Research

Do you need a permit to cut down your own tree?

Name: Municipal tree-removal permit rules, 23 jurisdictions
Creator: HyreYard Research
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

23 municipal codes, each with the diameter trigger, the species list, the fee if the city publishes one, the replacement rule, the penalty and the ordinance citation. Not a national map. Not legal advice.

Updated September 2026 · Data as of 2026-09-05

Written by HyreYard Research Desk Primary-source research and fact checking

23 codes read Retrieved 2026-09-05

11 need a private-yard permit 12 do not, except the right-of-way

5 in / 19 in Tampa vs Austin, all species Same question, not the same legal object

2 state overlays on the city rows Fla. Stat. § 163.045 and Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 3-904

The finding

There is no national tree-removal permit. Of the 23 jurisdictions HyreYard Research read on 2026-09-05, 11 require a city permit to take down a typical healthy tree in an established private yard and 12 do not — except that almost every city treats a tree in the public right-of-way as city property, regardless of who mows the strip. Published diameters are not one scale: Los Angeles protects named natives at 4 inches; Tampa protects non-exempt trees at 5 inches; Austin protects all species at 19 inches; Charlotte’s 30-inch figure is a heritage class on native species, not a general permit. Houston and Dallas, in the same state, give opposite answers for an ordinary backyard oak. That is a source fact about two codes, not a ranking of the two cities. A tree in the electric supply lines is not a permit question — stop and call the utility.

Why this is 23 cities and not the United States

The contract for this page is the highest-intent question in the tree cluster: do you need a permit to cut down a tree you own. Every competing page HyreYard reviewed answers that question with some version of “check with your city.” That is true, and it is also not an answer.

HyreYard Research read 23 municipal codes, city arborist pages and — where the city publishes one — fee schedules, on 2026-09-05. 19 of those jurisdictions sit in the seven states where HyreYard holds a landscaper roster (Texas, Arizona, Washington, California, Oregon, Florida, North Carolina). Four more — New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver — were added because their codes are public and the question is asked there constantly. Orlando, Jacksonville, Tacoma, Eugene and Fort Worth were not finished in this pass and are listed as gaps, not filled from memory.

HyreYard analysis: a table titled to fifty states, or to “every city,” that we had not read would be the thing this desk exists not to publish. 23 sourced rows beat 19,000 unsourced ones.

This page is general information, not legal advice, not a permit, and not a substitute for the city that will actually stamp one. Municipal amendments override anything below. A homeowner still confirms with the issuing department before the saw starts.

Power lines and a tree on the house are not this page

If any part of the tree is in or within reaching distance of electric supply lines, stop. Line-clearance tree trimming is a qualified trade. OSHA 1910.269 is the federal rule for that work when it applies. Do not DIY-fell near lines. Call the utility. This page will not tell you how to drop a stem.

A tree on a roof, a garage or a person is an emergency for a crew that can rig, not a diameter-permit question. Call a certified arborist, and if lines are involved call the utility too. HyreYard does not cut trees, does not climb, and does not clear lines.

The words the codes actually use

DBH / DSH: Diameter at breast height, or diameter at standard height: the trunk measured about 4.5 feet above grade. San Jose legislates in circumference (38 inches ≈ 12.1 inches diameter). Multi-stem rules differ by city — Austin adds half the lesser stems; San Antonio takes the largest plus 50% of the rest; Miami-Dade sums every trunk. Ask how the city measures before you argue an inch.
Protected / regulated / ordinance-size: The ordinary class that needs a permit. The diameter and the species list are the whole fight. “Protected” in Houston means a parkway or corridor tree. “Protected” in Austin means any species at 19 inches. The same English word is not the same legal object.
Heritage / specimen / grand / landmark / Tier 1: A heavier class on top of the ordinary one: listed species at a larger size, or an individual tree the council has designated. Removal is often prohibited, or allowed only for hazard, or only after a public hearing. Recorded separately below because the consequences are not the ordinary permit.
Street tree / parkway / right-of-way: The strip between the curb and the sidewalk, and anything else in the mapped public way. Almost every city in this table treats that tree as city property even when the abutting owner is billed for the water. Title survey, not the lawn mower, decides.
Private-yard permit: HyreYard’s working label, not a legal term: would an owner of an established house need a city permit to take down a typical healthy tree wholly on the lot, with no building permit in play and no street-tree issue. Encoded true, false, or not verified. Development-triggered native-plant rules are not counted as a backyard permit.

