Tree Removal Permits in Huntington, WV

Verified against Huntington city sources · last checked 2026-08-07

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Huntington runs a real urban forestry program and it stops at the property line. Section 917.05(a) requires a permit only for "any operation involving a public tree," and Section 917.01(i) defines public trees as those "growing on any street or any public right-of-way or in any other public areas." Nothing in the code requires a permit to take down a tree in your own yard, at any size. What Huntington does put on you is the opposite duty: under Section 917.06 you must keep your trees pruned back off the sidewalk and street, and if you do not, the city prunes them after 45 days and bills you.

Size threshold

None for private trees, and the public-tree definition splits by species in a way worth knowing. Section 917.01(m) defines a tree as "(1) Any self-supporting woody plant which has a well defined stem with a diameter of at least four inches at 4.5 feet from the ground; (2) Any conspicuously flowering woody plant as designated by the urban forester which has a well defined stem at least two inches diameter at 4.5 feet from the ground; or (3) Any small seedling or sapling planted or protected specifically to become a large tree." So an ordinary tree counts at four inches, but a flowering one the urban forester has designated counts at two. Both are measured at 4.5 feet, standard DBH.

What's protected in Huntington

Public trees. Section 917.05(a): "No person shall commence or proceed with any operation involving a public tree without first obtaining a permit from the city. Activities covered by this section include, but are not necessarily limited to, planting, spraying, preserving, pruning, removing, cutting above ground or otherwise disturbing any street or municipally-owned property." Section 917.01(e) defines street as "extending from property line to property line," so the strip in front of your house is inside it.
Public trees again under a separate section. Section 917.08: "Unless specifically authorized by the city, no person shall damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any public tree; attach any rope, wire, nails, advertising posters or other contrivance to any trees."
Shade and ornamental trees in public places, under the older Article 915. Section 915.05: "No person shall cut, saw, tear or break down any ornamental or shade trees, along the sidewalk or in any other public place in the city, or injure the same in any manner." Section 915.01 separately requires a written permit from the director of public works to plant any tree, shrub or vine "in or upon any part of any public street or public place."
Diseased or obstructing trees on private land, as nuisances. Section 917.07: "Any tree or shrub located on private or public property which obstructs a street or sidewalk, or which suffers from a communicable disease or insect infestation, as determined by the city, which threatens the public welfare or the health of public trees, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance." That is a duty to cut, not a bar on cutting.

How to apply in Huntington

1
For a tree entirely on your own property, there is nothing to file.
2
For a tree in the street, right-of-way or on city land, Section 917.05(c): apply at the public works office "not less than 48 hours in advance of the time the work is to be done." Call 304-696-5540.
3
Section 917.05(b): the application is made by the abutting property owner or the owner's agent, or by a public utility company for its own regular operations, on the form the city prescribes.
4
Section 917.05(f): for maintenance work, state the number and kinds of trees to be sprayed, fertilized or pruned, the treatment, and the composition of any spray material.
5
Section 917.05(g)(2) is the catch on removal: "No person or property owner shall remove a tree from the city right-of-way for the purpose of construction, or for any other reason, without first filing an application and procuring a permit from the city, and without replacing the removed tree or trees in accordance with the adopted arboricultural specifications."
6
Expect a valuation bill if you cannot replace in kind. Section 917.13 requires replacement "with tree(s) of equivalent dollar value in the vicinity of the removed tree(s)," valued by the International Society of Arboriculture Guide For Establishing Values of Trees and Other Plants, Sixth Edition, with a compensatory payment to the city for any shortfall.
7
Give the department of public works notice of completion within five days so the urban forester can inspect.
8
Appeals under Section 917.09 go in writing to the urban forester within 15 days, then to the three-member urban forestry appeals committee, then to council.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee is set anywhere for a private tree because no permit exists. For the public tree permit, Section 917.05(d) says only that "The city may charge a fee to cover the cost of printing and processing the permits referred to in this section," without naming an amount. Section 915.01 says of the older planting permit that "There shall be no charge for such permits."
Penalties: Section 917.99: "Any person, firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall be fined a sum of up to $500 and imprisoned for up to a maximum of 30 days." Article 915 carries no separate penalty and points to the general code penalty at Section 101.99. Cost recovery runs separately: Section 917.06(c) lets the city prune trees you failed to prune and assess "the exact cost thereof" to you, and Section 917.07 lets the city prune, treat or remove a nuisance tree on private land and collect the expense through the finance department.
Ordinance: Codified Ordinances of Huntington, Part Nine - Streets, Utilities and Public Services Code, Chapter One, Article 917 (Urban Forestry Regulations), Sections 917.01 through 917.99, adopted by ordinance of November 14, 1988, with Section 917.06 amended by ordinance of September 14, 1992. The older Article 915 (Trees and Shrubs), Sections 915.01 through 915.99, carries forward the 1964 Code Sections 36-1 through 36-5 and remains in force alongside it. Hillside development is Part Thirteen - Planning and Zoning Code, Chapter Eleven, Article 1391 (Hillside Regulations), adopted by ordinance of December 26, 2000. Landscaping is Article 1347. Code current through Ordinance No. 2025-O-31, adopted September 22, 2025 (Supp. No. 8).

