Tree Removal Permits in Milwaukee, WI

Verified against Milwaukee city sources · last checked 2026-08-06

Do you need a permit?

It depends on the tree

For an ordinary tree on an ordinary Milwaukee lot the code is simply silent - there is no citywide private-tree permit and no diameter threshold anywhere in it. But Milwaukee does have a real private-property tree permit; it was written into the building code rather than the forestry chapter, and it applies only inside the Milwaukee River Greenway overlay zone, where it costs 150 dollars plus 15 dollars per tree. Two other approvals can catch you: the tree in the terrace out front is a public-highway tree that you may not even prune without the Commissioner of Public Works, and removing a tree in the yard of a locally designated historic property needs a Certificate of Appropriateness.

Size threshold

None citywide. Inside the Greenway overlay only, Section 252-80-2-i defines a regulated Tree as "any self-supporting woody plant, greater than 15 feet in height, together with its root system, having one trunk of at least 6 inches in diameter at breast height or having a multi-stemmed trunk system with a definitely formed crown," and Section 252-80-4-b exempts "Trees less than 6 inches in diameter at breast height," dead or diseased trees as determined by a professional forester or ISA certified arborist, and buckthorn and honeysuckle. Section 252-80-2-d: diameter at breast height is measured "at 4.5 feet above the ground."

What's protected in Milwaukee

Trees in the primary environmental corridor of the Milwaukee River Greenway Site Plan Review Overlay Zone. Section 252-80-4-a: "No person shall remove, damage, break, top, disturb or otherwise destroy any living and structurally sound tree located within the primary environmental corridor except as permitted under par. b or by a tree maintenance and conservation permit issued pursuant to sub. 5." The corridor is mapped by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
Trees in a public highway, which is the terrace trap. Section 116-51: "No person, corporation or association shall plant, cut, prune or remove any living tree or shrub in a public highway in the city, or cut, disturb or interfere in any way with the roots of any tree in such public highway, or spray any such trees or shrubs with any chemicals or insecticides without written permit of the commissioner of public works." Pruning is named expressly and there is no homeowner exception.
Trees in the yard of a locally designated historic structure, site or district. The Historic Preservation Commission states that "All exterior repairs, replacements, alterations, and building permits at your locally designated historic property and yard require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) prior to beginning work," including "major landscaping." Council files 220109 (front yard tree removal, Sherman Boulevard Historic District) and 252086 (tree removal, North Point North Historic District) show it applied to trees in practice.

How to apply in Milwaukee

1
These steps are for the Greenway overlay permit. Confirm first that your parcel is inside the Milwaukee River greenway site plan review overlay zone and inside the mapped primary environmental corridor; the Department of City Development publishes boundary aerials.
2
Section 252-80-5-a: file a written application with the commissioner on the furnished form, stating the property owner name and address.
3
Describe "the location, species and diameter at breast height of each tree proposed to be removed or disturbed," and any associated construction plans.
4
For any tree over 6 inches DBH, describe the replacement trees. Section 252-80-5-c-1 requires non-native trees replaced "on a diameter-equivalent basis" and native trees "on a 2-to-one diameter ratio."
5
If the work is part of a construction or site development project, include a site plan with a plat of survey, the critical root zone of all trees 6 inches or larger, approved tree protection fencing, and slopes of 12 percent or greater within the limits of soil disturbance.
6
Section 252-80-5-c-4: if the tree sits where the slope is at least 12 percent, add "a report prepared by a professional engineer that certifies the proposed tree removal or disturbance... will not result in soil erosion or slope destabilization."
7
Pay 150 dollars plus 15 dollars per tree.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: Section 81-129.7: "The fee for a tree maintenance and conservation permit shall be $150 plus $15 for each tree proposed to be removed or disturbed under the permit." That amount took effect January 1, 2026 by Common Council File 250865, adopted November 7, 2025. No fee for the Section 116-51 street tree permit appears anywhere in chapter 81.
Penalties: The two regimes are wildly different in severity. Street and terrace trees, Section 116-70: violators "pay a penalty to the city of not less than $10 nor more than $25 for each and every offense," each day a separate offense. Greenway trees, Section 252-80-6-d: violators "forfeit not less than $150 per violation per day nor more than $5,000 for each premises found to be in violation, together with the cost of the action." Section 252-80-6-a lets the commissioner require replacement "on a 2-to-one diameter basis," and Section 252-80-6-b makes unpaid correction costs "a lien on the real property... collectible in accordance with s. 66.0627, Wis. Stats."
Ordinance: Milwaukee Code of Ordinances chapter 116 (Use of Public Ways and Places), Sections 116-51 through 116-70, renumbered from chapter 6 by File No. 881465, Council action November 18, 1988, effective December 13, 1988. Sections 116-51, 116-52, 116-53, 116-66, 116-67 and 116-70 show no amendment at all in the City's own Volume 1 Historical References revised July 14, 2026. Section 252-80 (Tree Protection in Milwaukee River Greenway Site Plan Review Overlay Zone) was created by Common Council File No. 081570, introduced March 3, 2009 and approved by the Common Council September 23, 2014, effective October 10, 2014; the overlay zone itself is File No. 081568. Section 116-68 was recreated by File 120636, "A substitute ordinance relating to hazardous tree removal charges," Council action March 21, 2013. Code current through Supplement 460 (Volume 1), 359 (Volume 2) and 383 (Volume 3), all covering Common Council actions through July 14, 2026.

