Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Aurora does not require a city permit to remove a tree on your own private property — the Forestry Division's FAQ says residents may remove private, non-city trees. City trees are the opposite: it is illegal for a resident to remove one, and any work on a city tree requires a permit from the Forestry Division and an Aurora-licensed arborist.
What's protected in Aurora
- City trees — the street trees in the public right-of-way easement, generally within five feet of the sidewalk or in the planting strip between sidewalk and street
Worth knowing
- Two things can still stop you even without a city permit: your HOA may have its own tree rules, and some properties have a site plan registered with the city that fixes the approved landscaping.
- Any person or company performing tree work for hire in Aurora must hold an Aurora arborist license plus a business license. Only Aurora-licensed arborists may work on city trees, and a Forestry Division permit is required first.
- Property owners must cut back private tree branches lower than 8 feet over sidewalks and 13 feet 6 inches over a street, alley or highway.
- If a tree of yours comes down in the public right-of-way, you are responsible for cleaning up and disposing of the debris.
What we could not confirm
We would rather tell you what we don't know than guess. Call the office below to confirm these before you cut.
- — Any size or diameter threshold for private trees — we found none stated by the city.
- — The fee for the Forestry Division permit to work on a city tree, and the arborist license fee.
- — Penalties for removing a city tree.
- — Aurora's FAQ page returns only partial content to automated readers, so the private-tree answer was confirmed via domain-restricted search rather than a full page read.