (Article 287), while storage, sale, transport, set-up, use and handling fall to the Autoridad Fiscalizadora of the place. Article 307 confirms it: fireworks shows are authorised by the Autoridad Fiscalizadora where they take place. Upstream, the file requires the municipal permits for the show, and Article 309(e) recalls that municipalities may run their own shows under their responsibility in accordance with Law 18.695.

The person or company wishing to hold a show applies for the permits ten days in advance (Article 307). DGMN's service page lists the file: request letter, municipal permits, description of materials, place, date and time, background of the explosives handler and the technical manager, list of support staff, safety measures, site sketch with the location of fire services, water points and medical posts, transport documents. Filing is year-round at the Carabineros Autoridad Fiscalizadora offices, and the answer comes within a maximum of twenty working days if no additional documents are requested.

The authorisation is a resolution distributed to the operator, the contracting entity, the local Carabineros, the Cuerpo de Bomberos, DGMN and the Autoridad Fiscalizadora (Article 309(c)). To collect it, the company hands over coordination documents with Carabineros for public order, with an ambulance and paramedic service, and with Bomberos, certifying that these services are informed and will provide support (Article 309(f) and (g)). The materials may only be acquired, transported and used with the Autorización de Compra and the Guía de Libre Tránsito issued by the Autoridad Fiscalizadora of the place (Article 292).

Two roles are mandatory. The Programador Calculista, a professional accredited with DGMN, signs and approves the report on installation, running and safety measures of the show (Article 307) and must attend the prior site inspection (Article 309(g)). The Manipulador de Artificios Pirotécnicos, entered in the national register with the Autoridad Fiscalizadora, supervises the show and is its technical manager; the company must have at least one, trained in risk prevention, and everyone handling fireworks must hold a current licence (Article 309(h)).

Registration as a manipulador is requested at Carabineros offices year-round, with a special-purpose background certificate, two photos and proof of technical knowledge: a certificate from the company's risk-prevention expert for employees, a notarised declaration and the authority's knowledge test for the self-employed; answer within ten working days, valid for two years. Foreign pyrotechnicians submit to DGMN a notarised certificate (names, passports, nature and place of the show, declaration of competence) and receive a document serving as a licence for the event.

Article 286 classifies outdoor fireworks into three groups: Group 1 (coloured lights only, manual operation), Group 2 (lights plus sound effects in the air, above a person's height) and Group 3, intended for shows and handled only by specialised staff. Article 288 bans the manufacture, import, sale, distribution, delivery and use of Groups 1 and 2, including parts and components: there is no legal consumer market in Chile. Indoor and stage-effect fireworks must also be classed in Group 3 (Article 310).

Authorised products are listed in a national register kept by DGMN (Article 289), with importer or manufacturer, the Programador Calculista reporting on safety measures, classification, technical and trade names and storage recommendations. The Banco de Pruebas de Chile (Instituto de Investigaciones y Control del Ejército) certifies the quality, classification, stability and safety of imported or domestic fireworks (Article 293), with certificates valid six months and labelling to NCh 2190 and NCh 2245. Show operators must be entered in the national register as Comerciante de Fuegos Artificiales and buy only from registered traders (Article 309(a) and (b)).

The regulations set no metric distance per calibre: the perimeter is determined and measured at the prior inspection, according to the site's characteristics, on the Programador Calculista's proposal (Article 309(i)). They do impose the geometry: a firing zone ideally 50 m by 25 m, marked with red flags and closed to unauthorised persons; a safety perimeter drawn as a circle from the centre of the firing zone; a fallout area fully inside that perimeter; and ground cleared of brush and combustible material.

Mortars are vertical or angled at most 5 degrees away from the audience, using a wooden wedge. Up to and including 6 inches they are secured at ground level in box racks covering two thirds of their length, ballasted with sandbags and never stones; above 6 inches they are placed individually. On rooftops they are lashed with rope over two thirds of their length; on beaches they are sleeved in polyethylene and buried two thirds deep in compacted sand; on water the vessel must satisfy the maritime authority. Set-up must be complete at least four hours before the start with the coordinator and technical manager present, the Autoridad Fiscalizadora may suspend for strong wind or bad weather, staff wear an identifier and their credential, the site is closed to the public with "Peligro Explosivos" signs, and any surplus goes back to the depot under the Guía de Libre Tránsito.

Article 309(d) requires the contracting entity or operator to present to the Autoridad Fiscalizadora a civil liability policy covering damage to third parties and to public and private property, during the show and during transport of the materials; the insurer may be Chilean or international provided it has representation in Chile, and presentation of the policy is recorded in the authorising resolution. No minimum amount appears in the regulations: it is negotiated with the client and the authority. A carta de garantía o resguardo is also checked (Article 307).

Chilean invoicing runs through the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) electronic invoice, mandatory for companies, with 19% IVA. Municipal clients, prominent for New Year displays, buy through public procurement on the national platform: allow for public-tender lead times in your calendar, on top of the regulatory ten days.

PyroDesk produces quotes and contracts in Spanish naming the Programador Calculista, the manipulador acting as technical manager, the insurance and the municipal permits, finger-signed on the portal; the schedule places the ten-day filing, the twenty working days for the answer and the Carabineros, ambulance and Bomberos coordination documents to gather before collecting the resolution.

Stock tracks national-register products, their Banco de Pruebas certificate and quantities per Guía de Libre Tránsito to document the return of surplus; the firing plan models the 50 m by 25 m zone, the circular perimeter and the 5-degree maximum tilt, and the 3D simulation supports the Programador Calculista's report at the inspection.