Tree Removal Permits in Carson City, NV

Verified against Carson City city sources · last checked 2026-08-07

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Carson City comes closer than any other Nevada city to regulating private trees, and then exempts houses. Its Development Standards say flatly that a deciduous tree 4 inches or more in diameter may not be removed without written approval from the Director - but the applicability clause two sections earlier limits the whole landscaping division to "new construction and the expansion of existing buildings and uses located in all zoning districts except single-residential uses." If you own a house, that clause is your answer. What does reach your yard is the reverse duty: a dead or dying tree anywhere in Carson City can be declared a public nuisance and abated at your expense.

Size threshold

This is the one real threshold in Nevada, and it applies to development sites rather than houses. Carson City Development Standards 3.4.1: "Deciduous trees with a trunk diameter of 4 inches or greater at a point 4 and one-half foot above ground level or evergreen trees 6 feet or greater in height or significant shrubs may not be removed unless authorized by prior written approval from the Director." Note the split convention - deciduous trees are measured by diameter at 4.5 feet, evergreens by height.

What's protected in Carson City

Trees on land the city owns or maintains. CCMC 13.04.080.1: "No person shall intentionally damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree or tree roots on land owned or maintained by the city." Subsections 2 through 4 add bans on attaching rope, wire, nails or posters, on letting harmful substances reach the tree or its roots, and on letting fire or heat contact it.
Landmark trees, with a contradiction the code never resolves. CCMC 13.04.070 says "The Board of Supervisors may, upon its own motion or upon the recommendation of the Director, designate ANY TREE IN CARSON CITY as a landmark tree," which on its face reaches private land - but CCMC 13.04.030 defines "Landmark trees" as "trees on public property having special status due to their age, size, shape, species, location, historical association, visual quality or other contribution to the city's character." Both provisions are current and both come from Ord. 1994-28; section 13.04.070 was amended as recently as Ord. No. 2022-21 on November 17, 2022 without the conflict being fixed. Both are reported here rather than resolved.
Trees 4 inches or more in diameter on any site that is NOT a single-residential use - which in practice means commercial, industrial, multifamily and new subdivision development. Carson City Development Standards 3.4 requires that "Existing trees and significant shrubs must be preserved whenever possible" and that submitted plans "include an overlay of all existing trees with caliper for deciduous trees or height for evergreen trees."
Any diseased, dead or dying tree anywhere in the city. CCMC 13.04.120: "Any tree located anywhere within the city which is determined by a certified arborist to be afflicted with any dangerous or infectious insect infestation or plant disease may be declared a public nuisance." CCMC 13.04.130: "Any trees or parts thereof in a dead or dying condition located anywhere in the city may be declared a public nuisance upon the recommendation of a certified arborist."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee is set in CCMC Chapter 13.04. The Development Standards do set a payment where a removed tree is replaced off site rather than on site: standard 3.4.1.1.c requires "Payment of fees and associated costs to purchase and plant... in lieu of actual planting of trees on public property," at rates "based on the placement of trees in the right-of-way program as periodically updated," and says payment "is required before a building permit may be issued." The dollar amount is set by a separate program schedule and is not in the code.
Penalties: CCMC 13.04.190: "It is unlawful, prohibited and a misdemeanor for any person to violate the provisions in this chapter, including failure to comply with any notice and decision of the board of supervisors following appeal. The city must be compensated for damage to or the loss of any tree as determined in accordance with this chapter." The compensation figure is the ISA valuation - CCMC 13.04.030 defines "Value of trees" as "the value set forth in the most current edition of the I.S.A. Guide for Establishing Values of Trees and Other Plants," which is a method, not a published amount.
Ordinance: Carson City Municipal Code Title 13 (Parks and Recreation), Chapter 13.04 (Trees), enacted by Ord. 1994-28, sections 1 and 2 through 20, in 1994, and adopted under the authority of NRS 244.1945 - several section headings cite that statute directly. Ord. No. 2022-21, adopted November 17, 2022, amended sections 13.04.010 and 13.04.070 and repealed section 13.04.100 (tree selection). The private-property removal standard is not in that chapter at all: it is Carson City Development Standards, Division 3 (Landscaping), section 3.4, published as the Title 18 Appendix, and Division 3 was substantially rewritten by Ord. No. 2024-7, sections 31 and 32, adopted November 7, 2024. Code current through Ordinance No. 2026-5, passed February 19, 2026 (Supp. No. 67, 6-26).

