Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Boston's 2023 tree protection ordinance is explicit about its own reach: it "shall apply to Public Shade Trees and City Property Trees." A tree standing wholly in your own yard is neither, so no city permit is required to remove it. The City says it phased the rules this way deliberately, starting with public trees before considering private ones. The catch is the tree out front — under state law that one is probably not yours.
Size threshold
No diameter threshold applies to a private-property tree, because the ordinance does not reach one. The 3-inch figure people quote is a public-tree rule: a hearing is required for "Removal of City Property Trees three inches (3") or greater in DBH," and is not required for "City Property Trees measuring less than three inches (3") in DBH one foot from the ground."
What's protected in Boston
- Public Shade Trees — "a tree located in the public way as defined in Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.) c. 87, sec. 1." These are street trees, and under state law a tree of disputed location is presumed to be one.
- City Property Trees — trees in City parks and on land held by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, Boston Housing Authority, Boston Public Schools, the BPDA, and other City buildings.
- Critical Root Zones — the one place a private party is regulated. Work within the CRZ of a public or city tree, including excavation and construction, must meet City standards. The CRZ is a 1-foot radius per inch of trunk diameter at 4.5 feet.
- Exempt even from the public-tree rules: the Arnold Arboretum, the Boston Public Garden, and urban wilds maintained for natural conservation.
How to apply in Boston
- 1
This process applies only when a public shade tree or city tree is involved — there is no application for a tree in your own yard.
- 2
Complete the Tree Hearing Request Form with a site plan and supporting documents, and email it to trees@boston.gov or deliver it to 1010 Massachusetts Avenue. Review does not begin until everything is submitted.
- 3
The Tree Warden evaluates the trees and schedules the hearing. Hearings are virtual and held the first Thursday of each month at 10 a.m., moving to the second Thursday when a City holiday falls first.
- 4
Notice is published in the newspaper, posted on the urban forestry webpage, and posted on the trees themselves at least seven days before the hearing.
- 5
Attend the hearing and explain the project. The public may comment in person or in writing, and the city states plainly that public comments can affect the outcome.
- 6
You receive the decision within two weeks of the hearing. Abutters within 300 feet can appeal a City Property Tree decision to the Parks Commission within 30 calendar days.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- There is no cost for the tree hearing itself. If an approved public-tree removal cannot be replaced on site, the ordinance sets a replacement fee of $550 per caliper inch (DBH), reviewed every three years. Removal work is contracted by the proponent at their own expense. None of this applies to a purely private tree.
- Penalties
- The ordinance sets no fine of its own. The operative penalty is state law, M.G.L. c.87 s.6: "Violations of any provision of the three preceding sections shall be punished by forfeiture of not more than five hundred dollars to the use of the city or town."
- Ordinance
- City of Boston Code, Ordinances, Chapter VII, s. 7-4.7 — Establishing Protections for the City of Boston Tree Canopy. Enacted as Chapter 14 of the Ordinances of 2023, passed by the City Council December 13, 2023 and approved by the Mayor December 29, 2023. State law: M.G.L. c.87.
Worth knowing
- The City stated its reasoning openly: "By adopting a phased approach to tree protection regulations, focusing on public trees first, the City aims to lead by example before engaging with the community to extend regulations to trees on private property." As of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee page current through June 2026, no private-tree ordinance has been adopted.
- The tree between your sidewalk and the curb is almost certainly not yours. M.G.L. c.87 s.1 makes all trees within a public way or on its boundaries public shade trees, and where the boundary is disputed the tree is presumed public unless proven otherwise.
- Public tree hearings are genuinely contested, not a formality. Both hearings in the city's January to March 2026 quarterly report were denied — including a residential driveway-widening request in Roslindale.
- The real private-property exception to watch is wetlands. The Boston Conservation Commission administers the state Wetlands Protection Act, the Rivers Protection Act and the Boston Wetlands Ordinance, and reviews work in buffer zones and floodplains. Reach it at 617-635-3850 or CC@boston.gov.
- Boston's zoning code does not create a tree-removal permit for private lots. Article 29, the Greenbelt Protection Overlay District, requires landscaping treatment near designated parkways, but only triggers on projects over 5,000 square feet of new floor area or 2,000 square feet of added impervious surface. Cutting a back-yard tree never reaches it.
- The ordinance binds the city too. Section 7-4.7(G)(1) applies to "no person or entity, including the Tree Warden and their deputies."
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.
- — The text of Boston Code sections 7-4.1 through 7-4.6, the subsections neighboring the tree ordinance. Boston's general ordinances are not on Municode (its Municode entry is the redevelopment authority zoning code only) and the American Legal site sits behind a Cloudflare challenge. Section 7-4.7 was read from the signed, City Clerk-attested PDF instead.
- — Whether the Boston Landmarks Commission or any local historic district reviews tree removal on private parcels.
- — Whether cutting trees specifically, as opposed to construction, triggers a Conservation Commission filing, and the exact buffer distances that apply.
- — Whether the $550 per inch replacement fee has been revised under the ordinance's three-year review clause. Both the ordinance and the current city page still state $550.
- — The ordinance text says it takes effect "ninety (90) calendar days after passage" while the City states an effective date of March 28, 2024. Both are reported here rather than reconciled.
Sources
- City of Boston — Urban Forestry
- City of Boston — How to Request a Tree Removal Hearing
- City of Boston — Participate in the Public Tree Ordinance Process
- Chapter 14 of the Ordinances of 2023 — signed ordinance (PDF)
- City of Boston — Mayor Wu Signs Public Tree Protection Ordinance
- City of Boston — Boston Conservation Commission
- M.G.L. c.87 s.1 — public shade trees
- M.G.L. c.87 s.6 — penalty