Tree Removal Permits in Charlotte, NC

Verified against Charlotte city sources · last checked 2026-08-06

Do you need a permit?

It depends on the tree

Charlotte is the one big NC city that regulates ordinary private-property trees by size. Any tree native to North Carolina measuring 30 inches DBH or more is a Heritage Tree and is "protected at all times within the corporate limits of the city" - removing one needs a City-issued tree work permit and mitigation first, even with no construction involved. Smaller trees, and non-native trees, are not covered unless they sit in a green area, a tree protection zone, or a right-of-way.

Size threshold

Heritage Tree: "Any tree native to North Carolina per the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service Plants Database with a DBH of 30 inches or greater." Separately, Sec. 21-8(c) bars tree disturbing activity on any tree 2 inches or larger in a required green area and any tree 8 inches caliper or larger in a tree protection zone. City tree: all planted trees in the street right-of-way plus any naturally occurring tree 3 inches DBH or greater there.

What's protected in Charlotte

Heritage trees - NC-native species at 30 inches DBH or greater, protected citywide whether or not development is involved
City trees - everything planted in the street right-of-way, plus naturally occurring trees 3 inches DBH and up in the right-of-way
Any tree 2 inches or larger inside a required green area
Any tree 8 inches caliper or larger inside a tree protection zone
Any tree required or protected by Article 20 of the Unified Development Ordinance, or by a condition of a previously approved development plan

How to apply in Charlotte

1
Confirm whether your tree is a Heritage Tree: an NC-native species at 30 inches DBH or greater. DBH is measured 4.5 feet above average ground level.
2
If it is, and the removal is not part of building a new single home, duplex, triplex or quadruplex, apply for a Non-Development Heritage Tree Removal Permit.
3
Submit a landscape-style plan showing property lines, the home or building location, limits of disturbance, the location and size of the heritage tree, any specimen tree to be preserved, and where the required mitigation tree will be planted.
4
Show your mitigation choice on the plan: $500 payment, or 2 additional trees, or 1 additional tree plus $250, or preservation of a specimen tree.
5
If someone is filing on your behalf, include the Acknowledgment form with the owner signature.
6
Do not start work until the permit is issued, mitigation payments are received, and the planting plan is approved.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: Charlotte does not publish an application fee for the non-development Heritage Tree Removal Permit, but mitigation is required and priced. For each heritage tree removed you choose one of: pay $500; plant 2 additional mitigation trees (3 total); plant 1 additional tree and pay $250 (2 total); or preserve a Specimen Tree. Mitigation money goes into the Canopy Care Fund.
Penalties: Sec. 21-14 sets civil penalties. Injury, damage or destruction resulting in total loss of a protected tree is assessed by the tree evaluation formula up to a maximum of $20,000 per tree. Damage short of total loss is capped at $1,000 per tree. Failure to install or maintain required tree protection is $1,000. Any other violation is $50 per day up to $1,000. The person doing the work, the property owner, and whoever contracted the work are jointly and severally liable.
Ordinance: City of Charlotte Code Chapter 21, the Charlotte Tree Ordinance. Originally Ord. No. 4521 (9-27-2010), amended by Ord. No. 92 (6-21-2021) for NCGS Chapter 160D, restructured by Ord. No. 375 (8-22-2022) and updated by Ord. No. 542, adopted May 15, 2023, effective June 1, 2023. The development-related tree rules were moved out of Chapter 21 on that date and now live in UDO Article 20, Sections 20.12 through 20.18.

Worth knowing

There is a real health-and-hazard exemption. A heritage tree that is "sufficiently diseased, injured, dead, or in danger of falling" can be removed with no permit and no mitigation, but you must either have an ISA-certified arborist certify it or document it with photos or video before you cut. A tree merely in declining health can only be removed permit-free if an ISA-certified arborist certifies it first, and "declining health" means expected to fall within one to three years.
A Specimen Tree is defined more broadly than a Heritage Tree: large hardwoods and softwoods in good or better condition at 20 inches DBH or greater, and understory trees such as dogwood, redbud, sourwood and persimmon at 10 inches DBH or greater. Preserving one satisfies the mitigation for one heritage tree removal.
Topping is prohibited outright on both city trees and protected private trees.
The non-development permit is the one for removals unrelated to construction, and also for removals to build a garage, ADU or pool. Removals tied to building a new home, duplex, triplex or quadruplex go through the development review track under UDO Article 20 instead.
Projects with conditional zoning approved by City Council before June 1, 2023 still follow the Legacy Charlotte Tree Ordinance, not the current one.
Charlotte splits its Urban Forestry staff into a Commercial and Subdivision Team, a Residential Team, and a Preservation Team. The Preservation Team is the one that handles non-development heritage tree permitting and ordinance violations.

