Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Hialeah does not run its own tree removal program — permits inside the city come from Miami-Dade County. That matters, because the county exempts removal of trees within the yard area of an existing single-family residence, as long as the tree is not a specimen tree (18 inches DBH or larger) and is not in a natural forest community. Outside that exemption, a county permit is required for any tree with a trunk 3 inches DBH or an overall height of 12 feet or more.
Size threshold
Miami-Dade regulates any woody or fibrous perennial plant with a minimum trunk DBH of three inches or greater, or an overall height of twelve or more feet. A specimen tree is one with any individual trunk 18 inches DBH or greater.
What's protected in Hialeah
- Specimen trees — any individual trunk 18" DBH or greater (these lose the single-family yard exemption)
- Natural Forest Communities — no single-family exemption
- Trees on county rights-of-way adjoining single-family residences — expressly carved out of the yard exemption
- Mangroves and wetland trees — separate county sections
- Palms are regulated as trees. Multi-trunk palms are excluded from specimen status except Paurotis/Everglades and Reclinata palm at 15 feet or more overall height.
How to apply in Hialeah
- 1
Confirm whether you need a permit — email good-quality photos of the tree with a close-up of the leaves, the address and the DBH to treeandforest@miamidade.gov and the county will tell you.
- 2
Complete the online application through the EPS Portal at miamidade.gov/Apps/RER/EPSPortal.
- 3
Upload supporting documents as PDFs. A site plan is required for 10 or more trees.
- 4
Save the application to receive a process number and email confirmation.
- 5
Pay the upfront fee — application and initial inspection fees are due at submission and are non-refundable.
- 6
Await the decision by email; processing takes about 21 days. An incomplete application sitting 120 days is denied.
- 7
After the work, close the permit with a Final Inspection Request. Permits are valid one year.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Single-Family/Residential: $63 application + $35 initial inspection = $98, then $35 final inspection + $12 per tree up to a maximum of $320. A 7.5% surcharge is added. After-the-fact permits double the application and per-tree fees.
- Ordinance
- Miami-Dade County Code Sec. 24-49 — Permits for tree removal and relocation; exemptions
Worth knowing
- Miami-Dade publishes the list of municipalities enforcing their own tree ordinance — Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Miami Springs, North Miami, North Miami Beach, South Miami, Homestead, Pinecrest, Miami Lakes and Miami Gardens. Hialeah is not on it.
- Hialeah's own code has tree planting and landscaping standards (Chapter 98, Article VI, Division 11) but no tree removal permit. Sec. 24-49(2) does allow a municipality to require permits for species the county exempts, so ask the city too if unsure.
- Other county exemptions: any dead tree not in a natural forest community; trees removed for construction of a new single-family residence on a lot of one-half acre or less being developed as the owner-builder's principal residence, if not in a natural forest community and not specimen trees; and 17 named species including Norfolk Island pine, Orchid tree, Surinam cherry, Poisonwood, Guava, Java plum and Washington palm.
- No permit is needed for proper pruning, but the county warns that excessive pruning such as hatracking or topping, which effectively destroys a tree, is itself a violation of Sec. 24-49.
- Mitigation: non-specimen trees replaced with 100% equal canopy; specimen trees require double canopy replacement plus a contribution to the county Tree Trust Fund.
- Report illegal removal or excessive pruning to DERM's 24-hour line, (305) 372-6955.
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.
- — Monetary penalty amounts. The county code makes unpermitted removal unlawful but the fine schedule sits in a separate chapter we could not confirm. The only quantified consequence verified is the doubling of after-the-fact fees.
- — Whether the fee schedule is current — the county PDF is footed "Revised 9/2011."
- — Whether Hialeah or Miami-Dade recognise the Fla. Stat. 163.045 exemption — the statute is not mentioned on the county tree permit page, application package, fee schedule, or any Hialeah page read.