Tree Removal Permits in Moore, OK

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

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Moore has no tree permit of any kind, and it says the quiet part in the one section that comes closest. Section 14-107: "It is unlawful for any person to injure any tree or shrubbery on a street or alley in the city. This section shall not prohibit the lawful and proper care and removal of such trees and shrubbery." Even the street tree may be removed. What Moore does require is the opposite of a permit - Section 8-210 makes it unlawful to let a dead or diseased tree stand on your lot or on the sidewalk, street or alley next to it, and Section 14-103 makes you trim what overhangs.

Size threshold

None. Moore's code contains no diameter, DBH or caliper figure for trees. The only tree measurements are clearance heights under Section 14-103: "the lowest branches or foliage shall not be lower than ten feet above the roadway of a street or alley, nor lower than eight feet above the sidewalk."

What's protected in Moore

Trees on another person's land, and trees on public ground, against willful destruction. Section 10-316: "No person shall willfully, maliciously and without lawful authority cut down, root up, sever, injure or destroy any fruit tree, shade or ornamental tree, cultivated root or plant, grape or strawberry vine, shrub or plant whatever standing on or attached to the land of another," and the same section covers any such tree "planted or growing on any street, land, avenue, alley or other public ground of the city." The section "applies only if the loss is less than $1,000.00 or such greater amount constituting a misdemeanor under state law," and the code gives the state law reference as 21 O.S. Section 1760.
Street trees, when a building is being moved. Section 5-225: "No tree on any street shall be removed or the branches of any tree be cut or trimmed in order to facilitate the moving of any building, except with the consent and under the supervision of the city."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Penalties: Section 14-103 makes failure to trim after five days' notice an offense, and "Every day that the owner or occupant fails, refuses or neglects to trim such trees or shrubbery after the expiration of the five days' notice shall be a separate offense." The section also allows the City to abate the nuisance in addition to any fine.
Ordinance: Moore Code of Ordinances Section 14-103 and Section 14-107, both in Part 14 (Streets and Sidewalks), Chapter 14-1 (General Provisions), from Prior Code Section 20-3 and Code 1999; Section 8-210 (Dead or Diseased Trees), adopted by Ord. 812(16) on May 2, 2016; Section 10-316 (Destroying Trees and Shrubbery), Code 1999; and Section 5-225 (Interference With Trees and Fixtures), Code 1999. Moore's code is published on municipalcodeonline.com rather than Municode. Moore has no chapter titled Trees and no tree board.

Worth knowing

The dead-tree duty is absolute and it reaches the parkway. Section 8-210: "It is unlawful for any owner or occupant of any lot, tract or parcel of land situated wholly or in part within the corporate limits of the city to allow a dead or diseased tree to stand upon such premises, or along the sidewalk, street or improved alleys adjacent to such premises. It is the duty of such owner or occupant to remove said dead or diseased tree which shall be cumulative."
Section 14-103 puts both the sight-triangle duty and the trimming duty on the owner: you must remove trees, shrubs, plants or obstructions "so situated as to constitute a traffic hazard by obstructing the view of any driver," and you must trim everything in "the parking, between the sidewalks and the roadway."
A tenant carries the same duty. Section 14-103: "If premises are occupied by some person other than the owner, such occupant shall trim the trees and shrubbery in the same manner as hereinbefore required of the owner."
Moore's published code contains no zoning ordinance, no subdivision regulations and no landscaping chapter - a search of the whole code for "landscaping" returns only a building code amendment. Whatever landscaping or tree preservation Moore applies to new development is not in the codified ordinances.
Moore licenses no tree services. No arborist or tree service license appears in the code.

