Penal Law § 405.05

Seizure and destruction of fireworks  ·  as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 405.05 Seizure and destruction of fireworks.

Fireworks possessed unlawfully may be seized by any peace officer, acting pursuant to his special duties, or police officer, who must deliver the same to the magistrate before whom the person arrested is required to be taken. The magistrate must, upon the examination of the defendant, or if such examination is delayed or prevented, without awaiting such examination, determine whether the fireworks had been possessed by the defendant in violation of the provisions of section 270.00; and if he finds that the fireworks had been so possessed by the defendant, he must cause such fireworks to be destroyed, in a way safe for the particular type of such fireworks, or to be delivered to the district attorney of the county in which the defendant is liable to indictment or trial, as the interests of justice and public safety may, in his opinion, require. Upon the conviction of the defendant, the district attorney must cause to be destroyed, in a way safe for the particular type of such fireworks, the fireworks in respect whereof the defendant stands convicted, and which remain in the possession or under the control of the district attorney.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/405.05

In plain English

A police officer or specially acting peace officer may seize unlawfully possessed fireworks and must deliver them to the magistrate handling the arrest. The magistrate must decide whether possession violated § 270.00, even if the defendant’s examination is delayed, and must safely destroy the fireworks or send them to the district attorney as justice and public safety require. After conviction, the district attorney must safely destroy the fireworks still under the office’s control. ★

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.