Tree Removal Permits in Madison, AL

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

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Madison's tree ordinance reaches street trees and park trees and nothing else. Section 2-216 defines only those two categories, every prohibition in the division is keyed to them, and the zoning code's tree standards are planting requirements for development that expressly exclude single-family detached dwellings. So no permit is needed to take a tree out of your own yard, and there is no size threshold. One loose end is worth knowing about before you call anyone: the adopted development fee schedule contains a line item reading "Tree Removal Permit (if separate from all other applications) .....$50.00," and no operative section anywhere in the code, the zoning ordinance or the subdivision regulations says when that permit is required or who must get it. Its placement among plats and zoning changes points to a development charge rather than a homeowner one, but if you want certainty, that is the question to ask.

Size threshold

None for removal. The numbers in the code serve other purposes: Section 7-5-1.G of the zoning ordinance gives credit toward required plantings on a development landscape plan to a tree that "Has a minimum caliper of four inches," and Section 2-224 prohibits topping a public tree leaving "stubs larger than three inches in diameter." Madison's measurement convention is unusual and incomplete - the zoning ordinance defines "Tree, Caliper: Trunk diameter of a tree used in landscaping, measured at breast height," which puts caliper at breast height where the nursery convention is six inches above ground, and the ordinance never states a numeric breast height anywhere. No figure is computed here from that definition.

What's protected in Madison

Street trees, defined at Section 2-216 as "trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation on land lying between property lines on either side of all streets, avenues, or ways within the city." Note how broad that is - it is the whole strip between the property lines, which in most Madison subdivisions includes the grass between your sidewalk and the curb.
Park trees, defined at Section 2-216 as "trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation in public parks having individual names, and all areas owned by the city, or to which the public has free access as a park."
Trees in the airport and Redstone Arsenal obstruction overlays, which regulate height rather than removal. Zoning Section 4-15-8 lets the city "condition such permit or variance on the owner of a structure or tree, at its own expense, to install, operate, and maintain thereon such markers and/or lights," and the Redstone military airport overlay "establishes height limitations for structures/buildings and natural features (trees and vegetation)."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee applies to removing a tree from your own residential lot. The development fee schedule at Appendix A, item 17, does list "Tree Removal Permit (if separate from all other applications) .....$50.00," but items 1 through 16 of that list are all development-review applications - site plans, sign fees, special exceptions, variances, zoning changes, plats, easement vacations, development change orders - and no operative section establishes when item 17 is triggered. See the unverified list.
Penalties: Zoning Ordinance Section 10-11-1.C: a violator "shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.00 or by imprisonment or hard labor not exceeding six months or both." Section 10-11-3 adds that "Each day any violation of this Ordinance continues after notice of the violation constitutes a separate offense." On the business license side, Section 10-7 makes unlicensed business "punishable by a fine not to exceed the sum of $500.00 for each offense, and if a willful violation, by imprisonment, not to exceed six months, or both," with each day a separate offense.
Ordinance: Madison Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article V, Division 3 (Tree Board), Sections 2-216 through 2-230, adopted by Ordinance No. 2000-103, Sections 1 through 17, on June 26, 2000, carried forward from Code 1992, Sections 16-52 through 16-59.7. The division has not been amended since 2000, which is worth noting in a region where tornado response has driven ordinance activity elsewhere. Land disturbance is at Chapter 20, Article VIII, Sections 20-440 through 20-448, adopted by Ord. No. 2015-38, Section 1, on April 13, 2015; grading is at Section 8-77; contractor requirements at Section 8-23, from Ord. No. 2011-60, Section 6-3, April 11, 2011. Code current through Ordinance No. 2026-127, enacted April 13, 2026 (Supp. No. 18). The zoning ordinance is a separate document that is NOT in Municode - Appendix D reads "(RESERVED)" with the editor's note that "The zoning regulations are on file in the office of the city clerk." The operative zoning document is the Zoning Ordinance effective July 1, 2026, approved by Council June 22, 2026; the Subdivision Regulations are the 2019 Revisions effective September 19, 2019. On enabling authority, which matters in a weak-home-rule state, Section 1-4 recites "the authority of Ala. Code Sections 11-52-70 through 11-52-85 (1975)."