Worth knowing

Carson City licenses tree work, and the licence is tied to certification. CCMC 13.04.050: "It is unlawful for any person to engage in the business of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating trees on Carson City public property without first procuring a business license. An applicant for such a license must show proof that at least one (1) employee of said business is certified by the I.S.A. as an arborist." Read the scope carefully - the licence requirement is written to work on PUBLIC property.
The city can order you to cut. CCMC 13.04.140.2 authorizes city departments to "Order the pruning, preservation or removal of trees upon private property when necessary for public safety or to prevent the spread of disease or insects to public and private trees and places," and subsection 4 lets them enter private premises "with the consent of the property owner or resident at all reasonable hours." CCMC 13.04.160 routes the abatement through CCMC 8.08.160 to 8.08.210.
If you ARE doing construction, the tree protection rules are detailed and enforced by sign. Development Standard 3.4.2 requires protective fencing "constructed of 4-foot wide minimum orange netting or chain link... a minimum of 5 feet outside the tree drip line," mounted on above-ground concrete footings that "may not be driven into the ground," with a sign at least 8.5 by 11 inches reading: "Tree Protection Zone. This fence shall not be removed and is subject to penalty per Carson City Municipal Code."
Replacement on a development site is expensive and the code gives its own worked example. Development Standard 3.4.1.1: "As an example, removal of a 6-inch diameter tree would require replacement of the tree with 4, 3-inch caliper trees or the equivalent." Deciduous replacement is at a 2:1 caliper ratio, evergreen at a 2:1 height ratio.
Carson City's official tree is written into the code. CCMC 1.06.060, adopted under Article 2, section 2.090 of the Carson City Charter: "There is hereby designated as the official tree of Carson City the pinus jeffreyi, commonly known as the Jeffrey Pine."
The airport clearance zone is a separate and easily missed hook. CCMC 16.02.030 provides that "no structure or tree shall be erected, altered, allowed to grow, or maintained in any zone created" above the height limits, and CCMC 16.02.085 requires a permit "before any tree may be replanted or allowed to grow higher than the limits established." That restricts height, not removal, but it is the one place in the Carson City code where a tree on private land is directly regulated by permit.

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 landmark tree list. CCMC 13.04.070 requires that "The Director shall maintain an accurate list of the designations made pursuant to this section," but the list is not published in the code and could not be located.
— Whether the Board of Supervisors has ever designated a landmark tree on private property, which is what would settle the conflict between CCMC 13.04.070 and the definition at CCMC 13.04.030.
— The current department names, direct phone numbers, street addresses and email for Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space, Public Works and Planning. carson.org did not resolve from our network during this review, so no city web page was read. The address and phone above come from Carson City's published contact record on its official code library.
— The dollar rate for off-site tree mitigation under Development Standard 3.4.1.1.c. The standard refers to "the placement of trees in the right-of-way program as periodically updated"; that schedule is not in the code.
— The verbatim text of CCMC 13.04.020 (Purpose), 13.04.040 (Enforcement), 13.04.150 (Obtaining specimens) and 13.04.170 (Emergency condition), which were identified but not read in full.
— Whether Carson City has a water-efficient landscape ordinance that touches tree removal or replacement, and whether any Nevada state turf rule applies in northern Nevada.
— Whether the Historic District standards in Development Standards Division 5, or the Hillside Development standards in Division 7, add any tree restriction on an existing single-family lot. Neither division was read.

Sources

Who to contact in Carson City

Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space for park and public trees; Carson City Public Works for right-of-way trees and for off-site tree mitigation payments, which Development Standard 3.4.1.1.c routes to the Director of the Carson City Department of Public Works; the Planning Division of the Community Development Department for anything involving the Development Standards. Carson City is a consolidated city-county, so there is no separate county office to call.

Carson City main line, published on Carson City's code-of-record contact listing: 775-887-2100. Carson City does not publish a dedicated forestry line or a 311 code that we could confirm. This entry could not be checked against carson.org, which did not resolve from our network at the time of review, so treat the department routing above as based on the code text rather than on a current city web page. Official page

885 East Musser Street, Suite 1032, Carson City, NV 89701

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Size threshold

What's protected in Carson City

Trees on land the city owns or maintains. CCMC 13.04.080.1: "No person shall intentionally damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any tree or tree roots on land owned or maintained by the city." Subsections 2 through 4 add bans on attaching rope, wire, nails or posters, on letting harmful substances reach the tree or its roots, and on letting fire or heat contact it.

Landmark trees, with a contradiction the code never resolves. CCMC 13.04.070 says "The Board of Supervisors may, upon its own motion or upon the recommendation of the Director, designate ANY TREE IN CARSON CITY as a landmark tree," which on its face reaches private land - but CCMC 13.04.030 defines "Landmark trees" as "trees on public property having special status due to their age, size, shape, species, location, historical association, visual quality or other contribution to the city's character." Both provisions are current and both come from Ord. 1994-28; section 13.04.070 was amended as recently as Ord. No. 2022-21 on November 17, 2022 without the conflict being fixed. Both are reported here rather than resolved.

Trees 4 inches or more in diameter on any site that is NOT a single-residential use - which in practice means commercial, industrial, multifamily and new subdivision development. Carson City Development Standards 3.4 requires that "Existing trees and significant shrubs must be preserved whenever possible" and that submitted plans "include an overlay of all existing trees with caliper for deciduous trees or height for evergreen trees."

Any diseased, dead or dying tree anywhere in the city. CCMC 13.04.120: "Any tree located anywhere within the city which is determined by a certified arborist to be afflicted with any dangerous or infectious insect infestation or plant disease may be declared a public nuisance." CCMC 13.04.130: "Any trees or parts thereof in a dead or dying condition located anywhere in the city may be declared a public nuisance upon the recommendation of a certified arborist."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee is set in CCMC Chapter 13.04. The Development Standards do set a payment where a removed tree is replaced off site rather than on site: standard 3.4.1.1.c requires "Payment of fees and associated costs to purchase and plant... in lieu of actual planting of trees on public property," at rates "based on the placement of trees in the right-of-way program as periodically updated," and says payment "is required before a building permit may be issued." The dollar amount is set by a separate program schedule and is not in the code.

