It's more straightforward than people think
Do you need a permit to remove a tree?
Most trees in most yards don't need one. For the ones that do, it's a form and a measurement — not a refusal. Here's how to find out which yours is.
Permit checker
Check your tree in thirty seconds
Pick your city, measure the trunk, and I’ll show you exactly what the ordinance says — and what it takes to get it done either way.
Most removals around here don't need a permit at all. There's no statewide Texas rule — it's set by your city, and the trigger is nearly always trunk size. In Austin it starts at 19 inches diameter; below that you're clear. In Kyle it's 25 caliper inches. In Bastrop, 10 inches and only for listed species. Measure your trunk at 4.5 feet off the ground and you'll know in about a minute.
And if you're over the line, that still isn't a no. Permits get approved routinely — usually a form, sometimes a replanting plan, occasionally an arborist's write-up on the tree's condition, which is something I can sort out. Don't let a threshold talk you out of dealing with a tree that needs dealing with. Call me and I'll tell you where you stand.
How to measure your tree, since every rule depends on it
Every ordinance below is written in either diameter or caliper inches measured at 4.5 feet above the ground — foresters call it DBH, diameter at breast height. Get a tape around the trunk at that height to get the circumference, then divide by 3.14. A trunk that measures 60 inches around is about 19 inches in diameter, which is exactly the line where Austin starts regulating.
If the tree splits into multiple stems below 4.5 feet, measure below the split. That usually puts you in a higher bracket than you expected, so it's worth doing before you assume you're under a threshold.
What I've verified, city by city
These are the ones I've read and can stand behind. I'm a tree climber rather than a permit office, so the city has the final word — but I've been through this in these towns enough times to tell you what you're walking into before you spend a morning on hold.
Kyle
Kyle's Chapter 54 calls any tree 25 caliper inches or bigger a "specimen tree." Those are meant to be preserved, and taking one down means asking the Planning and Zoning Commission first. If it comes out, it gets replaced two-to-one, inch for inch.
Source: City of Kyle, Chapter 54 — Landscaping and Screening Requirements. Rules change — check before you act.
Buda
In Buda, anything from 8 to 20 caliper inches is a "Protected Tree" and needs a removal permit from the Director of Planning. Heritage Trees are a bigger deal — those take a City Council public hearing, and the Council has to find there's genuinely no other way to develop the site. Whatever comes out gets mitigated on the same property.
Source: City of Buda UDC — Tree Preservation and Mitigation. Rules change — check before you act.
Dripping Springs
Dripping Springs requires mitigation for Heritage trees removed for development, and the development review committee sets the diameter inches. Here's the part worth knowing: a tree that a Certified Arborist documents as dead, diseased, or an imminent hazard is left out of the preservation math entirely.
Source: City of Dripping Springs — Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance. Rules change — check before you act.
Sunset Valley
Sunset Valley is the strictest city I work in, and it isn't close. A "Protected Tree" there starts at just 10 inches in diameter measured 4.5 feet up — roughly half Austin's threshold, and only 5 inches for small species like Texas persimmon, mountain laurel, Eve's necklace, silk tassel and bigtooth maple. At 24 inches, all oaks, pecan, cedar and American elm, bald cypress, Texas ash, the walnuts, honey mesquite and single- or double-trunk Ashe juniper become Heritage trees. And there's a third tier almost nobody knows about: at 30 inches a heritage-list tree becomes an Ancestral tree. Removing any of the three without a permit is unlawful, and so is damaging one — the code names topping, over-pruning, chemical poisoning, and disturbing more than 50% of the critical root zone. Chinaberry, Chinese tallow, ligustrum, tree of heaven and Callery pear are excluded at any size.
Source: City of Sunset Valley, Code of Ordinances 150.771-150.772 — Tree and Natural Area Protection. Rules change — check before you act.
Austin
Austin regulates by trunk diameter measured 4.5 feet off the ground. Under 19 inches on residential property, the city doesn't regulate it — that's the sentence most homeowners never get told. At 19 inches and up, any species is a Protected tree and needs a permit to remove. At 24 inches and up, oaks, pecan, American and cedar elm, bald cypress, Texas ash, Texas madrone, bigtooth maple and Arizona or eastern black walnut become Heritage trees, and removing one is prohibited except under section 25-8-641. Removals that aren't tied to construction go through a Tree Ordinance Review Application, and there's a separate track for dead, diseased and imminent-hazard trees.