Worth knowing

The duty runs the other way for dead and overhanging trees, and this is the provision most likely to reach a Madison homeowner. Section 2-225: "Every owner of any tree overhanging any street or right-of-way within the city shall prune the branches so that there shall be a clear space of eight feet above the surface of the street or sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous trees, or broken or decayed limbs that constitute a menace to the safety of the public." Section 2-226 goes further: "The presence of a dead tree or trees on private property shall constitute a nuisance."
There is also a lot-size-keyed vegetation rule, though it is about dead material rather than trees as such. Section 22-97(c): "All land, except for parcels greater than one-half acre and maintained in a natural state or for agricultural purposes shall be kept free of any dry or dead vegetation, unless secured from public view."
The practical catch in Madison is who you hire, not what you cut. Section 10-25 lists "Tree Service Contractors" (NAICS 561730) among the license classifications and Section 10-7 makes doing business without a license unlawful. Section 8-23 spells out the homeowner side: "This section does not preclude or prevent an owner from obtaining permits and performing work on their own property except that any person, firm or corporation hired or contracted by the owner must possess a valid city business license and state license as required by law."
The arborist licensing provision is narrower than it first appears. Section 2-229: "It shall be unlawful for any person or firm to engage in the business or occupation of pruning, treating, or removing street or park trees within the city without first applying for and procuring a license." That covers street and park trees only, not work in your yard.
Debris disposal is the gotcha that costs money. Section 20-368 says the city will not collect "Trash or yard waste generated by a commercial landscaper," or "Tree limbs or trimmings resulting from land clearing or cuttings by tree service contractors or commercial workmen," or "Yard waste exceeding five cubic yards." So if you cut it yourself and it fits under five cubic yards, the city takes it; if a crew cuts it, they haul it. Over-limit collection runs 50 dollars per five cubic yards under Appendix A.
The grading permit does not reach tree cutting. Section 8-77 regulates anyone who would "Excavate, fill dredge, alter the topography of, or grade any land," and cutting a tree is not among the listed regulated acts. It also exempts grading "As a maintenance measure, or for home gardens, or for landscaping on developed lots or parcels with an existing principal structure."
The zoning tree standards are planting rules for development and say so. Section 7-3: "The standards in this Article shall apply to all development, renovation, and reconstruction," and Section 7-5-3 is "applicable in all zoning districts and to all uses other than single family detached dwellings."
Madison spans two counties, Madison and Limestone, and the city fee schedule carries separate landfill rates for each. Note also that the CITY of Madison is a different jurisdiction from MADISON COUNTY, which contains Huntsville and has its own rules.
Madison is heavily covenanted and your subdivision may require architectural committee approval to remove a tree even though the city requires nothing. Zoning Section 2-8 addresses deed restrictions and covenants. That is a private contract matter enforced by the association, not a permit, and the city will not adjudicate it.
Arbor Day poster contests and Arbor Week plantings are volunteer programming and recognition. The Beautification and Tree Board page states no permit requirements at all, and Section 2-217(c) limits the board's plan to "trees and shrubs in parks, along streets and in other public areas."

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.

— What triggers the 50 dollar Tree Removal Permit in the fee schedule. This is the single most important gap on this page. The fee is real and adopted, but no operative section in the Code of Ordinances, the Zoning Ordinance or the Subdivision Regulations establishes when the permit is required or who must obtain it. Its placement as item 17 of the development fee schedule, after plats, zoning changes and development change orders, plus the qualifier "if separate from all other applications," both point to a development-review charge rather than a homeowner permit. But the requirement itself could not be located, so an unwritten counter practice cannot be ruled out. Confirm by phone at 256-772-5600 before relying on the answer above.
— What a "tree plat" is. Section 8-77(b)(2)d.3 lets the City Engineer require "A tree plat, if required by city ordinance or this Code" on a grading permit application, but the phrase appears nowhere else in the Code, the Zoning Ordinance or the Subdivision Regulations. It is a dangling conditional reference with no operative trigger.
— Section 2-226's cross-references are internally broken and are recorded rather than resolved. It declares a dead private tree "a nuisance under section 2-227," but Section 2-227 is Removal of stumps and is not a nuisance provision, and it directs enforcement "in accordance with sections 2-228 through 2-230," which are interference, arborist licensing and Council review. This is most likely a renumbering error carried over from Code 1992.
— The adopting ordinance number for the Zoning Ordinance effective July 1, 2026. The published PDF has no signature or adoption page and contains no ordinance number, and the city page gives only the June 22, 2026 Council approval date. Municode cannot supply it because Appendix D is permanently marked RESERVED.
— The bond amount under Section 2-229. The section is titled "Arborists license and bond" but the text specifies no bond, and no corresponding fee schedule entry was found.
— Whether any standalone tree ordinance has been adopted since April 13, 2026 and not yet codified. No web search was available during this research, so only the codified record and the city's published documents were checked. The tree division itself has been untouched since 2000, which makes this a modest risk, but it is not zero in a region where storm response drives ordinance activity.

