Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Champaign does not require a permit to remove a tree on your own private property, and the city says so plainly: "Trees not on the City right-of-way are private. Property owners are responsible for their care." The Vegetation Ordinance regulates trees on public property, and every tree in the right-of-way belongs to the city by ordinance. Champaign also publishes an interactive City Trees Map so you can check which side of the line your tree is on before you hire anyone.
What's protected in Champaign
- All trees on public property, which section 35-16.9 defines as property owned by the city, dedicated to the city or the public for right-of-way or other public purposes, or encumbered with an easement permitting the city to plant trees
- All trees in the parkway, meaning the strip between the curb or roadway edge and the adjacent property line
How to apply in Champaign
- 1
For a private tree, no city permit is needed. Hire whoever you like; the city suggests the International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist locator at TreesAreGood.org.
- 2
Check the City Trees Map first if you are unsure whether the tree is yours. Each green circle is a city-owned tree, and clicking one shows family, species and common name.
- 3
For work on a public or parkway tree, get a permit from the Director of Public Works. Section 35-21(a) covers planting, treating, trimming, pruning, root cutting, removal, spraying or damaging any tree on public property, and also demolition, construction or footing and foundation work that would affect public trees.
- 4
Report a tree issue or request non-emergency service through the Brightly Citizen Portal, by email to publicworks@champaignil.gov, or by phone at 217-403-4700. Most non-emergency requests take 8 to 12 weeks.
- 5
For an emergency such as a tree down in the street, drive or sidewalk, or a cracked or hanging limb, call 217-403-4700, or 217-351-4545 Option 1 after hours.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Section 35-21(e): "Permits provided for by this section shall be issued without charge." That is the public-property permit. Planting a parkway tree yourself is also free by permit; the Share-the-Cost planting program costs $135 per tree.
- Penalties
- Section 35-21(d) puts a price on unpermitted removal of a public tree: "If any person removes any tree located on the City right-of-way, the person directing or causing the tree removal shall pay to the City an amount equal to the value of the tree," payable within 28 days of notice and valued using the International Society of Arboriculture Guide for Plant Appraisal. Section 35-24.1 declares violations public nuisances and states that "Offenses established by this article are declared to be absolute liability offenses."
- Ordinance
- City of Champaign Municipal Code, Chapter 35 - Vegetation, Article II - Trees and Vegetation on Public Property, sections 35-16 through 35-26. C.B. No. 2001-192, section 1, adopted August 7, 2001, amended Article II to its current form; the article was previously rewritten by C.B. No. 94-120, adopted May 17, 1994. Code current through C.B. No. 2026-096, adopted June 16, 2026 (Supp. No. 80).
Worth knowing
- Ownership is settled by ordinance, not by who mows. Section 35-22: "All trees, shrubs, alternative vegetation and vegetation within or on the limits of public rights-of-way or on public property shall be the property of the City. When the ownership of or rights in a tree, shrub, alternative vegetation or vegetation are at issue and the boundaries of the right-of-way cannot be determined by records or other monuments, the tree, shrub, alternative vegetation or vegetation shall be presumed to be within the limits of the right-of-way." The presumption runs against the homeowner.
- You have a real protection against utility crews. Section 35-25(e): "On private property, if the property owner does not consent to the removal of a tree, the City Arborist shall be consulted regarding the necessity of removal before such tree is removed." Utilities must also notify the City Arborist at least 21 days and adjacent property owners at least 7 days before non-emergency pruning.
- Section 35-19 does reach private property, but only for maintenance rather than removal. You must keep trees, shrubs and vegetation trimmed to at least 8 feet of clearance over sidewalks and 14 feet over streets and alleys, and must not let vegetation impair visibility or passage.
- Champaign's pruning standards for street trees are higher than most: at least 14 feet above residential streets and 16 feet above arterial roads. The work is done by the city's own ISA Certified Arborists.
- The Share-the-Cost Tree Planting Program plants a shade tree in the parkway for $135, with the city choosing species jointly with the homeowner and doing the planting. Enrollment closes in late February for spring and late August for fall. You water it during dry spells for three years.
- Everything here is the City of Champaign. Urbana is a separate city with its own rules, and the University of Illinois manages its own campus trees.
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.
- — Whether Champaign requires an arborist or tree contractor license for private work. No tree service or arborist article appears in Chapter 19 (Licenses and Permits), and the city's forestry page tells residents to find a private service through an internet search or the ISA locator rather than a city list.
- — Whether the zoning code's landscaping requirements in Chapter 37 oblige replacement of trees removed on private lots during development, and whether single-family lots are exempt.
- — Whether the city can order removal of a dead or diseased tree on private property. Chapter 35 declares nuisances and Chapter 22 handles property code enforcement, but no tree-specific abatement power was confirmed.
- — Any diameter threshold. Chapter 35 sets none for either public or private trees.
- — Whether any floodplain, Boneyard Creek or stormwater buffer restricts vegetation removal on private residential lots.