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 the Non-Development Heritage Tree Removal Permit itself carries an application fee separate from the mitigation payment. The city publishes the mitigation options but not a permit fee.
— The full Charlotte Tree Manual fee schedule, which Chapter 21 repeatedly defers to for mitigation rates and civil penalty amounts.
— Turnaround time for a heritage tree permit. The city does not publish one.
— Exactly which species count as "native to North Carolina" for the heritage tree test. The ordinance points to the USDA NRCS Plants Database rather than listing species.

Sources

Who to contact in Charlotte

Urban Forestry, Community Tree Canopy Preservation Division - City of Charlotte

980-395-3607 CTCP@charlottenc.gov Official page

Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 East Fourth Street (8th Floor), Charlotte, NC 28202

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Size threshold

What's protected in Charlotte

Heritage trees - NC-native species at 30 inches DBH or greater, protected citywide whether or not development is involved

City trees - everything planted in the street right-of-way, plus naturally occurring trees 3 inches DBH and up in the right-of-way

Any tree 2 inches or larger inside a required green area

Any tree 8 inches caliper or larger inside a tree protection zone

Any tree required or protected by Article 20 of the Unified Development Ordinance, or by a condition of a previously approved development plan

How to apply in Charlotte

1
Confirm whether your tree is a Heritage Tree: an NC-native species at 30 inches DBH or greater. DBH is measured 4.5 feet above average ground level.
2
If it is, and the removal is not part of building a new single home, duplex, triplex or quadruplex, apply for a Non-Development Heritage Tree Removal Permit.
3
Submit a landscape-style plan showing property lines, the home or building location, limits of disturbance, the location and size of the heritage tree, any specimen tree to be preserved, and where the required mitigation tree will be planted.
4
Show your mitigation choice on the plan: $500 payment, or 2 additional trees, or 1 additional tree plus $250, or preservation of a specimen tree.
5
If someone is filing on your behalf, include the Acknowledgment form with the owner signature.
6
Do not start work until the permit is issued, mitigation payments are received, and the planting plan is approved.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

Charlotte does not publish an application fee for the non-development Heritage Tree Removal Permit, but mitigation is required and priced. For each heritage tree removed you choose one of: pay $500; plant 2 additional mitigation trees (3 total); plant 1 additional tree and pay $250 (2 total); or preserve a Specimen Tree. Mitigation money goes into the Canopy Care Fund.

Penalties

Sec. 21-14 sets civil penalties. Injury, damage or destruction resulting in total loss of a protected tree is assessed by the tree evaluation formula up to a maximum of $20,000 per tree. Damage short of total loss is capped at $1,000 per tree. Failure to install or maintain required tree protection is $1,000. Any other violation is $50 per day up to $1,000. The person doing the work, the property owner, and whoever contracted the work are jointly and severally liable.

Ordinance

City of Charlotte Code Chapter 21, the Charlotte Tree Ordinance. Originally Ord. No. 4521 (9-27-2010), amended by Ord. No. 92 (6-21-2021) for NCGS Chapter 160D, restructured by Ord. No. 375 (8-22-2022) and updated by Ord. No. 542, adopted May 15, 2023, effective June 1, 2023. The development-related tree rules were moved out of Chapter 21 on that date and now live in UDO Article 20, Sections 20.12 through 20.18.

Worth knowing

There is a real health-and-hazard exemption. A heritage tree that is "sufficiently diseased, injured, dead, or in danger of falling" can be removed with no permit and no mitigation, but you must either have an ISA-certified arborist certify it or document it with photos or video before you cut. A tree merely in declining health can only be removed permit-free if an ISA-certified arborist certifies it first, and "declining health" means expected to fall within one to three years.
A Specimen Tree is defined more broadly than a Heritage Tree: large hardwoods and softwoods in good or better condition at 20 inches DBH or greater, and understory trees such as dogwood, redbud, sourwood and persimmon at 10 inches DBH or greater. Preserving one satisfies the mitigation for one heritage tree removal.
Topping is prohibited outright on both city trees and protected private trees.
The non-development permit is the one for removals unrelated to construction, and also for removals to build a garage, ADU or pool. Removals tied to building a new home, duplex, triplex or quadruplex go through the development review track under UDO Article 20 instead.
Projects with conditional zoning approved by City Council before June 1, 2023 still follow the Legacy Charlotte Tree Ordinance, not the current one.
Charlotte splits its Urban Forestry staff into a Commercial and Subdivision Team, a Residential Team, and a Preservation Team. The Preservation Team is the one that handles non-development heritage tree permitting and ordinance violations.

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 the Non-Development Heritage Tree Removal Permit itself carries an application fee separate from the mitigation payment. The city publishes the mitigation options but not a permit fee.
— The full Charlotte Tree Manual fee schedule, which Chapter 21 repeatedly defers to for mitigation rates and civil penalty amounts.
— Turnaround time for a heritage tree permit. The city does not publish one.
— Exactly which species count as "native to North Carolina" for the heritage tree test. The ordinance points to the USDA NRCS Plants Database rather than listing species.