Usually yes, and the threshold is lower than most homeowners expect. There is also one exception that a lot of people never hear about, and it can remove the permit requirement entirely.
Last reviewed July 2026 by Elite Tree Care
In the City of Daytona Beach you need a permit to remove a tree measuring four inches or more in diameter, measured at four and a half feet above the ground. Since January 2021 a residential removal permit also requires a tree survey.
The exception: if an ISA certified arborist documents that the tree is dangerous, Florida Statute 163.045 stops the city from requiring a permit at all. We explain how that works below.
Florida ordinances measure trees by diameter at breast height, written as DBH. That means the width of the trunk measured four and a half feet up from the average ground level at the base of the tree, not at the ground and not at the widest flare. The method is consistent across jurisdictions even where the threshold is not.
In Daytona Beach a tree at four inches DBH or larger generally requires a removal permit. Four inches is not a big tree. A trunk you can close both hands around is already at or past that threshold, which catches a lot of people out when they assume the rule is aimed at the big oaks only. Other cities set the bar higher, but the same surprise applies.
Practical way to check it yourself: measure the circumference around the trunk at chest height with a tape measure, then divide by 3.14. A trunk measuring roughly thirteen inches around is about four inches in diameter.
As of January 1, 2021, a tree survey is required for residential tree removal permits in Volusia County. This is the step that most often stalls an application, because homeowners submit the permit request and then find out they need a survey document they do not have.
The same 2021 change also narrowed the acceptable replacement list to Florida native species. If your permit comes with a replanting condition, the replacement generally has to come off that native list rather than being whatever you like from the garden center.
Most Florida jurisdictions single out a category of larger or ecologically significant trees for extra protection, whatever they happen to call it. The names and the qualifying sizes differ, so this is one to check locally. Volusia County is the example here.
Larger trees get a second layer of protection on top of the basic permit. Live oaks and bald cypress at thirty six inches DBH or greater are generally treated as heritage trees, and removal requires county level approval in addition to anything the city asks for.
Volusia County also maintains a specimen tree list and an exempt tree list. Some species can be removed with far less friction than others, and a handful are exempt outright. It is worth knowing which category your tree falls into before you plan around it.
If a tree company quotes you a removal on a large live oak without mentioning heritage status, that tells you something. The measurement takes thirty seconds and it changes whether the job is legal.
This is the part most homeowners have never heard of, and it is the single most useful thing on this page.
Florida Statute 163.045 says that a local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation for pruning, trimming or removing a tree on residential property when the owner has documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture, or a Florida licensed landscape architect, showing that the tree presents a danger to people or property.
The statute goes further. A local government also may not require you to replant a tree removed under this provision. It was enacted in 2019 and strengthened in 2022.
In plain terms: if your tree is genuinely dangerous and a certified arborist documents it properly, the city permit requirement drops away. No application, no fee, no survey, no replanting condition.
That is what makes this route available. We can perform the risk assessment, document it to the required standard, and tell you honestly whether your tree actually qualifies. Plenty do not, and we will say so rather than write something we cannot stand behind.
The exemption is not a phone opinion or a line on an invoice. The statute is specific. The assessment must be:
Keep a copy. If a code enforcement question comes up later, that signed assessment is what answers it.
First, the exemption applies to residential property. Commercial parcels are a different conversation.
Second, "I do not like where it is" is not danger. The tree has to present a genuine risk to people or property, assessed against a published standard. An arborist who signs off on anything is not doing you a favour, because the document only protects you if it holds up.
We work eighteen counties, and every municipality inside them layers its own ordinance on top of the county rules. The thresholds, the specimen lists and the paperwork are all different. This is orientation rather than a legal answer, and we confirm the actual requirement for your parcel before anything gets scheduled.
Volusia County is where we have the most detail, so it is broken out below. For everywhere else the pattern is the same: check the city first, and fall back to the county if the property is unincorporated.
| Area | General position | Worth checking |
|---|---|---|
| Daytona Beach | Permit required at four inches DBH and above | Tree survey required for residential permits |
| Ormond Beach | Own tree protection ordinance, tighter on specimen trees | Canopy road and heritage oak protections |
| Port Orange | City requirements alongside the county ordinance | Dead and hazardous trees handled separately |
| New Smyrna Beach | Local tree protection plus county rules | Barrier island overlay considerations |
| DeLand | Specimen tree protections, stricter than most | Historic district adds another layer |
| Deltona | City requirements on top of the county ordinance | Dead and hazardous trees treated differently |
| Unincorporated Volusia | County Tree Preservation Ordinance applies directly | Specimen list, exempt list, native replacement list |
| Orlando & Orange County | City ordinance is among the stricter in central Florida | City and county rules differ, confirm which governs your parcel |
| Seminole County | County rules plus separate ordinances in Sanford, Lake Mary and Longwood | Which one applies depends on city limits, not mailing address |
| Jacksonville & Duval County | Jacksonville runs its own tree protection code | Consolidated city and county government, so one rule set |
| St. Johns & Flagler | County ordinances, with separate rules in St. Augustine and Palm Coast | Coastal and historic overlays add another layer |
| Alachua County & Gainesville | Gainesville has long-standing tree protection rules of its own | Regulated separately from the county |
| Marion County & Ocala | City and county requirements are not the same | Worth confirming which one covers your address |
| Lake, Polk & Osceola | Varies considerably city to city | Unincorporated parcels follow the county ordinance |
For unincorporated Volusia County, environmental permitting can be reached at EnviroPermit@volusia.gov or 386-736-5927. Everywhere else, the city planning department is the right first call, or the county if the property sits outside city limits. We are happy to point you at the right desk.
Removing a protected tree without the required permit can bring code enforcement action, fines assessed per tree or per inch of trunk diameter, and a replanting requirement that is often more expensive than the permit would have been. Penalties vary by municipality.
The bigger practical risk is that it is not the homeowner who usually gets caught, it is the homeowner who hired a company that did not check. A reputable tree service checks before quoting. If yours has not raised the subject at all on a large tree, ask why.
Routine pruning generally does not, but heavy reduction on a protected or heritage tree can be treated as damage under some ordinances. Hat racking and topping are specifically prohibited in a number of Florida municipalities. If the plan involves taking a large percentage of the canopy off a protected tree, check first.
Many ordinances handle dead trees differently from living ones, and the hazardous tree route under Florida law may apply as well. It is rarely as onerous as removing a healthy protected tree, but "it looks dead to me" and a documented assessment are not the same thing.
Emergency situations are generally handled differently, and cities routinely relax process after a declared storm event. Do not let a permit question stop you from making an unsafe situation safe. Call us, we will deal with the paperwork side afterward.
It varies by city and by job. We will tell you which applies to yours at the estimate, and we handle the process where the city allows a contractor to file it.
It depends on the municipality and on whether your application is complete when it goes in. The survey requirement is the usual delay. Applications that arrive complete move considerably faster than ones that get returned for missing documents.
This page is general information for Florida homeowners, not legal advice. Ordinances get amended, thresholds change and every property has its own facts. Confirm the current requirement with your city or county before you rely on anything here, or call us and we will check it with you.
Free estimate, an honest read on whether it needs to come down, and a clear answer on the permit question.