Tree permits in the largest US cities

This is a lookup, not advice. Each row says what the city's own page says is protected or needs a permit, with the size written the way the city writes it, and names the office the page points to. It does not say whether any given tree needs a permit. The land owner and the city decide, and city pages change. For the national picture see tree protection orders, bylaws and permits. This page goes city by city for the United States only.

Two words come up again and again. A street tree, or right-of-way tree, grows in the strip the city owns beside the road, so the city office usually decides on pruning or removal. A private tree is on someone's lot, and most cities leave it alone unless a size, species, listing or building project brings it under a rule. Sizes are given in inches as the pages print them: DBH is diameter at breast height, usually 4.5 feet above the ground, and DSH is Seattle's term for diameter at standard height.

Cities with size or species rules on private trees

City	What its page says, and the office
Los Angeles	Its photo guide lists protected native species (oaks, Southern California black walnut, western sycamore, California bay laurel, and two shrubs) that are protected at 4 cumulative inches or more in trunk diameter at 4.5 feet. A permit is required to remove or relocate one under Ordinance No. 186,873, with a report from a defined Tree Expert. The tree removal permits page says anyone seeking to remove a tree must apply for and receive a permit, and for removal of 3 or more trees the page says a report must be presented to the Board of Public Works after the permit is issued. Office: StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division, tree removal permits page and protected trees photo guide
San Antonio	A significant tree is 6 inches DBH or greater, with listed species counted at other sizes, for example Ashe juniper at 10 inches. A heritage tree is 24 inches DBH or greater, with listed small species at 12 inches. A tree application must be submitted before any development of property. Office: Development Services Department, tree preservation page and tree measuring basics document
Tucson	The Native Plant Preservation Ordinance requires preservation of vegetation meeting species, caliper and viability criteria, and uses a 4 inch caliper for significant vegetation on inventory maps. Office: Development Services Department Director, vegetation codes summary
Charlotte	Tree preservation requirements protect trees in public street rights-of-way and on private property. The Urban Forestry Group handles heritage tree permitting, and its Preservation Team manages the non-development heritage tree permitting process. Office: Urban Forestry Group, urban forestry page
Seattle	SMC 25.11 limits the number, size and type of trees removable from private property. Tier 3 trees are 12 inches DSH or greater but under 24 inches. Tier 2 trees are 24 inches DSH or greater, plus groves and listed species below 24 inches. Tier 1 is a heritage tree under SMC Title 15. For commercial tree work, removal of a tree 6 inches DSH or greater needs a public notice on the city's public notice webpage six business days before removal, as Tip 242D on public notice sets out. The tiers are set out in Tip 242B on private tree removal. Office: Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, tree removal page
Portland	A removal permit is needed for trees 12 inches diameter at 4.5 feet and larger. Private trees of any size may need a permit in certain environmental overlay zones and plan districts. Office: Permitting and Development, do I need a tree permit page
Washington DC	A special tree is a private tree with a circumference of 40 to 99.9 inches. A heritage tree is 100 inches circumference or more and cannot be removed, topped, girdled or destroyed unless a city arborist finds it hazardous. For a non-hazardous special tree the fee is US$55 per inch of circumference. Office: City arborist, tree preservation page
San Francisco	A significant tree is on private property with any part of the trunk within 10 feet of the public right-of-way, and is at least 20 feet tall, or has a 15 foot canopy width, or a trunk of 12 inches or more at 4.5 feet. A permit is required before one is removed. Landmark trees are designated by the Board of Supervisors. Office: Public Works, significant and landmark trees page
Miami	City Code Chapter 17 says no one may remove or relocate a tree on covered property without a tree removal permit unless exempted. Pruning more than 25 percent of the canopy within one year needs a pruning permit. Office: Environmental Resources, phone (786) 570-2934, tree information page
Denver	The page says most private trees may be removed at the owner's discretion without a permit. During demolition or construction the City Forester regulates trees in the front and side setbacks. Office: Office of the City Forester, property owner responsibilities page

Cities that lead with street trees

In these cities the page is mostly about trees in the public right-of-way, which the city owns or controls.

City	What its page says, and the office
New York City	A Tree Work Permit is needed for work on or within 50 feet of a tree under city jurisdiction. It covers removal of a street tree. Construction-related applications are due at least 20 business days before work. Office: NYC Parks Forestry, tree work permit page
Chicago	The Bureau of Forestry issues permits for any work involving trees. It asks for at least 24 hours notice per request and 10 working days for removal requests. The permit form lists a minimum US$1,000,000 general liability for each occurrence. Office: Bureau of Forestry, forestry permit page
Philadelphia	Parks and Recreation manages all street trees. Major pruning or removing a street tree needs a permit. It does not prune or remove trees on private property, in vacant lots or in alleyways. Office: Parks and Recreation, street tree FAQ page
San Diego	A No-Fee Permit covers trimming, removal, planting or root pruning of street trees following inspection by city staff. Other removals are evaluated under Council Policy 200-5. On private property, protection is by the owner's option under Council Policy 900-19, in categories Landmark, Heritage, Parkway Resource Tree and Preservation Grove. Office: Urban Forestry Program, tree maintenance page and tree preservation page
Boston	Removing a street tree follows MGL Chapter 87 with a Tree Warden hearing, held the first Thursday of each month. The replacement cost is US$550 per diameter inch at 4.5 feet. Office: Parks and Recreation, tree removal hearing page

Austin

Austin regulates trees by size on residential and commercial land, and even for dead or hazardous trees. The numbers and the process are on its pages and are covered in the national guide.

State laws that limit city rules

Some states write limits that cities must follow. These are quoted from the state's own pages.

Florida

Florida Statutes section 163.045 says: "A local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on a residential property if the property owner possesses documentation from an arborist certified by the ISA or a Florida licensed landscape architect" that the tree presents an unacceptable risk. It defines documentation as an onsite assessment under the tree risk assessment procedures of Best Management Practices - Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition (2017). It also says: "A local government may not require a property owner to replant a tree that was pruned, trimmed, or removed in accordance with this section." Residential property means a single-family, detached building on a lot used for single-family residential purposes. See the Florida Senate statute page.

Texas

Texas Local Government Code section 212.905 defines a tree mitigation fee as a fee or charge imposed by a municipality in connection with the removal of a tree from private property. A municipality may not require the fee for a tree on an existing one-family or two-family dwelling that is the person's residence if the tree is less than 10 inches in diameter at the point on the trunk 4.5 feet above the ground. A municipality that imposes the fee must let the person apply for a credit for tree planting. A credit tree must be at least two inches in diameter at 4.5 feet. See the Texas statutes chapter 212 page.

What to take from it

Street trees almost always sit with a city forestry or parks office. Private trees are decided by size, species, listing or building project, and the threshold differs in every city.
Units differ too: diameter, caliper, circumference and cumulative inches are not the same measure.
A state rule can limit what a city asks for. Florida and Texas show two forms of it.
City pages, offices and forms change, and the city page is the authority.

For work near buildings and roots see trees on building sites. For the licences that some states and cities attach to tree companies see which US states license arborists or tree companies.