Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
No, for a tree standing wholly on your own property. Houma is not a separate city government - it is governed by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, so the rules are in the parish code, which is the first thing that trips people up. That code does have a full Trees article and a parish tree board, but it defines its own reach in the definitions: street trees are those "on publicly dedicated street right-of-way land," and park trees are those "in named/designated public parks, all areas owned by the parish, or in areas to which the public has free access as a park." The permit requirement matches that scope exactly - Section 2-545 says "No person shall remove or otherwise disturb any street tree or park tree without first procuring a permit from the department of planning and zoning." Your back yard is neither. What the parish does put on you is a duty rather than a permit: you must keep your overhanging branches clear of the street and you must remove your own dead, diseased or dangerous trees.
Size threshold
None for private property, because no permit applies there. The size categories in the parish definitions are planting guidance for public spaces, keyed to mature height rather than trunk diameter: large trees are "greater than fifty (50) feet tall," medium are "between twenty-five (25) and fifty (50) feet tall," and small are "less than twenty-five (25) feet tall." The only diameter figure in the article is the construction tree guard spacing, "at a distance of one (1) foot from the tree trunk per inch of diameter of the tree trunk as measured at breast height."
What's protected in Houma
- Street trees - all woody vegetation on publicly dedicated street right-of-way. Removal or disturbance needs a permit from the department of planning and zoning (Section 2-545).
- Park trees - woody vegetation in public parks, any area owned by the parish, or any area to which the public has free access as a park. Same permit requirement.
- Any tree on public property, for topping. Section 2-542: no person "shall top any street tree, park tree, or other tree on public property," topping being "the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three (3) inches in diameter within the tree's crown."
- The ground within ten feet of a street or park tree. Section 2-544(c): "No person shall change natural drainage, excavate any ditches, tunnels, trenches, or lay any drive within a radius of ten (10) feet from any street tree or park tree without first obtaining a written permit from the department of planning and zoning."
How to apply in Houma
- 1
For a tree wholly on your own property there is no application. The article does not reach it.
- 2
If the tree is in the street right-of-way or a park, or if you plan to excavate or lay a drive within ten feet of one, apply for a written permit from the Terrebonne Parish Department of Planning and Zoning at (985) 873-6569.
- 3
You may plant a street tree yourself without a permit, but the species must comply - Section 2-541(b) preserves the right of adjacent owners to plant "providing that the selection of said trees is in accordance with this article."
- 4
If you are subject to the tree protection requirements and think they should not apply, Section 2-544(e) lets you request a waiver from TPCG; a tree board recommendation needs a majority vote and must be in writing.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- No fee for removing a tree on your own property, because no permit is required there. The fee for the street or park tree permit under Section 2-545 is not stated in the article.
- Penalties
- Section 2-548(a): a violation is prosecuted in the City Court of Houma, and "Upon conviction, the violator shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined a sum not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) plus cost of remediation or replacement as restitution; or may be imprisoned for a term not to exceed sixty (60) days; or both in the discretion of the court. All fines collected shall be designated to the Terrebonne Parish Tree Board account." Section 2-548(b) preserves the parish's right to sue civilly for damages or an injunction as well.
- Ordinance
- Terrebonne Parish Code of Ordinances, Part II, ch. 2 (Administration), art. XVII - Trees, Sections 2-531 to 2-549, adopted by Ord. No. 7251, Section I, on January 10, 2007. The parish code is codified through Ordinance No. 9828, enacted March 25, 2026 (Supp. No. 69).
Worth knowing
- The duty that actually catches Houma homeowners is Section 2-543, and it is an obligation rather than a permit: "Every owner of any tree overhanging any street or right-of-way within the parish shall prune the branches so that such branches shall not obstruct the light from any street lamp or obstruct the view of any street intersection and so that there shall be a clear space of eight (8) feet above the surface of the street or sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous trees." So the parish will not stop you removing a tree, but it can require you to.
- Houma has no separate city code. Searching for a City of Houma tree ordinance returns nothing because the consolidated parish government is the only government there is.
- Interfering with parish crews doing tree work is itself an offence under Section 2-546, which matters if a contractor is working on the tree in front of your house.
- Louisiana licenses arborists at state level, so the company you hire needs a state licence even though the parish requires no permit for your own tree. See the state note at the top of this file.
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 fee for a street or park tree removal permit under Section 2-545. The article does not state one and no parish planning fee schedule was located.
- — Whether Terrebonne Parish imposes any separate coastal, wetland or drainage-servitude restriction on clearing. Given the parish's location this is plausible, but nothing in the Trees article addresses it and the relevant chapters were not read in full.
- — Whether the parish maintains a published list of approved street tree species. Section 2-538 is titled "Street tree species to be planted" and the article requires compliance, but the list itself was not retrieved.