Worth knowing

You cannot prune your own terrace tree. Section 116-51 names cutting, pruning and removal together, and there is no self-help carve-out anywhere in the chapter. Forestry does terrace pruning itself on a roughly five-year cycle and takes free out-of-cycle requests at 414-286-2489.
The duty runs the other way for dead and diseased trees, and this is Milwaukee's real private-property tree law. Section 116-53 declares "all such trees as may be liable to fall upon any sidewalk, street or building, or which are hazardous or may result in injury to person or property because of a defective or diseased condition, or contagiously diseased trees" a public nuisance. Section 116-66 gives owners 30 days to act, or 10 days for diseased or infested elm.
If you do not act, the city does and bills you. Section 116-67 authorizes removal "at the expense of the owner of the land whereon the same stand," and adds that if the owner cannot be found the city may proceed "without notice." Section 116-68-3 spreads any balance over 125 dollars across ten property tax rolls at approximately prime plus one percent.
Those bills get appealed and the appeals mostly lose. Council records show tree removal fee appeals denied in 2023 for properties on N 67th St, W Sharon Ln and E Oklahoma Ave, and another denied February 13, 2026 for a W Center St property.
Milwaukee licenses no tree services. "Arborist," "forestry" and "tree trimmer" appear nowhere in chapter 84 (Miscellaneous Licenses), chapter 81 (License and Permit Fees), or the City Clerk License Division list. The Home Improvement Contractor license at Section 95-14 defines a contractor by work "attached to" a building and does not reach tree work.
The zoning code regulates planting, not removal. Section 295-421 says "All land development or redevelopment activities shall preserve, to the maximum extent possible, grasses, forbs, trees, shrubs, wildflowers and aquatic plants that are native to Wisconsin," but attaches no permit or threshold.
City brush pickup is capped and seasonal. Section 79-3-8-a: "Trees, logs and branches generated in normal household maintenance not exceeding 2 cubic yards shall be collected by the department between April 1 and November 30," and Section 79-3-4 limits pieces to 4 feet long and 10 inches in diameter.

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 an ordinary private tree outside the Greenway overlay truly needs nothing. The code is silent rather than permissive, and Milwaukee publishes no homeowner-facing page answering the question either way. Silence is what is being reported here, not permission.
— Whether DPW charges an administrative fee for the Section 116-51 street tree permit. Chapter 81 sets none.
— The application form for the Greenway Tree Maintenance and Conservation Permit. Section 252-80-5-a refers to "a form furnished for this purpose"; the city does not publish it online.
— Whether a Certificate of Appropriateness carries a fee. Chapter 81 sets a 25 dollar fee only for nominating a property for designation.
— Whether the Historic Preservation Commission has written tree-specific guidance. Section 320-21 never uses the word "tree," though the COA page names "your yard" and "major landscaping" and the Council record shows tree removal COAs.
— Forestry Services street address and direct email. Neither is published.
— Rules for trees on Milwaukee County park land, which is a large share of the mature canopy in the city and is governed separately.

