Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Carmel has no citywide tree removal permit — there is no form, no fee and no application anywhere in the city code, the Unified Development Ordinance or the city's permit pages. What Carmel does have is easements, and they are common on individual lots here. If your plat shows a Tree Preservation Easement or a platted landscape easement, clearing vegetation inside it is flatly prohibited, not permitted-with-approval. Pull your plat before you call a tree service.
Size threshold
No threshold triggers a homeowner permit. Six inches DBH is the development-review threshold: UDO Sec. 3.46(D)(1) requires a landscape plan to "preserve not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of all trees that are six inch (6") DBH or larger and located within the required yard/setback areas," and those requirements "apply to projects which require Plan Commission approval, including Development Plan, ADLS and Primary Plat review." DBH is measured at 54 inches above grade.
What's protected in Carmel
- Trees inside a designated Tree Preservation Easement — "No construction activity, installation of improvements or clearing of any vegetation or ground cover shall occur in areas designated as Tree Preservation Easement."
- Trees inside a platted or dedicated landscape easement — same prohibition, with added plant material allowed only with the Urban Forester's approval. Easement instruments state that required plant material "shall not be removed or relocated" and are binding on heirs and successors and enforceable by the city.
- Street trees and trees between the sidewalk and the street — generally city property
- Trees approved under a Development Plan or ADLS landscape plan, which need written authorization from the Director of Community Services to remove
- Woodlands in subdivisions — no more than 15 percent of Mature Woodland and no more than 40 percent of Young and Scrub Woodland may be cleared, and no woodland clearing at all before Primary Plat approval
- Monon Greenway Overlay vegetation, where alterations need Carmel Clay Parks approval
How to apply in Carmel
- 1
There is no application. These are the steps that actually matter in Carmel.
- 2
Pull your recorded plat and your subdivision covenants and look for a Tree Preservation Easement or a landscape easement. The city's own FAQ tells residents to "Check the plat of your property for ownership of this area."
- 3
If the tree is between the sidewalk and the street, leave it alone and call the Urban Forester at 317-733-2001. That strip generally belongs to the city.
- 4
If the tree is inside a tree preservation or landscape easement, clearing is prohibited under Sec. 6-227(a)(2)-(3). Call the Urban Forester at 317-733-2001 and the Department of Community Services at 317-571-2400 before touching it.
- 5
If the tree is in an ordinary yard outside any easement or right-of-way, no city permit is published — but if your restrictive covenants require it, Sec. 6-227(b)(3) means you still need written HOA approval.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No homeowner tree removal fee exists. The only tree line items in the UDO fee schedule are construction inspection fees: Tree Preservation Preconstruction $500.00 and Tree Preservation Post Construction $250.00.
- Penalties
- Right-of-way and street trees, Code Sec. 6-64(h): "any person violating the provisions hereof shall be fined an amount not to exceed $2,500 for each independent offense or violation." Easement violations under Sec. 6-227 are penalized through Sec. 6-220(f): $50 for a first offense, $50 per day after due notice, and $100 per offense for a repeat within two years — plus the city may direct the owner to "restore all improvements to the original design condition." UDO violations run $1,000 for a first civil zoning violation, escalating to $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 and $5,000 for subsequent ones.
- Ordinance
- Carmel City Code Sec. 6-227 — Improvements To The Premises (tree preservation and landscape easements), Sec. 6-64 (planting and removal of trees in the right-of-way), Sec. 6-55 (overhanging trees), Sec. 2-22 (Urban Forestry Committee). Carmel Unified Development Ordinance Sec. 3.46, Sec. 5.19, Sec. 7.10(C), Sec. 7.19 and Sec. 7.23.
Worth knowing
- The Tree Preservation Area Guidelines list what you cannot do inside one: remove native vegetation, mow or clear any portion of it, seed or sod or plant a garden without the Urban Forester's approval, or build pools, sheds, garages, decks, fences, playground equipment, tree houses or fire pits. Removing dead, hazardous and at-risk trees and removing invasive species are acceptable.
- The city will not help you with a private tree. From the Urban Forestry Management Plan: "No, unfortunately, the city does not assist a citizen with tree trimming or removal on private property. As a homeowner, you may have to contact a consulting arborist to meet your tree care needs."
- Sec. 6-55(b) creates a duty running the other way: "Any tree or limb of a tree which is likely to fall on or across any street, sidewalk or other public place shall be removed by the owner of the premises on which such tree stands."
- Topping is treated as removal, not maintenance. UDO Sec. 5.19(H)(2)(c) makes topping "subject to tree removal and replacement, as determined by the Urban Forester."
- Carmel's Urban Forestry Program sits in the Street Department, not in Community Services. For easement, plat and zoning questions, Planning and Zoning is 317-571-2417 and Building and Code Services is 317-571-2444.
- Utility line clearance on private property is the utility's responsibility under federal law, not the city's.
- Carmel is a Tree City USA community.
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.
- — No Carmel source affirmatively states that a homeowner may remove an ordinary yard tree without approval. The finding above is an absence of any requirement across the full city code, the UDO, the permits page and the city's own site search — not a stated exemption. If your lot is large or wooded, call before you cut.
- — "Tree Preservation Easement" is never defined. The term is used in Sec. 6-227(a)(2) and in the DOCS guidelines but appears in neither the Property Maintenance definitions at Sec. 6-221 nor UDO Article 11. You can only identify one from your recorded plat.
- — The Tree Preservation inspection late fee. The UDO fee table exists but its columns do not reconstruct reliably from the published PDF.
- — The Urban Forester's name and any direct line. No page on carmel.in.gov publishes either, so use the role and 317-733-2001.
- — The City Forester's written street-tree rules and specifications. Sec. 2-22(e) says they are available through the Clerk's office and require Board of Public Works approval, but we could not locate that standalone document online.
- — Whether a specific Carmel HOA imposes stricter private tree rules. Sec. 6-227(b)(3) and (c)(1) make clear they can.
- — Note on sourcing: Carmel appears in Municode's client list but that product is an empty stub returning no content. The live codified City Code is on American Legal, current through 2026 S-73, and the UDO is a standalone PDF on carmel.in.gov.
Sources
- Carmel City Code Sec. 6-227 — Improvements To The Premises (tree preservation easements)
- Carmel City Code Sec. 6-64 — Planting and Removal of Trees and Shrub Regulations
- City of Carmel — Unified Development Ordinance (PDF, updated 02/12/26)
- City of Carmel — Tree Preservation Area Guidelines (PDF)
- City of Carmel — Urban Forestry Management Plan (PDF, revised February 2025)
- City of Carmel — Urban Forestry