The 23 jurisdictions

Jurisdiction	Private-yard permit?	Trigger	Fee	Replacement / mitigation	Penalty	Citation
Houston, TX	No*	No general private-yard tree-removal permit for an established single-family lot. Protected trees are parkway, corridor, green-corridor and designated trees — not a typical backyard stem.	not published for private-yard removal (none required on the lots this page is about)	New single-family houses must preserve or plant 1.5-inch-caliper trees before final inspection (Ch. 33-108). That is a construction condition, not a removal permit.	Unlawful to remove a tree situated in whole or in substantial part within a street without the director’s written permission (Ch. 33-152). Dollar fine not published in the sections retrieved.	Houston Code of Ordinances Ch. 33, Art. V (Trees, shrubs and screening fences) and Art. VI (Protection of certain trees), §§ 33-101, 33-108, 33-152
Dallas, TX	No*	No tree-removal permit for an occupied single-family or duplex lot smaller than two acres, unless the tree is in the right-of-way. On other lots, a building permit or tree-removal permit is required for a protected tree 8 inches caliper or larger.	not published on the forestry FAQ retrieved	Inch-for-inch; replacement trees minimum 2-inch caliper (city forestry FAQ).	not published in the FAQ or Art. X excerpts retrieved	Dallas Development Code Art. X, Div. 51A-10.130 (Tree preservation, removal, and replacement)
Austin, TX	Yes	Permit required to remove or impact a Protected tree: 19 inches or more DBH, all species, on residential and public property. 8-inch-and-larger trees are surveyed on commercial and multifamily site plans.	Dead/diseased/imminent-hazard permits: fee waived. Other tree-review fees are on the Tree Review & Inspection Fee Schedule (PDF); dollar amounts not restated here because the schedule is a separate instrument.	Environmental Criteria Manual: Protected-tree mitigation is 100% of diameter inches removed; Heritage-tree mitigation is 300%. Some species are mitigation-exempt.	Administrative mitigation under LDC 25-8 and misdemeanor citation under LDC 25-1-426. Dollar fine not published on the arborist page retrieved.	Austin City Code Title 25, Ch. 25-8, Subch. B, Art. 1 (Tree and Natural Area Protection), §§ 25-8-621, 25-8-641
San Antonio, TX	Yes	A tree permit is required before mitigating, removing or destroying Significant or Heritage trees, or conducting a regulated activity that may remove them (UDC § 35-477). Significant = 6 in DBH for most species (10 in for Ashe juniper, huisache, mesquite, Arizona ash, hackberry; 5 in for listed small species).	Tree Canopy Investment fee $15/lot residential, $25/acre commercial. Mitigation $200/inch for Significant trees and $200–$600/inch for Heritage trees (City Auditor, Tree Mitigation Program, FY 2024). Application fees: see current DSD fee schedule — not restated here.	Up to 90% of Significant and Heritage trees may be mitigated rather than preserved. Single-family builders also plant two 1.5-inch-caliper native canopy trees per lot. Floodplain/ESA: 80% Significant, 100% Heritage.	Enforced under UDC Art. 4, § 35-493. Dollar fine not published in the tree-ordinance excerpts retrieved.	San Antonio UDC §§ 35-477 (Tree permits), 35-523 (Tree preservation)
Phoenix, AZ	No*	No citywide private-yard tree-removal permit was found in the documents retrieved. Native-plant salvage and inventory apply to development (native trees 4 in caliper or greater; native cacti 3 ft or taller). Street trees remain city property.	No city tree-removal fee published for an established residential lot. Arizona native-plant permit $7 one-time; saguaro tag $8; other native-plant tags $6 (AZDA fee table).	On development sites, salvage in place or transplant. Not a backyard replacement table.	State native-plant violations are enforced by the Arizona Department of Agriculture. City dollar fine for private-yard tree removal: not applicable on the evidence retrieved.	Arizona Revised Statutes § 3-904
Scottsdale, AZ	No*	A native-plant permit is required to remove, relocate or destroy any plant on the protected list — but the city states permits will not be issued unless submitted with an approved or proposed development project. Single-family building-plan review requires a native-plant inventory.	not published on the Native Plant Ordinance page retrieved	Leave in place where possible; otherwise salvage and replant on the project. Salvage loss over 20% must be explained in writing at post-inspection.	not published on the page retrieved	Scottsdale City Code Ch. 46, Art. V (Protected Native Plants)
Tucson, AZ	No*	No general private-yard tree-removal permit was found. Native Plant Preservation (UDC § 7.7) requires a plan, or an exception application, when a project would impact Protected Native Plants. Inventories use a 4-inch caliper for significant vegetation.	not published on the NPPO exception form retrieved	Preserve in place, salvage, or mitigate under the approved Native Plant Preservation Plan. Exception available if a listed professional verifies the site has no viable Protected Native Plants.	not published in the NPPO documents retrieved	Tucson UDC § 7.7 (Native Plant Preservation)
Seattle, WA	Yes	SMC 25.11 (effective 30 July 2023) regulates trees 6 in DSH and larger in four tiers. Removal of Tier 1–4 trees is generally prohibited when no development is proposed, with listed exemptions. In Neighborhood Residential and similar zones, no more than two Tier 4 trees (6–12 in) may be removed in any three-year period without SDCI review; trees 12 in and larger need SDCI approval and must meet a removal allowance.	Varies by request type against the Land Use hourly rate: dead and invasive/nuisance, no LU fee; hazard, emergency, pest/pathogen and most others, 0.5 × LU hourly rate. Additional fees in environmentally critical areas and the shoreline district.	Replacement required for Tiers 1–3 (native/culturally significant, climate-resilient). Payment in lieu: Tier 1–2 at $17.87 per square inch of trunk; Tier 3 a flat $2,833 (Director’s Rule on payment in lieu, 2023 figures as published).	Civil penalty for failing to comply with a notice/decision/order up to $1,000 a day as amended; illegal removal valued under the Guide for Plant Appraisal, with possible trebling for construction-machinery damage (SMC 25.11.100).	Seattle Municipal Code Ch. 25.11
Los Angeles, CA	Yes	Permit from the Board of Public Works / StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division required to relocate or remove a protected tree or shrub on private property (LAMC §§ 46.00–46.06). Street trees: separate permit under §§ 62.162, 62.169. Ordinary non-native yard trees are not in the protected-tree class.	not published in the StreetsLA / DBS guidance retrieved	Minimum 4:1 replacement on the same property. Trees replaced with trees from the protected list; shrubs with shrubs. Replacement: at least 15-gallon, 1 in diameter at 1 ft above the base, and no less than 7 ft tall.	not published as a dollar figure in the StreetsLA / DBS guidance retrieved; removal without a permit is a code violation.	LAMC §§ 46.00–46.06 (Ord. 177,404 as amended by Ord. 186,873)