Worth knowing

The pruning duty is the rule you will actually meet. Section 917.06: owners and occupants of property abutting a street must prune trees so they do not "obstruct or shade the street lights, obstruct the passage of pedestrians on sidewalks, obstruct vision of traffic signs or obstruct the view of any street or alley intersection," with "minimum clearance of any overhanging portion thereof... ten feet over sidewalks, and 14 feet over all streets." Note the older Article 915 does not state a clearance at all, and Section 915.02 puts the same trimming duty on the owner or occupant "under the supervision of the director of public works."
The clock on that duty is 45 days, or five days in an emergency. Section 917.06(a) and (b): the order is served by certified mail to the last known address, and Section 917.07 uses the same 45 days for a diseased or obstructing private tree.
No permit is needed for storm work. Section 917.12: "No permit shall be required to remove any tree or part thereof which by reason of damage by fire, windstorm or other calamity poses a threat to the public health or safety or which obstructs any public way." The mayor may also declare a state of emergency and suspend the permit requirement wholesale.
Huntington's hillside rules are about lots and streets, not trees. Article 1391 applies to any area with "an average slope of more than 15%" and sets minimum lot areas, front and side yards, right-of-way widths and pavement widths by slope group - 15 to 25 percent, 26 to 30 percent, and 31 percent and over. It contains no tree provision. Section 1391.09 does bar residential planning on "land with excessive slope."
The zoning landscaping article exempts ordinary homes on its face. Section 1347.01A: "landscaping shall be provided as part of all non-residential land developments, residential subdivisions, and open space cluster developments for which a site plan is required by article 1351." An existing single-family lot is not on that list.
The city can enter your land to cut. Section 915.04 gives the director of public works "the power to enter upon any private grounds for the purpose of trimming or removing trees and shrubbery in order to prevent danger therefrom to person or property, in the event the owner or occupant of such premises does not comply with the orders of the director."
The urban forestry advisory committee is unusually broad for a city this size - seven members including the president of the Huntington Council of Garden Clubs, an appointee of the president of Marshall University, an appointee of the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District, and the Cabell County Extension Service Agent.
Huntington straddles two counties. Section 917.01(k) defines property owner by "the county assessor's plat of Cabell or Wayne County, as the case may be," and Section 917.01(g) makes public places include grounds owned by Cabell County, Wayne County and the State of West Virginia inside the city. If your tree is on a state right-of-way, the city is not the right office.

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 Huntington charges anything for the public tree permit. Section 917.05(d) authorizes a printing and processing fee but sets no amount, and no city fee schedule entry was found.
— Whether a tree service needs a Huntington business license or registration. The Business and Taxation Code was scanned for tree, arborist and forestry headings and none appeared, but the general license tax article was not read line by line.
— The current urban forester's name and a direct line. The Public Works page does not name the position.
— Whether the Urban Forestry Appeals Committee is actually seated. Section 917.09(f) requires three members appointed by the mayor, council and the advisory committee; no roster was found.
— Whether the Master Urban Tree Plan contemplated by Section 917.04(b) has been adopted. No copy was found on the city site.
— Whether Huntington has a historic district review that reaches tree removal. None was located in the code.
— Whether the two overlapping articles conflict in practice. Article 915 from the 1964 code and Article 917 from 1988 both regulate trees in public places and both remain codified; the city has never repealed the older one. Reported, not resolved.