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 Moore's zoning ordinance or subdivision regulations, which are not part of the published code, impose tree preservation or landscaping duties. They were not located for this entry.
— Whether Moore has any urban forestry program, tree board or Tree City USA designation. The code creates none.
— A direct email address for Moore Public Works. The department page protects its email address from automated extraction.
— Whether the City requires anything before removing a tree from the right-of-way outside the building-moving situation in Section 5-225. Section 14-107 expressly does not prohibit "lawful and proper... removal," which is silence about process rather than a stated permission.

Sources

Who to contact in Moore

Moore Public Works Department handles streets and right-of-way. Enforcement of the trimming duty at Section 14-103 runs through "the city manager or his designee," who gives the five-day notice.

405-793-5070 (Public Works) Official page

512 NW 27th St., Moore, OK 73160

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What's protected in Moore

Trees on another person's land, and trees on public ground, against willful destruction. Section 10-316: "No person shall willfully, maliciously and without lawful authority cut down, root up, sever, injure or destroy any fruit tree, shade or ornamental tree, cultivated root or plant, grape or strawberry vine, shrub or plant whatever standing on or attached to the land of another," and the same section covers any such tree "planted or growing on any street, land, avenue, alley or other public ground of the city." The section "applies only if the loss is less than $1,000.00 or such greater amount constituting a misdemeanor under state law," and the code gives the state law reference as 21 O.S. Section 1760.

Street trees, when a building is being moved. Section 5-225: "No tree on any street shall be removed or the branches of any tree be cut or trimmed in order to facilitate the moving of any building, except with the consent and under the supervision of the city."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Penalties

Section 14-103 makes failure to trim after five days' notice an offense, and "Every day that the owner or occupant fails, refuses or neglects to trim such trees or shrubbery after the expiration of the five days' notice shall be a separate offense." The section also allows the City to abate the nuisance in addition to any fine.

Ordinance

Moore Code of Ordinances Section 14-103 and Section 14-107, both in Part 14 (Streets and Sidewalks), Chapter 14-1 (General Provisions), from Prior Code Section 20-3 and Code 1999; Section 8-210 (Dead or Diseased Trees), adopted by Ord. 812(16) on May 2, 2016; Section 10-316 (Destroying Trees and Shrubbery), Code 1999; and Section 5-225 (Interference With Trees and Fixtures), Code 1999. Moore's code is published on municipalcodeonline.com rather than Municode. Moore has no chapter titled Trees and no tree board.

Worth knowing

The dead-tree duty is absolute and it reaches the parkway. Section 8-210: "It is unlawful for any owner or occupant of any lot, tract or parcel of land situated wholly or in part within the corporate limits of the city to allow a dead or diseased tree to stand upon such premises, or along the sidewalk, street or improved alleys adjacent to such premises. It is the duty of such owner or occupant to remove said dead or diseased tree which shall be cumulative."
Section 14-103 puts both the sight-triangle duty and the trimming duty on the owner: you must remove trees, shrubs, plants or obstructions "so situated as to constitute a traffic hazard by obstructing the view of any driver," and you must trim everything in "the parking, between the sidewalks and the roadway."
A tenant carries the same duty. Section 14-103: "If premises are occupied by some person other than the owner, such occupant shall trim the trees and shrubbery in the same manner as hereinbefore required of the owner."
Moore's published code contains no zoning ordinance, no subdivision regulations and no landscaping chapter - a search of the whole code for "landscaping" returns only a building code amendment. Whatever landscaping or tree preservation Moore applies to new development is not in the codified ordinances.
Moore licenses no tree services. No arborist or tree service license appears in the code.

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 Moore's zoning ordinance or subdivision regulations, which are not part of the published code, impose tree preservation or landscaping duties. They were not located for this entry.
— Whether Moore has any urban forestry program, tree board or Tree City USA designation. The code creates none.
— A direct email address for Moore Public Works. The department page protects its email address from automated extraction.
— Whether the City requires anything before removing a tree from the right-of-way outside the building-moving situation in Section 5-225. Section 14-107 expressly does not prohibit "lawful and proper... removal," which is silence about process rather than a stated permission.