San Francisco, CA	No*	No general private-yard permit for trees more than 10 ft from the public right-of-way. A Significant Tree (any portion of the trunk within 10 ft of the ROW, and either >12 in DBH or >20 ft tall or >15 ft canopy) is treated like a street tree: removal permit required. All street trees need a permit.	Street/Significant tree removal (Public Works, posted 2025): $499 for 1–3 trees (diseased/hazard/sidewalk damage); $1,004 for 1–3 construction-related; $1,337 for 4–9; $2,009 for 10 or more. Landmark-tree removal: administrative fee per the Director’s schedule, plus hearing costs.	Replacement street tree, or an in-lieu fee, unless waived in writing. Landmark-tree removal can be conditioned on replacement value, administrative costs and a contribution to the Adopt-A-Tree Fund.	Unlawful to injure or destroy a street tree, Significant Tree or Landmark Tree (Pub. Works Code § 808). Criminal, civil and administrative penalties apply to Landmark Trees; dollar amounts for ordinary Significant-Tree violations were not in the sections retrieved.	San Francisco Public Works Code Art. 16 (Urban Forestry Ordinance), §§ 806, 808, 810, 810A
San Diego, CA	No*	No general private-yard tree-removal permit found. A Park and Recreation Director permit is required to remove, destroy, cut or trim any tree, palm, shrub or plant growing in a street or public highway (§ 62.0604). No-fee street-tree permits cover planting, trimming, removal and root pruning in the ROW after inspection.	No-fee street-tree permit (city tree-maintenance page). Private-yard: none found.	Street-tree removal evaluated under Council Policy 200-5. Designated trees under 900-19: no removal permit unless a clear, imminent and significant public-safety threat after reasonable care.	not published in the § 62.0604 excerpt retrieved	San Diego Municipal Code § 62.0604
Sacramento, CA	Yes	Permit required for regulated work on City Trees or Private Protected Trees (City Code Ch. 12.56). Private Protected Trees: all native oaks (coast, interior, valley, blue), California sycamore and buckeye at 12 in DSH; any species at 32 in DSH on a lot with an existing single-family or duplex dwelling; any species at 24 in DSH on undeveloped, commercial, industrial or apartment property.	$50 application fee to cover arborist costs (Tree Permit Application). Appeals of posted removals: $298.	Replacement plan may be required with the application. Ratios not restated on the permits page retrieved.	Criminal sanctions, civil actions and administrative penalties up to $25,000 for each day the violation continues (application form citing Ch. 12.56).	Sacramento City Code Ch. 12.56 (Tree Maintenance and Conservation, Ord. 2016-0026)
San Jose, CA	Yes	Permit to remove an ordinance-size tree on a single-family or duplex lot: 38 in circumference (about 12.1 in diameter) at 4.5 ft, including the sum of multi-trunk circumferences. On multifamily, commercial and industrial lots, a permit is required to remove a tree of any size. Street trees and Heritage Trees always need a permit.	not published as a dollar figure on the Tree Removal Permits page retrieved	Native 38 in+ circumference: 5:1; non-native 4:1; orchard 3:1; 15-gallon minimum. Smaller native 19–38 in: 3:1. Single-family and two-dwelling properties may mitigate at 1:1. After-the-fact: double the replacement ratios.	Heritage-tree illegal prune or removal: citation and fine up to $10,000, increasing for repeats up to $30,000 (Ch. 13.28 / Heritage Trees page).	San Jose Municipal Code Ch. 13.28 (Heritage Trees), Ch. 13.32 (Tree Removal Controls)
Portland, OR	Yes	Title 11: street trees of any size; city trees 3 in or more; private trees 12 in or more, unless an exemption in § 11.40.030 applies. Overlay zones and plan districts can drop the private-tree trigger to 6 in (Table 40-1).	Non-development Removal & Replanting application: no charge as of 1 July 2025 (PCEF-funded). Replanting-waiver application $50 (rising to $55 on the 10 July 2026 PP&D schedule). Development fee-in-lieu of preservation: $1,888 per private tree 12–<20 in; $472 per DBH inch for trees ≥20 in.	Replanting or a waiver. Development that preserves less than the code’s fraction of 12–20 in trees, and of 20 in+ trees, pays the fee-in-lieu.	Civil penalty $1,000 per tree per day. Restoration for a removed tree $472/DBH inch; removed Heritage Tree $944/DBH inch (FY 2025–26 Title 11 fee schedule). Enforcement penalty $250/month.	Portland City Code § 11.40.020 and Table 40-1
Miami, FL	Yes	City Code Ch. 17: a tree permit is required for tree activity on any public or private property unless an exemption in § 17-11 applies. Pruning more than 25% of canopy, or pruning not in accordance with ANSI A-300, also needs a permit (with a certified-arborist letter). No published DBH floor in the sections retrieved — the permit is for “a tree,” not “a tree of X inches.”	not published in the Ch. 17 excerpts retrieved	Permit criteria in the tree-protection article require that the tree unreasonably restrict a permitted use, or similar listed grounds, before removal is approved. Replacement conditions are attached to the permit; ratios not in the excerpts retrieved.	not published as a dollar figure in the Ch. 17 excerpts retrieved	Miami City Code Ch. 17 (Environmental Preservation), §§ 17-3, 17-4
Miami-Dade County, FL	Yes	A tree-removal/relocation permit is required to remove or relocate any tree in the county not specifically exempt under Ch. 24. A “tree” is a woody or fibrous perennial with a minimum 3 in DBH or an overall height of 12 ft or more. Exemption: trees in the yard of an existing single-family residence that are not in a Natural Forest Community and are not specimen trees (§ 24-49(4)(a)). That exemption does not cover ROW trees.	Application and initial inspection fees are non-refundable; after-the-fact costs double. Dollar amounts are on the Tree Permit Fee Schedule PDF, not restated here.	Planting Mitigation Guidelines; final inspection required to close the permit. Permit valid one year.	Uniform Civil Violation Notice under Ch. 8CC after failure to file an after-the-fact application. After-the-fact application and per-tree fees cost double.	Miami-Dade County Code § 24-49