Sources

Who to contact in Huntington

Huntington Department of Public Works. Section 917.01(c) defines the urban forester as "the person designated within the department of public works who administers the provisions of this article under the supervision and direction of the mayor," and Section 917.05(c) says applications are made at the public works office. The city's own description of the division is that it "also maintains trees in the public right-of-way." An Urban Forestry Advisory Committee and a separate three-member Urban Forestry Appeals Committee sit above it.

Public Works, the office that issues the public tree permit and the number to call about a street tree: 304-696-5540. That is also the general permits line. City Hall main: 304-696-5540. permits@huntingtonwv.gov Official page

800 Fifth Avenue, Huntington, WV 25701

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Size threshold

What's protected in Huntington

Public trees. Section 917.05(a): "No person shall commence or proceed with any operation involving a public tree without first obtaining a permit from the city. Activities covered by this section include, but are not necessarily limited to, planting, spraying, preserving, pruning, removing, cutting above ground or otherwise disturbing any street or municipally-owned property." Section 917.01(e) defines street as "extending from property line to property line," so the strip in front of your house is inside it.

Public trees again under a separate section. Section 917.08: "Unless specifically authorized by the city, no person shall damage, cut, carve, transplant or remove any public tree; attach any rope, wire, nails, advertising posters or other contrivance to any trees."

Shade and ornamental trees in public places, under the older Article 915. Section 915.05: "No person shall cut, saw, tear or break down any ornamental or shade trees, along the sidewalk or in any other public place in the city, or injure the same in any manner." Section 915.01 separately requires a written permit from the director of public works to plant any tree, shrub or vine "in or upon any part of any public street or public place."

Diseased or obstructing trees on private land, as nuisances. Section 917.07: "Any tree or shrub located on private or public property which obstructs a street or sidewalk, or which suffers from a communicable disease or insect infestation, as determined by the city, which threatens the public welfare or the health of public trees, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance." That is a duty to cut, not a bar on cutting.

How to apply in Huntington

1
For a tree entirely on your own property, there is nothing to file.
2
For a tree in the street, right-of-way or on city land, Section 917.05(c): apply at the public works office "not less than 48 hours in advance of the time the work is to be done." Call 304-696-5540.
3
Section 917.05(b): the application is made by the abutting property owner or the owner's agent, or by a public utility company for its own regular operations, on the form the city prescribes.
4
Section 917.05(f): for maintenance work, state the number and kinds of trees to be sprayed, fertilized or pruned, the treatment, and the composition of any spray material.
5
Section 917.05(g)(2) is the catch on removal: "No person or property owner shall remove a tree from the city right-of-way for the purpose of construction, or for any other reason, without first filing an application and procuring a permit from the city, and without replacing the removed tree or trees in accordance with the adopted arboricultural specifications."
6
Expect a valuation bill if you cannot replace in kind. Section 917.13 requires replacement "with tree(s) of equivalent dollar value in the vicinity of the removed tree(s)," valued by the International Society of Arboriculture Guide For Establishing Values of Trees and Other Plants, Sixth Edition, with a compensatory payment to the city for any shortfall.
7
Give the department of public works notice of completion within five days so the urban forester can inspect.
8
Appeals under Section 917.09 go in writing to the urban forester within 15 days, then to the three-member urban forestry appeals committee, then to council.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee is set anywhere for a private tree because no permit exists. For the public tree permit, Section 917.05(d) says only that "The city may charge a fee to cover the cost of printing and processing the permits referred to in this section," without naming an amount. Section 915.01 says of the older planting permit that "There shall be no charge for such permits."

Penalties

Section 917.99: "Any person, firm or corporation violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall be fined a sum of up to $500 and imprisoned for up to a maximum of 30 days." Article 915 carries no separate penalty and points to the general code penalty at Section 101.99. Cost recovery runs separately: Section 917.06(c) lets the city prune trees you failed to prune and assess "the exact cost thereof" to you, and Section 917.07 lets the city prune, treat or remove a nuisance tree on private land and collect the expense through the finance department.

