A municipality in Vaud preparing its 1 August celebration, a Geneva company ending an evening by the lake, a couple booking an estate in Valais: before pricing a fireworks display in Switzerland, we check several authorisations with them, each issued by a different authority.
This guide sets out what we find in the federal and cantonal texts when we prepare an application with our local partner, who holds the firing permits. The deadlines quoted are those published by the cantons: we confirm them for each project, as they may change.
The firing permit for category F4 articles
In Switzerland, firing large fireworks requires a personal authorisation, obtained after training and an examination. The SERI presents three of them:
- Fireworks A (FWA): outdoor firing of ready-to-use articles, with a calibre of up to 75 mm and up to 50 kg of net explosive mass on the firing site; nautical effects are excluded.
- Fireworks B (FWB): outdoor firing of categories F4, T2 and P2, with electric or pyrotechnic ignition, and transport above the exempted quantities.
- Stage fireworks (BF): T2 and P2 articles on stage, indoors and outdoors, where only T2 articles are allowed.
Our pyrotechnicians hold the French F4-T2 qualification certificate. That certificate does not apply in Switzerland on its own: recognition of a foreign permit goes through the SERI. For our firing in Switzerland, we therefore work with a local partner who holds these authorisations. The partner carries out the firing; our pyrotechnicians write the sequence to the soundtrack and prepare the articles at our depot in Aigremont.
The firing authorisation, between cantonal police and municipality
The firing itself falls to the canton and the municipality where it takes place. The deadlines we have found differ from one canton to another:
- Vaud: application to the cantonal police, on the municipality’s advice, at least 15 days before the firing for categories F4 and T2.
- Neuchâtel: the application must reach the Neuchâtel police at least 14 days ahead; it then goes to the municipality and the services concerned.
- Geneva: using category 4 articles requires an express authorisation from the department in charge of security.
- Fribourg, Valais and Jura: the application goes through the cantonal police and the municipality; we confirm the deadline with them at the first contact.
The Vaud and Geneva forms ask for the insurance certificate, the site layout and the safety measures; the Geneva form adds the list of products. We prepare these documents with our partner.
For a show in Switzerland, we prepare the application with our local partner and give you the deadlines of the canton concerned with the quote.
Near Geneva airport, Skyguide’s prior opinion
In the canton of Vaud, a firing site between the Saint-Prex beacon and Geneva airport also requires a favourable opinion from the airport’s traffic service, provided by Skyguide. According to the safety rules published by the canton (in French), the cantonal police request this opinion with a form, and the organiser informs Skyguide at least 15 minutes before the firing starts.
We check this point during the site visit, with the exact address of the firing site.
Importing the articles from France
The category F4 articles leaving our depot need an import authorisation from the Central Office for Explosives and Pyrotechnics, part of the Federal Police (fedpol). According to fedpol, F4 articles without European conformity have no longer received import authorisations since 1 July 2017.
We therefore choose CE-marked products and submit the application as soon as the list of articles is agreed with you.
Firing from a lake or a barge
On Lake Geneva, the Geneva Festival fireworks are fired offshore, away from the shore, and Lausanne’s official 1 August fireworks are fired from the lake, opposite Ouchy. We also fire from a barge: the audience stays on the quays, and the firing moves away from facades and vegetation.
In summer 2026, this format remained possible when drought led to bans on outdoor fires. In the canton of Vaud, from 28 July, only professional firing from a lake, at events organised or authorised by the municipalities, was still allowed (blue News, in French). In Valais, Le Bouveret, which fires from the lake, was granted an exemption.
When the canton bans all firing, we propose a drone show in place of the 1 August fireworks, priced in the same quote.
Timeline of authorisations for fireworks in Switzerland
| Step | Authority | Deadline found |
|---|---|---|
| Choice of site, date and format | Celesta, municipality, venue owner | Three to six months ahead |
| Firing authorisation | Cantonal police, on the municipality’s advice | At least 15 days ahead (Vaud), 14 days (Neuchâtel) |
| Express authorisation for category 4 | Department in charge of security (Geneva) | To be confirmed with the canton |
| Aviation opinion, between Saint-Prex and Geneva | Skyguide, requested by the cantonal police | With the firing application; call 15 minutes before |
| Import of F4 articles | Central Office for Explosives and Pyrotechnics (fedpol) | As soon as the list of articles is agreed |
| Firing | Local partner holding an FWA or FWB authorisation | On the day |
Fireworks in Switzerland with Celesta and its local partner
- Design and production: our pyrotechnicians compose the firing to your soundtrack and prepare the articles in Aigremont.
- Firing: our local partner, who holds the Swiss authorisations, fires the display.
- Applications: we prepare the documents required by the canton and the municipality, and the import application.
- Fallback: if the canton bans fireworks, we propose firing from the lake or a drone light show, priced in the same quote.
We work as a fireworks provider in Switzerland in Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Sion and Basel.
Fireworks to plan in Switzerland? We price your show within 48 hours and tell you which authorisations to obtain.