Penalties

CCMC 13.04.190: "It is unlawful, prohibited and a misdemeanor for any person to violate the provisions in this chapter, including failure to comply with any notice and decision of the board of supervisors following appeal. The city must be compensated for damage to or the loss of any tree as determined in accordance with this chapter." The compensation figure is the ISA valuation - CCMC 13.04.030 defines "Value of trees" as "the value set forth in the most current edition of the I.S.A. Guide for Establishing Values of Trees and Other Plants," which is a method, not a published amount.

Ordinance

Carson City Municipal Code Title 13 (Parks and Recreation), Chapter 13.04 (Trees), enacted by Ord. 1994-28, sections 1 and 2 through 20, in 1994, and adopted under the authority of NRS 244.1945 - several section headings cite that statute directly. Ord. No. 2022-21, adopted November 17, 2022, amended sections 13.04.010 and 13.04.070 and repealed section 13.04.100 (tree selection). The private-property removal standard is not in that chapter at all: it is Carson City Development Standards, Division 3 (Landscaping), section 3.4, published as the Title 18 Appendix, and Division 3 was substantially rewritten by Ord. No. 2024-7, sections 31 and 32, adopted November 7, 2024. Code current through Ordinance No. 2026-5, passed February 19, 2026 (Supp. No. 67, 6-26).

Worth knowing

Carson City licenses tree work, and the licence is tied to certification. CCMC 13.04.050: "It is unlawful for any person to engage in the business of planting, cutting, trimming, pruning, removing, spraying or otherwise treating trees on Carson City public property without first procuring a business license. An applicant for such a license must show proof that at least one (1) employee of said business is certified by the I.S.A. as an arborist." Read the scope carefully - the licence requirement is written to work on PUBLIC property.
The city can order you to cut. CCMC 13.04.140.2 authorizes city departments to "Order the pruning, preservation or removal of trees upon private property when necessary for public safety or to prevent the spread of disease or insects to public and private trees and places," and subsection 4 lets them enter private premises "with the consent of the property owner or resident at all reasonable hours." CCMC 13.04.160 routes the abatement through CCMC 8.08.160 to 8.08.210.
If you ARE doing construction, the tree protection rules are detailed and enforced by sign. Development Standard 3.4.2 requires protective fencing "constructed of 4-foot wide minimum orange netting or chain link... a minimum of 5 feet outside the tree drip line," mounted on above-ground concrete footings that "may not be driven into the ground," with a sign at least 8.5 by 11 inches reading: "Tree Protection Zone. This fence shall not be removed and is subject to penalty per Carson City Municipal Code."
Replacement on a development site is expensive and the code gives its own worked example. Development Standard 3.4.1.1: "As an example, removal of a 6-inch diameter tree would require replacement of the tree with 4, 3-inch caliper trees or the equivalent." Deciduous replacement is at a 2:1 caliper ratio, evergreen at a 2:1 height ratio.
Carson City's official tree is written into the code. CCMC 1.06.060, adopted under Article 2, section 2.090 of the Carson City Charter: "There is hereby designated as the official tree of Carson City the pinus jeffreyi, commonly known as the Jeffrey Pine."
The airport clearance zone is a separate and easily missed hook. CCMC 16.02.030 provides that "no structure or tree shall be erected, altered, allowed to grow, or maintained in any zone created" above the height limits, and CCMC 16.02.085 requires a permit "before any tree may be replanted or allowed to grow higher than the limits established." That restricts height, not removal, but it is the one place in the Carson City code where a tree on private land is directly regulated by permit.

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 landmark tree list. CCMC 13.04.070 requires that "The Director shall maintain an accurate list of the designations made pursuant to this section," but the list is not published in the code and could not be located.
— Whether the Board of Supervisors has ever designated a landmark tree on private property, which is what would settle the conflict between CCMC 13.04.070 and the definition at CCMC 13.04.030.
— The current department names, direct phone numbers, street addresses and email for Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space, Public Works and Planning. carson.org did not resolve from our network during this review, so no city web page was read. The address and phone above come from Carson City's published contact record on its official code library.
— The dollar rate for off-site tree mitigation under Development Standard 3.4.1.1.c. The standard refers to "the placement of trees in the right-of-way program as periodically updated"; that schedule is not in the code.
— The verbatim text of CCMC 13.04.020 (Purpose), 13.04.040 (Enforcement), 13.04.150 (Obtaining specimens) and 13.04.170 (Emergency condition), which were identified but not read in full.
— Whether Carson City has a water-efficient landscape ordinance that touches tree removal or replacement, and whether any Nevada state turf rule applies in northern Nevada.
— Whether the Historic District standards in Development Standards Division 5, or the Hillside Development standards in Division 7, add any tree restriction on an existing single-family lot. Neither division was read.