Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Murfreesboro's tree chapter says what it covers in its first line: "The purpose of this chapter is to regulate the planting, maintenance, and removal of all trees in public areas in the City." A tree standing in your own yard is not in a public area, so no permit and no size threshold apply. The zoning landscaping section carries the matching exemption — it applies "to all uses, except single family and duplex dwellings." What does need a permit is any work on a tree in the street right-of-way, and that strip in front of your house is usually city land even though you mow it.
Size threshold
None. Murfreesboro keys the permit to location, not size, and no DBH, caliper or diameter figure anywhere in the code or zoning ordinance triggers a homeowner permit. The numbers that do exist govern other things: a 1.5-inch caliper minimum to qualify for a development tree-preservation credit, a 12-inch trunk allowance in the sight triangle, and a 6-inch DBH survey requirement inside the I-24 buffer on site plans.
What's protected in Murfreesboro
- Any tree in a public area — "No person other than the City Arborist, designee, or a contractor employed by the City Arborist, may perform any of the following acts on a tree in a public area without first obtaining a permit: plant, maintain, treat, prune, remove, replant, replace or otherwise disturb any tree."
- Trees in the street right-of-way. The city describes it plainly: "Right-of-Way (ROW) is the city-owned strip of land from the edge of the street back a specified distance... This land is the responsibility of the landowner, but the city has the right to determine what takes place there."
- Landmark Trees — "Trees having landmark designation shall be protected on public and private property from damage or removal." Designation on private land requires the owner's consent, so this only binds owners who opted in. A storm-damaged Landmark Tree posing an immediate threat "may be removed to the extent necessary to eliminate the threat."
- Trees planted to satisfy a zoning landscape requirement or as a required replacement tree.
- Trees inside a Water Quality Protection Area (stream buffer) under Chapter 27.5, though "Removal of individual trees in the WQPA is allowed, where the tree is likely to fall and damage dwellings or other structures, or to cause blockage of the stream."
How to apply in Murfreesboro
- 1
These steps apply to a tree in a public area or the right-of-way. A tree in your own yard needs nothing.
- 2
Call the Street Department at 615-893-4380. "Application for a permit must be made not less than three working days prior to the time the work is to be done. An application may be made by telephone or by fax." There is no online form.
- 3
The city "shall review and notify said applicant within three working days as to whether the permit has been approved or denied."
- 4
Work must conform to the Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice, and the permit carries "a definite date of expiration."
- 5
"A notice of completion shall be provided within five days after the completion date for purposes of inspecting the work. The notice may be by telephone."
- 6
A denial can be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals within ten working days.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Free. Section 32.5-6(A)(3): "The permit shall be issued, provided that the proposed work is in compliance with this chapter and the proposed method and workmanship thereof are in conformity with the Arboricultural Specification and Standards of Practice, at no cost." The zoning ordinance calls it a "non-fee tree work permit." The applicant still pays for the work itself.
- Penalties
- Section 32.5-9: "The violation of any provision of this chapter shall be punished as provided in Code s. 1-8, in addition to any costs of corrective action incurred by the City as provided in this chapter." Section 1-8 sets "a civil fine not exceeding $50.00. Each day any violation... shall continue shall constitute a separate offense," with an editor's note that "By Private Acts of 1967, Ch. 241, the maximum fine for violation of City ordinances was increased from $50.00 to $250.00." Nuisance trees on private property carry cost recovery plus a lien after at least thirty days' written notice.
- Ordinance
- Murfreesboro City Code Chapter 32.5 — Tree Management, Sections 32.5-1 through 32.5-10. Enacted by Ordinance No. 21-O-07, s. 2, adopted July 8, 2021, which "repealed the former Ch. 32.5, ss. 32.5-1—32.5-10, and enacted a new Ch. 32.5"; the prior chapter dated to 1994. Code current through Ordinance No. 26-O-08, enacted February 12, 2026 (Supp. No. 18, Update 1). Appendix A (Zoning), Section 27 — Landscaping and Screening, revised May 21, 2026. Water quality buffers at Chapter 27.5 (Ord. No. 24-O-24, adopted August 22, 2024).
Worth knowing
- The right-of-way is the whole story here. Murfreesboro says the ROW depth "varies from location to location" and that "Property records may need to be reviewed to determine the exact dimension." One call to 615-893-4380 settles whether the tree is yours.
- No permit is needed for a private tree even inside a utility easement. Section 32.5-6(A)(2)(c): "No permit is required for trees on private property in a utility right-of-way easement."
- Clearing an acre or more triggers a Land Disturbance Permit from Engineering, which the city prices at $150 plus $50 per acre. That is a land-disturbance permit, not a tree permit.
- Murfreesboro runs a Tree Removal Program through Community Development at 615-890-4660: "This program offers a five-year to fifteen-year forgivable loan to eligible homeowners for the removal of trees which have become hazards." It is financial help, not a permit.
- Landmark Tree status on private land is voluntary. Nothing gets designated without the owner signing off.
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.
- — No tree-removal permit application form is published online. The ordinance provides for telephone and fax intake only.
- — The "Arboricultural Specifications and Standards of Practice" manual and the Tree Management Plan, both mandated by ordinance, could not be located online.
- — Whether the municipal register of Landmark Trees required by Section 32.5-6(F) has any entries, or whether any private Murfreesboro property holds one.
- — Whether a Tree Board exists. The zoning ordinance routes a permit appeal to "the Tree Board," while Code Section 32.5-10 routes it to the Board of Zoning Appeals, and no Tree Board appears in the city's Boards and Commissions directory. Both provisions are reported here rather than reconciled.
- — "The Department" is assigned Landmark Tree authority in Sections 32.5-6(F) and 32.5-7(C) but is never defined in Chapter 32.5.
- — Staff titles differ between the Urban Forestry page and the Street Department page. Carson Elder is City Arborist on both.
- — No dedicated permit-intake email exists; only individual staff addresses are published.
Sources
- City of Murfreesboro — Urban Forestry
- City of Murfreesboro — Street Department
- City of Murfreesboro — Tree Services
- City of Murfreesboro — Tree Removal Program (Community Development)
- City of Murfreesboro — Land Disturbance Permits
- Murfreesboro Code Chapter 32.5 — Tree Management (Municode)
- Murfreesboro Zoning Ordinance, Appendix A (PDF)