Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Durham's tree ordinance is a city-tree ordinance. City Code Sec. 26-227 says "No person shall remove a city tree without first obtaining a permit from the city manager," and a city tree is defined as one on city property or right-of-way. Nothing in it requires a permit to remove a healthy tree standing in your own yard. The Unified Development Ordinance adds tree coverage requirements, but those apply to development sites of two acres or more and expressly exempt additions to existing residential structures.
Size threshold
No diameter threshold applies to a private-property tree. UDO Sec. 8.3.1.B keys tree coverage to site size instead: "developments of less than two acres in size or not utilizing mass grading shall be exempt from tree coverage requirements," and "additions to existing residential structures, excluding multiplexes and apartments, are exempt." For city trees, the Code defines a tree as a woody plant reaching at least 8 feet at maturity with a trunk caliber of 5 inches or greater measured 6 inches above ground.
What's protected in Durham
- City trees - any tree on city property or right-of-way, or planted by the city on private property under an agreement, for the life of that agreement
- Trees preserved on a development tract to meet UDO requirements, which must be fenced and kept inside a tree protection zone during construction
- Trees in riparian buffers, water supply reservoir buffers, watershed protection overlays and wetlands under UDO Article 8
How to apply in Durham
- 1
This process is for city trees. There is no city application for removing a tree that stands entirely in your own yard.
- 2
File an application with the city manager's office not less than 48 hours before the work is to be done.
- 3
The permit will be issued if the proposed work is consistent with the city's interest in city trees and the method and workmanship meet the city tree planting and maintenance specifications and standards.
- 4
Each permit states the location and nature of the work and carries an expiration date. Notify the city no later than five days after the project is complete; the city may inspect.
- 5
To have the city plant a street tree in the right-of-way by your property, use the Urban Forestry tree request form instead. To plant one yourself, file the street tree permit with the Urban Forestry Division.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Ordinance
- City of Durham Code of Ordinances Chapter 26, Article VIII - Trees (Code 1982 Sec. 21-0 et seq.; Ord. No. 5922, adopted April 19, 1982). Development-side rules: Durham Unified Development Ordinance Sec. 8.3, Tree Protection and Tree Coverage, and Article 9, Landscaping and Buffering.
Worth knowing
- As a condition of a city tree removal permit, the city manager may require the permit holder to pay a fee, up to an amount set by City Council, so the city can plant a replacement of nearly equivalent size and value.
- Sec. 26-228 reaches private construction near a city tree. You need a permit before changing grade, digging ditches, tunnelling, trenching, boring or laying a driveway within a distance in feet from a city tree equal to the trunk diameter in inches at 4.5 feet - an 8-inch trunk means 8 feet.
- Durham can require action on your own trees in two situations. Sec. 26-221 lets the city manager declare a tree bordering a street a public nuisance if it endangers the street, blocks street lights or sight distance, obstructs sidewalks, or overhangs a city sidewalk below 7 feet of clearance, with 30 days or less to fix it. Sec. 26-222 lets the city order treatment or removal of a private tree infected with transmissible disease or infested with insects near a city tree.
- The Urban Forestry Division states its mission as tree care "on City property and in City rights-of-way." It does not do work on private trees.
- The city was completing an updated tree inventory, canopy assessment and Urban Forestry Management Plan in 2026, so the rules here are worth re-checking if you are reading this later.
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 current dollar amount City Council has set for the city tree replacement fee.
- — Any permit application fee for a city tree removal permit.
- — Penalties specific to removing a city tree without a permit. Chapter 26, Article VIII sets out procedures and cost-recovery for nuisance abatement but no separate fine schedule for unpermitted city tree removal was found.
- — Whether any Durham local historic district or landmark designation adds tree review on a private lot.