Tampa, FL	Yes	Permit required to cut down, remove, relocate, damage or abuse any protected tree (Ch. 27, Div. 4). Protected tree = any mitigation tree; any mangrove; any cypress; and any non-exempt species 5 in DBH or greater. Exempt: listed Category I/II invasives and camphor under the conditions in § 27-284.1.2.	Triple permit fee for work that violates the division without irreparable damage. Other application fees: not published in the code excerpts retrieved.	Mitigation by crown-footprint conversion to nursery caliper/gallon equivalents (Table 284.4.1-A), paid to the planning-district tree trust or planted. At least 60% of replacement trees native. Grand trees: 100% retention on any land-use type unless a hazardous/dangerous finding is made.	Removal of a protected tree without a permit is an irreparable or irreversible violation. Grand-tree irreparable damage goes to a code-enforcement special magistrate; mitigation plus three 3-inch-caliper replacements per affected grand tree.	Tampa City Code Ch. 27, Art. VI, Div. 4, §§ 27-43, 27-284.1.2, 27-284.2.4, 27-284.2.5, 27-284.3.1, 27-284.4.1
Charlotte, NC	No*	On an established lot with no development, the homeowner permit is the Non-Development Heritage Tree Permit — not a general size-threshold permit. Heritage tree = any tree native to North Carolina (USDA NRCS Plants Database) with a DBH of 30 in or greater. Street trees and city-property trees of any planted size / naturally occurring ≥3 in DBH in the ROW are separately protected.	Heritage tree (non-development) mitigation $500/tree, reducible by planting extra mitigation trees ($250 credit each) or by preserving a specimen tree. Development heritage mitigation $1,500/tree.	Plant a minimum of one mitigation tree, or preserve one specimen tree. Options on the non-development checklist: pay $500; plant three trees total; plant two and pay $250; or preserve a specimen tree.	Civil penalties in UDO Zoning Administration Manual / Charlotte Tree Manual § 4.1. Dollar amounts not on the heritage-tree checklist retrieved.	Charlotte Tree Ordinance Ch. 21, § 21-8(g)
Raleigh, NC	No*	No general private-yard tree-removal permit was found. Tree Conservation Areas (UDO Art. 9.1) apply to development sites — currently two acres and larger since May 2005, with a 2022 authorization to study 1–2 acre lots that had not been adopted as a citywide backyard rule on the retrieval date. A Tree Impact Permit is required for any work on a City Tree (ROW or city-owned/controlled property).	not published on the Tree Impact Permit page retrieved	Inside a recorded Tree Conservation Area, replacement is 2-inch-caliper shade trees per 200 sq ft disturbed, or 10 caliper inches of new shade trees when a priority-area tree is certified hazardous/unhealthy/dead.	Tree-disturbing activity in a recorded conservation area is prohibited except as listed in UDO § 9.1.6. Dollar fine not published on the pages retrieved.	Raleigh UDO Art. 9.1 (Tree Conservation), §§ 9.1.3–9.1.6
New York, NY	No*	NYC Parks does not issue permits for work on private-property trees. A Tree Work Permit is required to perform work on or within 50 ft of a tree under city jurisdiction (street trees and park trees). Some front-yard trees are still in the mapped right-of-way — title survey, not the stoop, decides.	Replacement fee under 56 RCNY Ch. 5: at least one caliper-inch of replacement per caliper-inch removed, priced at the average planting price for a 3-inch-caliper street tree from the prior fiscal year’s Parks planting contracts. Parks will also accept the applicant planting the replacements.	As above; never less than 1:1 caliper inches. Species, condition and location ratings from the NYC Tree Valuation Protocol adjust the count.	Admin. Code § 18-129 / 56 RCNY § 1-04(b)(1): most violations a misdemeanor, fine up to $1,000 and/or 90 days. Removing a tree without a permit or damaging trees: fine up to $15,000 and/or imprisonment up to one year.	NYC Parks Tree Work Permit
Chicago, IL	No*	A building permit is not required to install, alter or remove a tree, plant or other vegetation on private property (MCC § 14A-4-402, Department of Buildings FAQ). A forestry permit from Streets and Sanitation is required to plant, prune, maintain or remove a parkway / public-way tree (MCC Ch. 10-32). Parkway trees are city property.	Forestry permit fee under § 10-32-090; dollar amount not in the table-of-contents retrieval. Private-yard: none.	City forestry replaces parkway trees on its own program. No private-yard replacement table.	Causing injury to a public tree or shrub is a Ch. 10-32 offense. Dollar fine not in the excerpt retrieved.	Municipal Code of Chicago Ch. 10-32 (Trees, plants and shrubs), §§ 10-32-060–10-32-170
Atlanta, GA	Yes	Permit from the city arborist required to destroy, remove or impact a regulated tree on private property: any tree other than a pine at 6 in DBH or greater, and pines at 12 in DBH or greater (Ch. 158, Art. II, as recodified by Ord. 2025-19, adopted 24 June 2025). Fallen trees: no permit; document with photographs. Arborist inspection and issuance of the inspection report: no charge.	No charge for the homeowner arborist inspection. Recompense for a healthy tree permitted for removal was historically $100 per tree + $30 per DBH inch; the June 2025 update described a new formula of $140 per DBH inch, adjusted annually to the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell CPI. Confirm the in-force fee with the Arborist Division — both figures appear in city documents spanning 2003–2025.	Replanting credited against recompense at 1.25 × actual planted size (2025 fact sheet). Maximum recompense per acre is zoned (R-1 $35,000; R-4 $15,000; etc. on the 2025 table). Invasive removals: permit required, no recompense.	When the number of trees is known: first violation no less than $500 plus illegal recompense; subsequent $1,000. When count unknown: assumed 1,000 inches DBH per acre (60 trees of 16.67 in) and a $60,000/acre fine, prorated. Illegally destroyed trees must also be replaced or recompensed.	Atlanta City Code Ch. 158, Art. II (Tree Protection), Ord. 2025-19 (24-O-1691)
Denver, CO	No*	No permit to prune or, in the majority of cases, to remove a tree on private property. A free permit from the Office of the City Forester is required to plant or remove a street tree (D.R.M.C. § 57-18: adjoining owner is responsible for street-tree care). During demolition or construction of a dwelling in a Residential Zone District, established trees in the primary and side-street setbacks must be preserved unless the City Forester issues a removal permit (Zoning Code § 10.5.3).	Street-tree planting and removal permits are free. Tree-service companies must be licensed under Ch. 57 Div. IV to prune or remove public or private trees for hire.	Street-tree replacement on the approved list. Setback-tree removal during construction: only with a City Forester permit under §§ 57-20(b) and 57-25.	Unlawful to engage in the business of cutting, trimming, pruning or removing public or private trees without a tree-service licence. Improper ROW pruning can be deemed irreparable damage with reimbursement of the tree’s value.	Denver Revised Municipal Code Ch. 57 (§§ 57-18, 57-20, 57-25)