Sources

Who to contact in Milwaukee

Forestry Services, Operations Division, Milwaukee Department of Public Works. The "commissioner" who issues the Greenway permit is defined at Section 252-80-2-a as "the commissioner of public works or the commissioner's designee." Historic district approvals go to the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission instead.

414-286-CITY (414-286-2489) for all tree service requests. Historic Preservation Commission: 414-286-5712 or 414-286-5722. Municipal Research Library, for code questions: 414-286-2297. Official page

Historic Preservation Commission: Zeidler Municipal Building, 841 N. Broadway, Room B-1, Milwaukee, WI 53202. Forestry Services publishes no street address.

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Size threshold

What's protected in Milwaukee

Trees in the primary environmental corridor of the Milwaukee River Greenway Site Plan Review Overlay Zone. Section 252-80-4-a: "No person shall remove, damage, break, top, disturb or otherwise destroy any living and structurally sound tree located within the primary environmental corridor except as permitted under par. b or by a tree maintenance and conservation permit issued pursuant to sub. 5." The corridor is mapped by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

Trees in a public highway, which is the terrace trap. Section 116-51: "No person, corporation or association shall plant, cut, prune or remove any living tree or shrub in a public highway in the city, or cut, disturb or interfere in any way with the roots of any tree in such public highway, or spray any such trees or shrubs with any chemicals or insecticides without written permit of the commissioner of public works." Pruning is named expressly and there is no homeowner exception.

Trees in the yard of a locally designated historic structure, site or district. The Historic Preservation Commission states that "All exterior repairs, replacements, alterations, and building permits at your locally designated historic property and yard require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) prior to beginning work," including "major landscaping." Council files 220109 (front yard tree removal, Sherman Boulevard Historic District) and 252086 (tree removal, North Point North Historic District) show it applied to trees in practice.

How to apply in Milwaukee

1
These steps are for the Greenway overlay permit. Confirm first that your parcel is inside the Milwaukee River greenway site plan review overlay zone and inside the mapped primary environmental corridor; the Department of City Development publishes boundary aerials.
2
Section 252-80-5-a: file a written application with the commissioner on the furnished form, stating the property owner name and address.
3
Describe "the location, species and diameter at breast height of each tree proposed to be removed or disturbed," and any associated construction plans.
4
For any tree over 6 inches DBH, describe the replacement trees. Section 252-80-5-c-1 requires non-native trees replaced "on a diameter-equivalent basis" and native trees "on a 2-to-one diameter ratio."
5
If the work is part of a construction or site development project, include a site plan with a plat of survey, the critical root zone of all trees 6 inches or larger, approved tree protection fencing, and slopes of 12 percent or greater within the limits of soil disturbance.
6
Section 252-80-5-c-4: if the tree sits where the slope is at least 12 percent, add "a report prepared by a professional engineer that certifies the proposed tree removal or disturbance... will not result in soil erosion or slope destabilization."
7
Pay 150 dollars plus 15 dollars per tree.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

Section 81-129.7: "The fee for a tree maintenance and conservation permit shall be $150 plus $15 for each tree proposed to be removed or disturbed under the permit." That amount took effect January 1, 2026 by Common Council File 250865, adopted November 7, 2025. No fee for the Section 116-51 street tree permit appears anywhere in chapter 81.

Penalties

The two regimes are wildly different in severity. Street and terrace trees, Section 116-70: violators "pay a penalty to the city of not less than $10 nor more than $25 for each and every offense," each day a separate offense. Greenway trees, Section 252-80-6-d: violators "forfeit not less than $150 per violation per day nor more than $5,000 for each premises found to be in violation, together with the cost of the action." Section 252-80-6-a lets the commissioner require replacement "on a 2-to-one diameter basis," and Section 252-80-6-b makes unpaid correction costs "a lien on the real property... collectible in accordance with s. 66.0627, Wis. Stats."