Sources

Who to contact in Madison

Building Department (Permitting), City of Madison. This is the office a homeowner should call first. The development-side Tree Removal Permit fee belongs to Planning and Economic Development; grading and land disturbance permits belong to Engineering. The Beautification and Tree Board is a volunteer board covering street and park trees and is not a permit desk.

256-772-5627 is the direct permit line and reaches Caitlyn Brewer, Permit Specialist II. 256-772-5600 is the main city switchboard and also the number for Planning and Economic Development, which is who to ask about the Tree Removal Permit fee line. Engineering is 256-772-8431, with City Engineer Michael Johnson at 256-772-5639. Building Department hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the city notes that permits are not processed after 3:30 p.m. No after-hours forestry line is published. Caitlyn.brewer@madisonal.gov for permitting; StartMadBiz@madisonal.gov for Planning and Economic Development; keepmadisonbeautiful@gmail.com for the Beautification and Tree Board. Official page

100 Hughes Road, Madison, AL 35758

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Size threshold

What's protected in Madison

Street trees, defined at Section 2-216 as "trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation on land lying between property lines on either side of all streets, avenues, or ways within the city." Note how broad that is - it is the whole strip between the property lines, which in most Madison subdivisions includes the grass between your sidewalk and the curb.

Park trees, defined at Section 2-216 as "trees, shrubs, bushes and all other woody vegetation in public parks having individual names, and all areas owned by the city, or to which the public has free access as a park."

Trees in the airport and Redstone Arsenal obstruction overlays, which regulate height rather than removal. Zoning Section 4-15-8 lets the city "condition such permit or variance on the owner of a structure or tree, at its own expense, to install, operate, and maintain thereon such markers and/or lights," and the Redstone military airport overlay "establishes height limitations for structures/buildings and natural features (trees and vegetation)."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee applies to removing a tree from your own residential lot. The development fee schedule at Appendix A, item 17, does list "Tree Removal Permit (if separate from all other applications) .....$50.00," but items 1 through 16 of that list are all development-review applications - site plans, sign fees, special exceptions, variances, zoning changes, plats, easement vacations, development change orders - and no operative section establishes when item 17 is triggered. See the unverified list.

Penalties

Zoning Ordinance Section 10-11-1.C: a violator "shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500.00 or by imprisonment or hard labor not exceeding six months or both." Section 10-11-3 adds that "Each day any violation of this Ordinance continues after notice of the violation constitutes a separate offense." On the business license side, Section 10-7 makes unlicensed business "punishable by a fine not to exceed the sum of $500.00 for each offense, and if a willful violation, by imprisonment, not to exceed six months, or both," with each day a separate offense.

Ordinance

Madison Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article V, Division 3 (Tree Board), Sections 2-216 through 2-230, adopted by Ordinance No. 2000-103, Sections 1 through 17, on June 26, 2000, carried forward from Code 1992, Sections 16-52 through 16-59.7. The division has not been amended since 2000, which is worth noting in a region where tornado response has driven ordinance activity elsewhere. Land disturbance is at Chapter 20, Article VIII, Sections 20-440 through 20-448, adopted by Ord. No. 2015-38, Section 1, on April 13, 2015; grading is at Section 8-77; contractor requirements at Section 8-23, from Ord. No. 2011-60, Section 6-3, April 11, 2011. Code current through Ordinance No. 2026-127, enacted April 13, 2026 (Supp. No. 18). The zoning ordinance is a separate document that is NOT in Municode - Appendix D reads "(RESERVED)" with the editor's note that "The zoning regulations are on file in the office of the city clerk." The operative zoning document is the Zoning Ordinance effective July 1, 2026, approved by Council June 22, 2026; the Subdivision Regulations are the 2019 Revisions effective September 19, 2019. On enabling authority, which matters in a weak-home-rule state, Section 1-4 recites "the authority of Ala. Code Sections 11-52-70 through 11-52-85 (1975)."