HyreYard Research, municipal codes and city arborist pages retrieved 2026-09-05. “No*” means no general private-yard permit was found for an established house; a street-tree, construction-setback, native-plant-on-development or recorded-conservation-area rule can still apply. Fees marked “not published” were not in the document we retrieved — they are not $0.

Each row is one city’s rule as of the retrieval date, not a metro. Unincorporated county ordinances were not compiled. Florida Stat. § 163.045 and Arizona Rev. Stat. § 3-904 sit on top of the Florida and Arizona rows and are unpacked below.

Heritage, specimen, grand and landmark classes

Jurisdiction	Heritage / specimen / grand / landmark class
Houston, TX	A tree may be designated only on application by or joined by the owner (Ch. 33-104). Not an automatic size class.
Dallas, TX	No separate heritage class in the FAQ retrieved. Historic/significant overlays can still apply by district.
Austin, TX	Heritage tree = 24 in DBH or more of Texas ash, bald cypress, American elm, cedar elm, Texas madrone, bigtooth maple, all oaks, pecan, Arizona walnut or eastern black walnut. Removal prohibited except as provided in § 25-8-641. Variances for 30 in+ Heritage trees go through a public process.
San Antonio, TX	Heritage = 24 in DBH or more for most species; 12 in for listed small species (Texas persimmon, redbud, mountain laurel, condalia, possumhaw, hawthorn). 100% preservation on each platted lot.
Phoenix, AZ	No city heritage-tree class found in the documents retrieved.
Scottsdale, AZ	No separate heritage-tree class on the Native Plant Ordinance page retrieved. ESL overlay is a different plant list.
Tucson, AZ	No heritage-tree class found. WASH (Ch. 29 Art. VIII) is a watercourse overlay, not a heritage list.
Seattle, WA	Tier 1 = Heritage Trees designated under Title 15. Generally may not be removed unless hazardous or an emergency action.
Los Angeles, CA	No separate heritage class in LAMC § 46.00. Department of Recreation and Parks has its own heritage/special-habitat policy on park land.
San Francisco, CA	Landmark Trees designated by the Board of Supervisors under Pub. Works Code § 810. Highest protection; public hearing; generally removable only if they constitute a hazard tree under § 802(o).
San Diego, CA	Optional. Council Policy 900-19: public trees 8 in caliper at 4 ft may be evaluated for designation. Private trees enter only if the owner nominates them. Not an automatic size class.
Sacramento, CA	The current Ch. 12.56 category is “Private Protected Tree,” which the city says includes trees formerly called Heritage Trees. Older Ch. 12.64 definitions (100 in circumference any species; 36 in circumference for listed natives) still appear in some project reports; confirm against current 12.56 before relying on the old numbers.
San Jose, CA	Individually designated by City Council for history, girth, height, species or unique quality — any size. Illegal to prune or remove without consulting the City Arborist and obtaining a permit.
Portland, OR	Heritage Trees are a separate designation. Removal is outside the ordinary Type A path; restoration fees are doubled.
Miami, FL	No separate heritage class in the Ch. 17 excerpts retrieved. Miami-Dade specimen-tree covenants can still bind a city lot.
Miami-Dade County, FL	Specimen tree at 18 in DBH is the heavy class. Specimen-tree covenants in favor of the county survive even inside municipalities.
Tampa, FL	Grand tree: listed species, DBH of at least 32 in, condition rating A/B/C, plus Florida Champion/Challenger trees. Specimen tree: 24 in DBH of listed identity/size/character. Grand-tree removal needs board/commission or natural-resources-coordinator approval under Table 284.2.5. Pruning any limb of a grand tree also needs a permit.
Charlotte, NC	Heritage as above (30 in native). Specimen tree (for mitigation credit): large hardwoods/softwoods in good or better condition at 20 in+ DBH, or smaller understory (dogwood, redbud, sourwood, persimmon) at 10 in+ DBH, as determined by the city.
Raleigh, NC	Heritage trees may be established as optional tree-conservation area after primary areas are set, with double credit for a fully protected critical root zone if the tree rates “Good” or higher by an ISA arborist. Not an automatic backyard class.
New York, NY	No Parks heritage class for private trees. Landmark-preservation properties can trigger a separate LPC review for trees on designated sites.
Chicago, IL	No citywide private-property heritage class found in Ch. 10-32 or the Buildings FAQ.
Atlanta, GA	Heritage Tree is a designated class (notable historic value, age, size or historic association) under the recodified Art. II. Specimen language in the 2025 draft used 30 in DBH for large hardwoods/softwoods in fair or better condition. Confirm designation status with the Arborist Division; it is not automatic at 30 in on every lot.
Denver, CO	No private-property heritage class found. “Protected tree” in the permit form refers to public or construction-setback trees.

The heritage / specimen / grand / landmark / Tier 1 designation, as each city writes it, retrieved 2026-09-05. Several cities (Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Raleigh, New York, Chicago, Denver) have no automatic private-yard heritage class in the documents we read — they still protect street trees, and some allow voluntary designation.

What the numbers actually show

Source fact. 11 of 23 jurisdictions require a city permit for a typical private-yard removal. 12 do not, on the documents retrieved. 14 publish a numeric diameter (or circumference converted to diameter) that a homeowner can measure.

HyreYard calculation. 14 rows publish a number a homeowner can put a tape on. They are not one scale. Los Angeles’s 4 inches applies to named native oaks, walnuts, sycamores, bays and two shrubs. Tampa’s 5 inches applies to non-exempt species. Austin’s 19 inches applies to every species. Sacramento’s 12-inch native list and 32-inch any-species trigger on an existing single-family lot are two different objects in one code. Charlotte’s 30 inches is a heritage class on North Carolina natives, and the private-yard column for Charlotte is still “No” for an ordinary tree. Miami-Dade’s 3-inch figure is the definition of “a tree” for the county permit, with a single-family yard exemption for non-specimen trees.

HyreYard analysis. The interesting disagreement is not “strict versus lax.” It is what the city thinks it is regulating. Austin regulates a size. Los Angeles regulates a native-species list. Charlotte regulates a 30-inch native. Houston regulates the parkway. San Francisco regulates proximity to the sidewalk. Scottsdale regulates native plants, but only when a development permit is in play. Treating those as one “tree ordinance” column is how the competing pages end up saying “check with your city.”

Miami-Dade County, FL3 in

Tucson, AZ4 in

Los Angeles, CA4 in

Tampa, FL5 in

San Antonio, TX6 in

Seattle, WA6 in

Atlanta, GA6 in

Dallas, TX8 in

San Francisco, CA12 in

Sacramento, CA12 in

Portland, OR12 in

San Jose, CA12.1 in

Austin, TX19 in

Charlotte, NC30 in

heritage class, not a general permit

Six regimes, not a slider from “easy” to “hard”

HyreYard classified each row by the legal object the city is actually protecting. The classification is ours. The citations are the cities’.

Size threshold on private lots. Austin (19 in, all species), Portland (12 in private; 3 in city trees; any size street trees), Tampa (5 in, non-exempt), Atlanta (6 in hardwood / 12 in pine), Seattle (6 in DSH, four tiers), Sacramento (12 in natives; 32 in any species on an SF/duplex lot), San Jose (38 in circumference ≈ 12.1 in on SF/duplex; any size on commercial). Miami’s Chapter 17 does not publish a DBH floor in the sections we retrieved — the permit is for “a tree.”

Named species plus a size. Los Angeles is the clean case: four native trees and two native shrubs at 4 inches cumulative, 4:1 replacement, and a backyard eucalyptus is not in the class. Sacramento’s native-oak/sycamore/buckeye list at 12 inches sits inside a size regime. San Antonio’s small-species list at 5 inches is a modifier on a size regime.

Size on some lots, exemption on others. Dallas: no permit on an occupied single-family or duplex lot under two acres, unless the tree is in the right-of-way; 8-inch protected trees on everything else, minus an unprotected-species list. Miami-Dade: a 3-inch “tree” definition and an 18-inch specimen class, with a single-family yard exemption that does not cover specimen trees or the ROW.

Heritage / specimen overlay; ordinary trees unregulated. Charlotte’s non-development homeowner permit is the 30-inch NC-native Heritage Tree. A 28-inch willow oak on a finished lot is not that object. Development sites have a separate canopy regime under UDO Article 20.

Triggered by development or land clearing, not a backyard saw. Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson run native-plant programs that fire when a building or grading permit is in play, not when a homeowner takes down a volunteer mesquite. Raleigh’s Tree Conservation Areas are recorded on development plats of two acres and larger; they are easements, not a backyard permit. Denver’s setback-tree rule fires the day a residential demolition permit is filed.

Street / parkway / right-of-way trees only. Houston, San Francisco (except Significant Trees within 10 ft of the ROW), San Diego, New York, Chicago and Denver: the private yard is largely the owner’s, and the parkway is the city’s. San Francisco is the hybrid — a 12-inch tree 9 feet from the sidewalk is a Significant Tree; the same tree 11 feet back is not.