Ordinance

Codified Ordinances of Huntington, Part Nine - Streets, Utilities and Public Services Code, Chapter One, Article 917 (Urban Forestry Regulations), Sections 917.01 through 917.99, adopted by ordinance of November 14, 1988, with Section 917.06 amended by ordinance of September 14, 1992. The older Article 915 (Trees and Shrubs), Sections 915.01 through 915.99, carries forward the 1964 Code Sections 36-1 through 36-5 and remains in force alongside it. Hillside development is Part Thirteen - Planning and Zoning Code, Chapter Eleven, Article 1391 (Hillside Regulations), adopted by ordinance of December 26, 2000. Landscaping is Article 1347. Code current through Ordinance No. 2025-O-31, adopted September 22, 2025 (Supp. No. 8).

Worth knowing

The pruning duty is the rule you will actually meet. Section 917.06: owners and occupants of property abutting a street must prune trees so they do not "obstruct or shade the street lights, obstruct the passage of pedestrians on sidewalks, obstruct vision of traffic signs or obstruct the view of any street or alley intersection," with "minimum clearance of any overhanging portion thereof... ten feet over sidewalks, and 14 feet over all streets." Note the older Article 915 does not state a clearance at all, and Section 915.02 puts the same trimming duty on the owner or occupant "under the supervision of the director of public works."
The clock on that duty is 45 days, or five days in an emergency. Section 917.06(a) and (b): the order is served by certified mail to the last known address, and Section 917.07 uses the same 45 days for a diseased or obstructing private tree.
No permit is needed for storm work. Section 917.12: "No permit shall be required to remove any tree or part thereof which by reason of damage by fire, windstorm or other calamity poses a threat to the public health or safety or which obstructs any public way." The mayor may also declare a state of emergency and suspend the permit requirement wholesale.
Huntington's hillside rules are about lots and streets, not trees. Article 1391 applies to any area with "an average slope of more than 15%" and sets minimum lot areas, front and side yards, right-of-way widths and pavement widths by slope group - 15 to 25 percent, 26 to 30 percent, and 31 percent and over. It contains no tree provision. Section 1391.09 does bar residential planning on "land with excessive slope."
The zoning landscaping article exempts ordinary homes on its face. Section 1347.01A: "landscaping shall be provided as part of all non-residential land developments, residential subdivisions, and open space cluster developments for which a site plan is required by article 1351." An existing single-family lot is not on that list.
The city can enter your land to cut. Section 915.04 gives the director of public works "the power to enter upon any private grounds for the purpose of trimming or removing trees and shrubbery in order to prevent danger therefrom to person or property, in the event the owner or occupant of such premises does not comply with the orders of the director."
The urban forestry advisory committee is unusually broad for a city this size - seven members including the president of the Huntington Council of Garden Clubs, an appointee of the president of Marshall University, an appointee of the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District, and the Cabell County Extension Service Agent.
Huntington straddles two counties. Section 917.01(k) defines property owner by "the county assessor's plat of Cabell or Wayne County, as the case may be," and Section 917.01(g) makes public places include grounds owned by Cabell County, Wayne County and the State of West Virginia inside the city. If your tree is on a state right-of-way, the city is not the right office.

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 Huntington charges anything for the public tree permit. Section 917.05(d) authorizes a printing and processing fee but sets no amount, and no city fee schedule entry was found.
— Whether a tree service needs a Huntington business license or registration. The Business and Taxation Code was scanned for tree, arborist and forestry headings and none appeared, but the general license tax article was not read line by line.
— The current urban forester's name and a direct line. The Public Works page does not name the position.
— Whether the Urban Forestry Appeals Committee is actually seated. Section 917.09(f) requires three members appointed by the mayor, council and the advisory committee; no roster was found.
— Whether the Master Urban Tree Plan contemplated by Section 917.04(b) has been adopted. No copy was found on the city site.
— Whether Huntington has a historic district review that reaches tree removal. None was located in the code.
— Whether the two overlapping articles conflict in practice. Article 915 from the 1964 code and Article 917 from 1988 both regulate trees in public places and both remain codified; the city has never repealed the older one. Reported, not resolved.