Worth knowing

The duty runs the other way for dead and overhanging trees, and this is the provision most likely to reach a Madison homeowner. Section 2-225: "Every owner of any tree overhanging any street or right-of-way within the city shall prune the branches so that there shall be a clear space of eight feet above the surface of the street or sidewalk. Said owners shall remove all dead, diseased or dangerous trees, or broken or decayed limbs that constitute a menace to the safety of the public." Section 2-226 goes further: "The presence of a dead tree or trees on private property shall constitute a nuisance."
There is also a lot-size-keyed vegetation rule, though it is about dead material rather than trees as such. Section 22-97(c): "All land, except for parcels greater than one-half acre and maintained in a natural state or for agricultural purposes shall be kept free of any dry or dead vegetation, unless secured from public view."
The practical catch in Madison is who you hire, not what you cut. Section 10-25 lists "Tree Service Contractors" (NAICS 561730) among the license classifications and Section 10-7 makes doing business without a license unlawful. Section 8-23 spells out the homeowner side: "This section does not preclude or prevent an owner from obtaining permits and performing work on their own property except that any person, firm or corporation hired or contracted by the owner must possess a valid city business license and state license as required by law."
The arborist licensing provision is narrower than it first appears. Section 2-229: "It shall be unlawful for any person or firm to engage in the business or occupation of pruning, treating, or removing street or park trees within the city without first applying for and procuring a license." That covers street and park trees only, not work in your yard.
Debris disposal is the gotcha that costs money. Section 20-368 says the city will not collect "Trash or yard waste generated by a commercial landscaper," or "Tree limbs or trimmings resulting from land clearing or cuttings by tree service contractors or commercial workmen," or "Yard waste exceeding five cubic yards." So if you cut it yourself and it fits under five cubic yards, the city takes it; if a crew cuts it, they haul it. Over-limit collection runs 50 dollars per five cubic yards under Appendix A.
The grading permit does not reach tree cutting. Section 8-77 regulates anyone who would "Excavate, fill dredge, alter the topography of, or grade any land," and cutting a tree is not among the listed regulated acts. It also exempts grading "As a maintenance measure, or for home gardens, or for landscaping on developed lots or parcels with an existing principal structure."
The zoning tree standards are planting rules for development and say so. Section 7-3: "The standards in this Article shall apply to all development, renovation, and reconstruction," and Section 7-5-3 is "applicable in all zoning districts and to all uses other than single family detached dwellings."
Madison spans two counties, Madison and Limestone, and the city fee schedule carries separate landfill rates for each. Note also that the CITY of Madison is a different jurisdiction from MADISON COUNTY, which contains Huntsville and has its own rules.
Madison is heavily covenanted and your subdivision may require architectural committee approval to remove a tree even though the city requires nothing. Zoning Section 2-8 addresses deed restrictions and covenants. That is a private contract matter enforced by the association, not a permit, and the city will not adjudicate it.
Arbor Day poster contests and Arbor Week plantings are volunteer programming and recognition. The Beautification and Tree Board page states no permit requirements at all, and Section 2-217(c) limits the board's plan to "trees and shrubs in parks, along streets and in other public areas."

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.

— What triggers the 50 dollar Tree Removal Permit in the fee schedule. This is the single most important gap on this page. The fee is real and adopted, but no operative section in the Code of Ordinances, the Zoning Ordinance or the Subdivision Regulations establishes when the permit is required or who must obtain it. Its placement as item 17 of the development fee schedule, after plats, zoning changes and development change orders, plus the qualifier "if separate from all other applications," both point to a development-review charge rather than a homeowner permit. But the requirement itself could not be located, so an unwritten counter practice cannot be ruled out. Confirm by phone at 256-772-5600 before relying on the answer above.
— What a "tree plat" is. Section 8-77(b)(2)d.3 lets the City Engineer require "A tree plat, if required by city ordinance or this Code" on a grading permit application, but the phrase appears nowhere else in the Code, the Zoning Ordinance or the Subdivision Regulations. It is a dangling conditional reference with no operative trigger.
— Section 2-226's cross-references are internally broken and are recorded rather than resolved. It declares a dead private tree "a nuisance under section 2-227," but Section 2-227 is Removal of stumps and is not a nuisance provision, and it directs enforcement "in accordance with sections 2-228 through 2-230," which are interference, arborist licensing and Council review. This is most likely a renumbering error carried over from Code 1992.
— The adopting ordinance number for the Zoning Ordinance effective July 1, 2026. The published PDF has no signature or adoption page and contains no ordinance number, and the city page gives only the June 22, 2026 Council approval date. Municode cannot supply it because Appendix D is permanently marked RESERVED.
— The bond amount under Section 2-229. The section is titled "Arborists license and bond" but the text specifies no bond, and no corresponding fee schedule entry was found.
— Whether any standalone tree ordinance has been adopted since April 13, 2026 and not yet codified. No web search was available during this research, so only the codified record and the city's published documents were checked. The tree division itself has been untouched since 2000, which makes this a modest risk, but it is not zero in a region where storm response drives ordinance activity.