Size threshold on private lots8 cities

Street / parkway / right-of-way trees only6 cities

Triggered by development or land clearing, not a backyard saw4 cities

Size on some lots, exemption on others3 cities

Named species plus a size1 city

Heritage / specimen overlay; ordinary trees unregulated1 city

Two Texas answers, same state

Austin and San Antonio

Source fact. Austin’s City Arborist page, retrieved 2026-09-05, states that a Protected tree is 19 inches or more at 4.5 feet, all species, and that a permit is required to remove one on residential property. A Heritage tree is 24 inches or more of a listed species; removal is prohibited except under § 25-8-641. Mitigation in the Environmental Criteria Manual is 100% of diameter inches for Protected trees and 300% for Heritage trees.

San Antonio’s UDC §§ 35-477 and 35-523 require a tree permit before removing a Significant tree (6 inches for most species) or a Heritage tree (24 inches). The city auditor’s FY 2024 Tree Mitigation Program report states mitigation fees of $200 per inch for Significant trees and $200–$600 per inch for Heritage trees. 100% of Heritage trees are to be preserved on each platted lot.

Houston and Dallas

Source fact. Houston Chapter 33, Article V, defines a protected tree as a corridor, designated, green-corridor or parkway tree. Article VI makes it unlawful to remove a tree situated in whole or in substantial part within a street. Division 2 of Article V (building-site landscape) does not apply to existing single-family lots. The documents we retrieved do not impose a backyard DBH permit on an established house.

Dallas Forestry’s own FAQ states that for single-family homes under two acres, a tree-removal permit is not required unless the tree is in the right-of-way. Article X still regulates 8-inch protected trees on other lots, with an unprotected-species list.

HyreYard analysis: “Texas tree law” is not a thing a homeowner can look up. Four codes, four objects.

Two state overlays that sit on top of the city rows

Florida Stat. § 163.045

Geography: Statewide, on qualifying single-family detached residential property.

A local government may not require notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation for pruning, trimming or removal of a tree on residential property if the owner possesses documentation from an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida-licensed landscape architect, following ISA Best Management Practices — Tree Risk Assessment (2nd ed. 2017), that the tree poses an unacceptable risk — meaning removal is the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate. The local government also may not require replanting of a tree removed under this section. Does not apply to mangroves under the delegated mangrove program.

Limit: “Residential property” means a single-family detached building on a lot actively used for single-family residential purposes. Townhouses, condos, multifamily and commercial lots stay under the local ordinance. Healthy trees stay under the local ordinance. Documentation must exist at the time of removal.

Arizona Revised Statutes § 3-904

Geography: Statewide protected native plants.

A private landowner may destroy protected native plants on the land without an AZDA collection permit if the plants are not transported off the land or offered for sale, and if the owner notifies the Department 20, 30 or 60 days beforehand depending on acreage. Individually owned residential property of 10 acres or less where initial construction has already occurred is exempt from that notice. Moving a saguaro, palo verde or other listed native off the lot still needs a Department permit, tags and seals.

Limit: This is a plant-salvage statute, not a municipal tree ordinance. Cities (Scottsdale, Tucson, Phoenix development sites) can still require a native-plant program when a building permit is in play. HOAs are a private contract.

What Florida Stat. § 163.045 does not do

Source fact. Since the 2022 amendment (SB 518), a Florida local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation for pruning, trimming or removal of a tree on a single-family detached residential lot if the owner possesses a signed, on-site ISA Best Management Practices — Tree Risk Assessment (2nd ed. 2017) from an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida-licensed landscape architect concluding that removal is the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate. The local government may not require that tree to be replanted. Mangroves are carved out.

HyreYard analysis: the statute is a lane, not a repeal. Townhouses, condos, vacant lots, commercial property and healthy trees remain under Tampa Chapter 27, Miami Chapter 17, Miami-Dade Chapter 24 and every other local code in this table. Tampa’s own construction-services page tells owners to keep the assessment: it is the only way the city can tell a lawful § 163.045 removal from an illegal one after the fact.

Recommendation: if you are on a qualifying Florida lot and a certified arborist has written that the tree is an unacceptable risk, keep that document. If the tree is healthy, or the building is not a detached single-family house, read the city row.

The right-of-way is not your yard

In every city in this table, a tree in the public right-of-way is a different legal object from a tree on the lot. New York Parks will prosecute removal of a street tree (up to $15,000 and/or a year). Chicago parkway trees are city property under Chapter 10-32. Denver makes the abutting owner care for the street tree and still requires a free City Forester permit to take it down. San Francisco’s Significant Tree is a private-property tree that has wandered within 10 feet of that line.

Recommendation: before anyone cuts, look at the title survey — not the edge of the mowed grass. If the trunk is in the mapped right-of-way, the city row’s “No*” does not apply.

What to do before anyone cuts

Measure at 4.5 feet, then read your city’s multi-stem rule
A tape around the trunk divided by π is DBH. San Jose wants circumference. Austin and San Antonio do not add multi-stem trunks the same way. An inch on the wrong rule is a wasted argument.
Identify the species if the city has a list
Los Angeles, Austin (Heritage), Sacramento (natives at 12 in), San Antonio (small-species and juniper/mesquite exceptions) and Charlotte (NC natives at 30 in) all make species the difference between “permit” and “not that ordinance.”
Check the right-of-way and any recorded easement
Street tree, parkway, Significant Tree within 10 feet of the sidewalk, Tree Conservation Area on a Raleigh plat, Denver setback tree on a demo permit. The backyard rule does not cover those.
Ask whether a building or grading permit is in play
Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson and San Antonio’s development path, plus every commercial site plan, are a different permit from “I want this one tree gone.”
Read the HOA documents
A city “No*” is not an HOA “yes.” Covenants are a private contract. See HOA landscaping preemption.
If the tree is in the wires, stop
Call the utility. This is not a permit checklist item. It is the end of the checklist.
Do not take a blog’s diameter table over the ordinance
Secondary roundups disagree with each other and with the codes we read. The citation column is the document. HyreYard does not cut trees and does not pull permits.

