Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
On Hilton Head Island the trigger is location, not size. A Natural Resources Permit is generally not required to remove a tree on a single-family residential lot with no recorded Town buffers. It is required when the tree sits in a beachfront lot's beachside area, a tidal or freshwater wetland buffer, a recorded subdivision buffer, a required buffer in a Neighborhood Character Overlay District such as Folly Field, Forest Beach or Holiday Homes, or a street or use buffer on non-residential and multi-family property.
What's protected in Hilton Head Island
- Specimen Trees, which cannot be removed unless dead, dying or diseased — otherwise a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals is required
- Trees on the beachside of beachfront lots
- Trees within tidal or freshwater wetland buffers
- Trees within recorded subdivision buffers
- Trees in required buffers in Neighborhood Character Overlay Districts (Folly Field, Forest Beach, Holiday Homes)
- Trees in adjacent street or use buffers on non-residential and multi-family property
How to apply in Hilton Head Island
- 1
Confirm whether your lot has any recorded Town buffers or sits in an overlay district.
- 2
Complete a Natural Resources Permit Application with tree type, trunk size, location, reason for removal, and how you will replace or mitigate it.
- 3
Submit through the Building & Development Citizen Self Service Portal, by email to cdic@hiltonheadislandsc.gov, or in person at Town Hall.
- 4
Mark the trees with bright-coloured ribbon so staff can identify them.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Ordinance
- Town of Hilton Head Island Land Management Ordinance (LMO), Sections 16-6-102 through 16-6-104
Worth knowing
- Native plants and trees in a tidal wetland buffer must not be disturbed or removed, even on a single-family lot.
- On marshfront and beachfront property, limited pruning for views may be permitted but removal of plants or trees is not.
- Properties inside private communities or HOAs typically have their own approval requirements on top of the Town's.
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.
- — Any diameter or DBH threshold. The Town keys the permit to location and buffer status, not size, and does not publish a size definition for a Specimen Tree.
- — Natural Resources Permit fees.
- — Penalties for removing a protected tree without a permit.
- — Replacement or mitigation ratios.