Questions, answered

They register in your office — staff enter their information into the same system through the admin panel. From then on, the resident simply calls the automated line whenever they burn, like everyone else.

The free Burn Permits app for iPhone and Android is the #1 way residents use the system — register, check today's risk level and activate a burn in a couple of taps. But nobody is left out: residents without a smartphone use your automated local phone line for everything.

Yes. You can require staff approval on every application, and even landlord approval for renters, before a permit is issued.

Online registrations generate a printable PDF permit the moment the process completes — residents can print it or keep it on their phone.

Yes — the system is customizable to collect the department-specific information your bylaw requires.

Any type your bylaw covers — campfires, agricultural burns, large brush and burn piles, burn barrels, incinerators, even fireworks — each with its own rules, fees and season. Short-term vacation permits for cottagers, campers and seasonal residents are supported too.

Through integrated online payments — we support PayPal, Square, Moneris, Paymentus and UniPay. Residents pay with debit or credit cards, a bank account or their PayPal balance, and funds transfer to your merchant account instantly and securely.

Processing fees are set by your payment processor and paid to them directly. PayPal, for example, charges either 2.9% + $0.30 CAD or 3.7% + $0.30 USD per transaction — so a $10 CAD permit costs about $0.59 CAD in fees.

Yes — if your permits are free, the payment step is skipped entirely.

Nothing. The system is entirely cloud-based and comes with an assigned local number — no hardware, no phone lines, no IT project.

Direct porting isn't currently available, but the fix is simple: forward your existing number to your assigned local number. Residents keep dialing what they've always dialed.

Risk level changes, total bans, pricing updates, season openings and promotions — by text, automated call, email or push notification, filtered by location or permit type.

Fully. Departments using the Who's Responding app get complete control panel access showing nearby burns and address-specific activity — so responders instantly know whether that smoke report is a permitted burn.

Every activated burn appears on a real-time map available to your department. When a smoke call comes in for an address with an active permitted burn, you know before you roll.

Yes — declare a total ban and the system prevents burn activations everywhere at once: website, phone line and app. You can also revoke individual violators' permits with full logging.

Yes — define approved and restricted zones across your community and the system enforces them automatically. A permit type can be allowed in one zone and blocked in another, which keeps burning where your bylaw wants it and drives real compliance.

The system automates roughly 90% of the manual work in a permit program — issuing, payments, "can I burn today?" calls, activation logging and alerting. Try the savings estimator on our pricing page with your own numbers.

The entire system runs over SSL and is hosted in a secure data centre with multiple layers of security.