How we compiled the table

1
Question
For an established house, with no building permit in play, does this city require a permit to remove a typical healthy tree wholly on the private lot? Separate questions: street trees, heritage class, development-triggered native-plant rules, state overlays.
2
Sources
Municipal code (Municode, American Legal, city code host) and the city’s own urban-forestry or arborist page. Fee schedules where the city publishes one. State statutes only for the two overlays that actually preempt or sit beside the local rule (Fla. Stat. § 163.045; Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 3-904). No blogs as the authority for a diameter, a fee or a penalty.
3
Inclusion
Roster-state major cities first, then New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Denver. 23 rows. A city whose code we could not finish reading is a gap, not a guessed row.
4
Encoding
privatePermit is true, false, or would have been null if we could not tell. Fees, penalties and replacement ratios that were not in the retrieved document are written “not published,” never as zero. Heritage is a separate column so a 30-inch designation is not collapsed into a 6-inch permit.
5
Calculations
Counts, the 3–30 inch range, and the regime classification are HyreYard calculations on the table. They are not something any city stated.

Limitations

23 cities, not the United States
There is no national tree ordinance. Unincorporated counties, smaller suburbs and the cities listed as gaps are unpublished. A Dallas row is not a Collin County row.
Codes move
Atlanta recodified Article II in June 2025. Seattle’s tier system dates to 30 July 2023. Portland eliminated most non-development permit fees on 1 July 2025 and is rewriting Title 11 in 2026. A retrieval date is a retrieval date, not a promise the section number is eternal.
Fee schedules are separate instruments
Several cities publish dollar fees in a PDF that is not the ordinance. Where we did not open that PDF, the cell says “not published,” even if a fee exists.
HOAs, historic districts and overlays
Historic-preservation commissions, wildlife districts, ESL overlays, WASH riparian rules and recorded conservation easements can be stricter than the citywide tree article. They are flagged where we saw them, not exhaustively mapped.
This is not a felling guide
No drop cuts, no rigging, no “how to” near a structure. Power lines are a stop. HyreYard does not perform tree work.

Cities we did not finish

Orlando, FL. Not read at the municipal code in this pass. Florida Stat. § 163.045 still applies on qualifying single-family detached lots. Jacksonville, FL. Not read. Duval County / City of Jacksonville has a separate tree code historically built around “grand trees”; unpublished here rather than summarised from memory. Tacoma, WA. Not read. Seattle’s SMC 25.11 is not Tacoma’s code. Eugene, OR. Not read. Portland Title 11 is not Eugene’s code. Fort Worth, TX. Not read. Dallas Art. X and Austin Ch. 25-8 are not Fort Worth’s code. unincorporated counties. County tree ordinances (Hillsborough, Orange, Wake, Maricopa, King, etc.) were not compiled. A city row is not a metro row.

A gap is a finding. It is not a reason to copy a competitor’s unsourced cell.

Questions

Do I need a permit to remove a tree on my own property?

It depends on the city, the diameter, the species, and whether the trunk is in the right-of-way. Of the 23 jurisdictions HyreYard Research read on 2026-09-05, 11 require a permit for a typical private-yard tree and 12 do not — except that street trees are almost always city property. Houston and Dallas generally do not require a backyard permit on an established small single-family lot; Austin requires one at 19 inches; Tampa at 5 inches. Confirm with the city that issues the permit. This is not legal advice.

What is DBH, and why do cities disagree about an inch?

DBH (diameter at breast height) or DSH (diameter at standard height) is the trunk diameter measured about 4.5 feet above the ground. San Jose writes the threshold as 38 inches of circumference (about 12.1 inches diameter). Multi-stem trees are counted differently in Austin, San Antonio and Miami-Dade. Measure the way the ordinance tells you to measure.

What is a heritage tree?

A heavier class than the ordinary protected tree: a listed species at a larger size, or an individual tree a council has designated. Austin Heritage trees are 24-inch listed species (oaks, pecan, bald cypress and others) and may not be removed except under § 25-8-641. Seattle Tier 1 trees are designated Heritage Trees. Charlotte Heritage trees are NC natives at 30 inches. San Francisco Landmark Trees need a Board of Supervisors designation. The word is not portable.

Can I remove a tree in the strip between the sidewalk and the street?

Almost never without the city’s permission. That strip is the public right-of-way. New York Parks, Chicago Streets and Sanitation, Denver’s City Forester, San Diego Park and Recreation, Houston Public Works and San Francisco Public Works all treat that tree as city property. A “No” in the private-yard column does not cover it.

Does Florida’s tree law let me skip the city permit?

Only in a narrow lane. Florida Stat. § 163.045 stops a local government requiring a permit, fee or mitigation on a single-family detached lot when you already have a qualifying ISA tree-risk assessment that says removal is the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate. Healthy trees, townhouses, condos and commercial lots stay under the city code. Keep the assessment.

What about Arizona native plants — saguaros, palo verde, mesquite?

Arizona Rev. Stat. § 3-904 lets a private owner destroy protected natives on the land without an AZDA collection permit if they are not transported off or sold, and — except on individually owned residential property of 10 acres or less with a house already built — after notice to the Department. Moving a listed plant off the lot still needs tags. Scottsdale and Tucson still run native-plant programs when a development permit is in play.

The tree is in the power lines. Does a permit matter?

The permit is the wrong first question. Work near electric supply lines is a qualified trade. OSHA 1910.269 applies to line-clearance tree trimming when it applies. Call the utility. Do not DIY-fell near lines. HyreYard does not cut trees.

Does HyreYard cut trees or pull tree permits?

No. HyreYard is a research and matching layer. Matching is still being built. The enquiry form is not a dispatch line. A bid that is silent on permits is incomplete — that is a recommendation, not a service we perform.

Written and audited by

HyreYard Research

Primary-source research, data analysis and fact checking

We are a research desk, not a landscaping company. We read the statute, the municipal code, the water-district rule or the federal soil file ourselves, and we publish the figure with the document it came from and the date we retrieved it. Where a number cannot be traced to a primary source, we publish the shorter page and say what we could not verify. This programme is new. The counts below are what we can already stand behind — a seven-state roster and a rule that we will not make a national claim from it.

10: studies published
50: states in the licensing and HOA tables
7: states the contractor roster is titled to
0: national claims drawn from our own store

How this desk works

Primary sources only. A rule comes from the statute, ordinance, board or agency that issued it, cited by section, with the URL and the retrieval date. We do not cite a blog that cites a code.
Coverage is a number, not a vibe. A table titled to fifty states has fifty sourced rows. A table of cities is titled to the cities we actually read. Gaps are published as gaps.
Store-based facts stay inside the seven states. Texas, Arizona, Washington, California, Oregon, Florida and North Carolina. Texas is the largest roster on the weakest evidence — a self-reported NAICS sales-tax permit — because Texas licenses no landscaper. National claims rest on federal or state agency data, never on our counts.
Fact, calculation, analysis and recommendation stay labelled. "According to…" is a source. "HyreYard analysed… and calculated…" is ours. "This suggests…" is interpretation. We do not present our reading as something the source stated.
We do not landscape, irrigate, treat pests or pull permits, and we take no payment for placement, ranking or a favourable mention. Nobody buys a position on this site.