Source: City of Austin — Tree Reviews and Permitting. Rules change — check before you act.
The towns I haven't verified yet
I work in a lot of places, and I'm not going to summarize an ordinance I haven't read. For these, call your city's planning or development services department and ask two questions: what diameter triggers a permit, and is there a protected species list. That's a five-minute phone call and it's free.
Bastrop, Bear Creek, Bee Cave, Blanco, Bulverde, Canyon Lake, Cedar Creek, Cedar Park, Cibolo, Creedmoor, Dale, Del Valle, Driftwood, Elgin, Garden Ridge, Georgetown, Hutto, Johnson City, Lakeway, Leander, Lockhart, Luling, Manchaca, Manor, Marion, Martindale, Maxwell, Mountain City, Mustang Ridge, New Braunfels, Niederwald, Pflugerville, Rollingwood, Round Rock, San Marcos, Schertz, Seguin, Smithville, Spring Branch, Staples, Uhland, West Lake Hills, Wimberley, Woodcreek.
The exception that matters most — and the reason to call me first
Most of these ordinances treat a dead, diseased or genuinely hazardous tree completely differently from a healthy one you'd simply rather not have. And in several of them, the thing that makes that difference is a Certified Arborist's written assessment.
- Dripping Springs is explicit: a tree documented by a Certified Arborist as dead, diseased or an imminent hazard is left out of the tree preservation requirements entirely.
- Bastrop waives the mitigation fee where the concern about the tree's health or safety is confirmed.
- Austin runs a separate track altogether for dead, diseased and imminent-hazard trees.
There's an ISA Certified Arborist on my crew
Which is not a small detail on this page. Where your tree is genuinely failing, that assessment in writing is what turns a mitigation problem into a straightforward removal — and it has to exist before you file anything, not after.
Most companies quoting your job cannot produce that document. If your tree is in poor shape and you're staring at a permit threshold, that's the single most useful call you can make. Get it looked at.
Why doing it in the right order is the cheap way
I'm not going to quote fine amounts, because they vary by city and by circumstance and I haven't verified them. What I'll say is that these are real ordinances with real enforcement, that mitigation is usually calculated in replacement inches rather than a flat fee, and that it's assessed after the tree is already gone — when you have no leverage at all.
None of which is a reason to leave a bad tree standing. It's a reason to have someone who's been through it in your city handle the sequence. That part costs you nothing extra — it's just knowing which counter to walk up to first.
Questions I get asked
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Texas?
There is no statewide permit requirement. It's set by your city. Austin requires a permit for any species 19 inches or more in diameter at 4.5 feet, and prohibits removal of listed Heritage species at 24 inches except under specific code provisions. Buda requires a permit for Protected Trees from 8 to 20 caliper inches and a City Council public hearing for Heritage Trees. Kyle requires Planning and Zoning approval for specimen trees of 25 caliper inches or more, with two-to-one inch-for-inch replacement.
What is a heritage tree in Austin?
In Austin, a Heritage tree is 24 inches or more in diameter measured 4.5 feet above the ground and belongs to a listed species: all oaks, pecan, American elm, cedar elm, bald cypress, Texas ash, Texas madrone, bigtooth maple, and Arizona or eastern black walnut. Removal is prohibited except as provided under City Code section 25-8-641.
Can I remove a tree under 19 inches in Austin without a permit?
On residential property, trees under 19 inches in diameter are not regulated by the city's tree ordinance, so no Tree Ordinance Review Application is needed. Other permits may still apply to your project, and the tree may be protected by a subdivision restriction or HOA rule separate from city code.
How do I measure tree diameter for a permit?
Measure the circumference of the trunk at 4.5 feet above ground level and divide by 3.14 to get diameter. If the trunk divides into multiple stems below 4.5 feet, measure below the split.
Does a dead or hazardous tree still need a permit?
Usually it's handled on a different track rather than exempted outright. Austin has a separate process for dead, diseased and imminent-hazard trees. Dripping Springs excludes trees documented by a Certified Arborist as dead, diseased or an imminent hazard from its preservation requirements. Written documentation from a qualified arborist is generally what the city wants to see.
Don't let a permit rule stop you dealing with the tree
Send me a photo and the circumference at 4.5 feet. I’ll tell you which side of the line you’re on and what it takes to get it done.
Same-day callback on estimates
Call or text before 5pm on a weekday and you'll hear back from me the same day. Not an answering service — me.