Tree rules in Quebec City: permits, protected trees and fees
What the Ville de Quebec information sheet on cutting trees, the planning by-law R.V.Q. 1400 and the emerald ash borer page say about the certificate of authorization, the 10 cm rule, yard types, the CA$72 fee, free cases and fines.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 8, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It restates three Ville de Quebec pages, all in French, as read on October 8, 2026: the information sheet on tree cutting (last modified September 22, 2026), the consolidated Harmonization By-law on Planning R.V.Q. 1400 (current to September 20, 2026) and the emerald ash borer page. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in the largest Canadian cities.
When a certificate is needed
The information sheet says that cutting a tree on private property probably needs a permit or a certificate of authorization, and points to the City's permit assistant, which weighs the constraints that apply to a given lot. It says the rule covers trunks of 10 cm (4 inches) or more measured at 1.3 metres above ground. Smaller trees and shrubs need no certificate unless the property is in a watershed covered by interim control by-law RCI 2019-91. Maintenance pruning needs none either, but work that can damage or kill a tree is treated as cutting: raising or lowering the ground level, very severe pruning, topping and heading back.
The yard matters. A certificate is always needed for a tree in the front yard of a building, anywhere in the city. For side and rear yards it is needed in boroughs whose zoning grid carries the mention "Protection des arbres en milieu urbain - article 702". The sheet lists those as La Cite-Limoilou, Sainte-Foy-Sillery-Cap-Rouge, the Val-Belair district of La Haute-Saint-Charles and several sectors of Beauport. In every borough a certificate is needed in natural constraint zones (steep slopes and their edges, shoreline, wetland), natural conservation zones, historic boroughs, on a vacant lot, and for any ash tree. It is always needed for an elm. Where a side or rear yard needs no certificate, the sheet still says the owner is responsible for checking that the tree meets the criteria for cutting.
Accepted reasons and replacement planting
The sheet lists six situations in which cutting is considered necessary: the tree is dead, dangerous or declining; it carries a recognized pest or disease and cutting is the only way to protect neighbouring trees; it blocks building, operation or maintenance of utility or infrastructure networks; it blocks an authorized project with no alternative, and the project invoked must then be carried out; it harms better neighbouring trees; or it is an ash removed under the ash borer actions. The by-law sets a minimum number of trees to be planted and kept by lot type and yard, so a certificate can come with a requirement to plant replacement trees, in some zones and in watershed 1 properties under RCI 2019-91.
Applying, fees and timing
The request goes through 311. The caller gives the reason, the number of trees, and the location and species, and has to mark the trees on site for the inspector. The urban forestry and horticulture division reviews it and replies by email. Payment can be by bank transfer with the reference code in the notice, cash, debit or cheque at a borough office, or by mailed cheque, but not by credit card. Work starts only when the permit arrives, and the authorization is valid for 12 months. The sheet states CA$72 for a certificate in urban areas plus CA$12 for each additional tree, capped at CA$250, and no cost for cutting any elm or ash, for cutting needed after an accident or weather event, or for dead trees. The City aims to answer a private request within 20 business days, a goal that does not apply when cutting is tied to a building permit, or to a heritage site or historic borough where the heritage commission timeline applies. Cutting a City tree is allowed only in extreme situations, costs the tree's value plus the work, and is done only by the City.
Fines
The sheet says the City can issue tickets to both the tree owner and the contractor doing the work. By-law R.V.Q. 1400 article 999 sets, for breaking a provision, keeping a situation that needs a certificate of authorization without one, or keeping work that does not match the permit conditions, a first-offence fine of CA$1,000 for an individual and CA$2,000 for a corporation, and CA$2,000 and CA$4,000 for a repeat. The ash borer page also refers to a separate by-law on controlling the spread of the ash borer, R.V.Q. 2586, which was not read for this page.