Data as of 2026-09-05. Authorship on this site is organisational: the analysis belongs to the desk rather than to a named individual, and we do not publish credentials we do not hold. Our editorial policy sets out how we source, date and correct what we publish.

Sources & retrieval dates

City of Austin — City Arborist (tree reviews and permitting) , Protected tree 19 in, all species; Heritage tree 24 in listed species; §§ 25-8-621 and 25-8-641. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Austin City Code Title 25, Ch. 25-8, Subch. B, Art. 1 , Tree and Natural Area Protection. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Dallas Forestry FAQ , Single-family under 2 acres: no tree-removal permit unless the tree is in the ROW; 8-inch protected trees otherwise. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Dallas Development Code Art. X, Div. 51A-10.130 , Tree preservation, removal and replacement; unprotected-species list. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Houston Code of Ordinances Ch. 33, Art. V , Protected tree = parkway, corridor, green-corridor or designated tree. Single-family lots not under Div. 2. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Houston Code of Ordinances Ch. 33, Art. VI, § 33-152 , Unlawful to remove a tree situated in a street without the director’s permission. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
San Antonio UDC §§ 35-477 and 35-523 , Significant tree 6 in (with species exceptions); Heritage 24 in; tree permit before removal. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of San Antonio Office of the City Auditor — Tree Mitigation Program (FY 2024) , Mitigation $200/inch Significant; $200–$600/inch Heritage; canopy investment $15/lot residential. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Arizona Department of Agriculture — Native Plants , Permit, tag and 10-acre residential notice exemption. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Arizona Revised Statutes § 3-904 , Destruction of protected plants by private landowners; notice; 10-acre residential exception. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Scottsdale — Native Plant Ordinance Information , Ch. 46 Art. V; permit only with a development project. Page last updated 21 May 2026. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Tucson — Riparian / NPPO summary , UDC 7.7 Native Plant Preservation; 4-inch caliper inventory for significant vegetation. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections — Tree Removal , SMC 25.11 tiers; fees against the Land Use hourly rate. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 25.11 , Tree Protection, including 25.11.040 and 25.11.100. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Portland City Code § 11.40.020 , When a tree permit is required: street trees any size; city trees ≥3 in; private trees ≥12 in. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Portland.gov — Do I Need a Tree Permit? / Title 11 fee schedule , Non-development removal application no charge as of 1 July 2025; civil penalty $1,000/tree/day; restoration $472/inch. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Los Angeles — Guidelines and Requirements for Regulated Trees (LADBS) , LAMC §§ 46.00–46.06; 4-inch cumulative protected natives; street trees §§ 62.162, 62.169. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
San Francisco Public Works — Significant and Landmark Trees , Art. 16: Significant Tree = trunk within 10 ft of ROW plus size test; Landmark Trees designated by the Board. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
San Francisco Public Works Code § 810A , Significant Trees definition and removal procedures. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of San Diego — Trees, Preservation , Council Policy 900-19 voluntary designation; no general private-yard permit on the page retrieved. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
San Diego Municipal Code § 62.0604 , Permit required to remove or injure plant material in a street or public highway. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Sacramento — Tree Permits and Ordinances , Ch. 12.56 Private Protected Trees: natives at 12 in DSH; 32 in any species on SF/duplex; 24 in on other lots. $50 application; up to $25,000/day administrative penalty. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of San José — Tree Removal Permits , Ordinance-size 38 in circumference; Heritage Trees Ch. 13.28; replacement ratios; fines up to $30,000. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Miami City Code Chapter 17 , Tree permit required for tree activity on public or private property unless exempted. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Miami-Dade County — Tree Removal or Relocation Permits , Ch. 24-49; tree = 3 in DBH or 12 ft height; specimen = 18 in; single-family yard exemption for non-specimen trees. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Tampa City Code Ch. 27, Art. VI, Div. 4 , Protected trees 5 in+ non-exempt; grand trees ≥32 in listed species, 100% retention. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Tampa — Definitions and DBH measurement guide (2026) , Protected tree and grand-tree definitions used in Ch. 27. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Florida Stat. § 163.045 , Tree pruning, trimming, or removal on residential property — 2022 SB 518 text. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Tampa — Interpretation of the tree-removal statutory exemption , City reading of § 163.045 after SB 518. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Charlotte — Urban Forestry , Heritage tree permitting; UDO Art. 20 development canopy; Ch. 21 non-development. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Charlotte Non-Development Heritage Tree Removal Permit checklist , Heritage = NC native ≥30 in DBH; specimen definition; $500 non-development mitigation. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Raleigh — Tree Impact Permit , Required for work on City Trees in the ROW or on city property. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Raleigh UDO Art. 9.1 — Tree Conservation , Conservation areas on development sites; § 9.1.6 permitted disturbing activities. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
NYC Parks — Tree Work Permit , Required on or within 50 ft of a city tree. Parks does not permit private-property trees. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
NYC Parks — Illegal Tree Work and Damage , Admin. Code § 18-129: up to $15,000 and/or one year for removing a city tree without a permit. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Municipal Code of Chicago Ch. 10-32 , Permit to work on parkway trees; parkway tree is city property. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City of Chicago Department of Buildings — Site Work and Landscaping , Building permit not required to install, alter or remove a tree on private property. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
Atlanta City Code Ch. 158, Art. II (Ord. 2025-19) , Regulated tree: 6 in DBH except pines at 12 in. Recodified 24 June 2025. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
ATL311 — Tree removal permit (KB0013006) , No charge for arborist inspection; fallen trees no permit. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
City and County of Denver — Office of the City Forester, Property Owner Responsibilities , No private-yard permit in most cases; free street-tree permit; construction-setback preservation. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.269 , Line-clearance tree trimming. Cited for the stop line, not as a municipal permit. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
International Society of Arboriculture — TreesAreGood , Find an Arborist; cited for hiring, not for any municipal diameter. Retrieved 2026-09-05.

The permit is not the bid

A city row tells you whether a stamp is required. It does not price the crane, the haul or the stump. Type a quoted $/inch into the tree-removal calculator, or send the job to local companies — HyreYard does not cut trees.

Tree removal cost calculator Request names of local companies

This page is general information compiled from municipal codes and city arborist pages retrieved 2026-09-05. It is not legal advice, not a permit, and not a recommendation to remove any tree. Municipal amendments, recorded easements, historic districts, HOAs and utility easements can all be stricter than the citywide article. HyreYard does not perform landscaping or tree work and takes no payment for placement or a favourable mention.