Ordinance

Milwaukee Code of Ordinances chapter 116 (Use of Public Ways and Places), Sections 116-51 through 116-70, renumbered from chapter 6 by File No. 881465, Council action November 18, 1988, effective December 13, 1988. Sections 116-51, 116-52, 116-53, 116-66, 116-67 and 116-70 show no amendment at all in the City's own Volume 1 Historical References revised July 14, 2026. Section 252-80 (Tree Protection in Milwaukee River Greenway Site Plan Review Overlay Zone) was created by Common Council File No. 081570, introduced March 3, 2009 and approved by the Common Council September 23, 2014, effective October 10, 2014; the overlay zone itself is File No. 081568. Section 116-68 was recreated by File 120636, "A substitute ordinance relating to hazardous tree removal charges," Council action March 21, 2013. Code current through Supplement 460 (Volume 1), 359 (Volume 2) and 383 (Volume 3), all covering Common Council actions through July 14, 2026.

Worth knowing

You cannot prune your own terrace tree. Section 116-51 names cutting, pruning and removal together, and there is no self-help carve-out anywhere in the chapter. Forestry does terrace pruning itself on a roughly five-year cycle and takes free out-of-cycle requests at 414-286-2489.
The duty runs the other way for dead and diseased trees, and this is Milwaukee's real private-property tree law. Section 116-53 declares "all such trees as may be liable to fall upon any sidewalk, street or building, or which are hazardous or may result in injury to person or property because of a defective or diseased condition, or contagiously diseased trees" a public nuisance. Section 116-66 gives owners 30 days to act, or 10 days for diseased or infested elm.
If you do not act, the city does and bills you. Section 116-67 authorizes removal "at the expense of the owner of the land whereon the same stand," and adds that if the owner cannot be found the city may proceed "without notice." Section 116-68-3 spreads any balance over 125 dollars across ten property tax rolls at approximately prime plus one percent.
Those bills get appealed and the appeals mostly lose. Council records show tree removal fee appeals denied in 2023 for properties on N 67th St, W Sharon Ln and E Oklahoma Ave, and another denied February 13, 2026 for a W Center St property.
Milwaukee licenses no tree services. "Arborist," "forestry" and "tree trimmer" appear nowhere in chapter 84 (Miscellaneous Licenses), chapter 81 (License and Permit Fees), or the City Clerk License Division list. The Home Improvement Contractor license at Section 95-14 defines a contractor by work "attached to" a building and does not reach tree work.
The zoning code regulates planting, not removal. Section 295-421 says "All land development or redevelopment activities shall preserve, to the maximum extent possible, grasses, forbs, trees, shrubs, wildflowers and aquatic plants that are native to Wisconsin," but attaches no permit or threshold.
City brush pickup is capped and seasonal. Section 79-3-8-a: "Trees, logs and branches generated in normal household maintenance not exceeding 2 cubic yards shall be collected by the department between April 1 and November 30," and Section 79-3-4 limits pieces to 4 feet long and 10 inches in diameter.

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 an ordinary private tree outside the Greenway overlay truly needs nothing. The code is silent rather than permissive, and Milwaukee publishes no homeowner-facing page answering the question either way. Silence is what is being reported here, not permission.
— Whether DPW charges an administrative fee for the Section 116-51 street tree permit. Chapter 81 sets none.
— The application form for the Greenway Tree Maintenance and Conservation Permit. Section 252-80-5-a refers to "a form furnished for this purpose"; the city does not publish it online.
— Whether a Certificate of Appropriateness carries a fee. Chapter 81 sets a 25 dollar fee only for nominating a property for designation.
— Whether the Historic Preservation Commission has written tree-specific guidance. Section 320-21 never uses the word "tree," though the COA page names "your yard" and "major landscaping" and the Council record shows tree removal COAs.
— Forestry Services street address and direct email. Neither is published.
— Rules for trees on Milwaukee County park land, which is a large share of the mature canopy in the city and is governed separately.