Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
Naperville has a genuine tree preservation ordinance, but it starts above an acreage line rather than a diameter. If your residentially zoned parcel is one and a half acres or smaller, which covers essentially every standard Naperville subdivision lot, the ordinance does not reach you and no permit is needed at any size. Above one and a half acres residential, or on any non-residential parcel, you need a tree removal permit before taking any live tree 4 inches or more in diameter. The parkway tree in front of your house is city property either way.
Size threshold
Section 5-10-5.1 (Scope And Application): "This Section shall apply to all residentially zoned private parcels of land which are more than one and one-half (1½) acres in size, all nonresidential private parcels of land, and all parcels of land for which a landscape plan is required." Section 5-10-5.2.1: "No live tree(s) with a trunk size of four (4) inches or greater in diameter, as measured five (5) feet from the ground may be removed without first obtaining a valid tree removal permit." Note the measuring point is 5 feet above ground, not the usual 4.5-foot DBH.
What's protected in Naperville
- Any live tree 4 inches or greater in diameter on a residentially zoned parcel larger than 1.5 acres
- Any live tree 4 inches or greater in diameter on any non-residential parcel, regardless of size
- Any live tree 4 inches or greater on any parcel for which a landscape plan is required
- All parkway trees and city-owned trees, under a separate chapter (Title 9, Chapter 3 - Urban Forest Protection)
How to apply in Naperville
- 1
First confirm you are actually in scope: residentially zoned and over 1.5 acres, or non-residential, or a parcel for which a landscape plan is required.
- 2
Apply through the city Civic Access portal at napervilleil-energovweb.tylerhost.net/apps/SelfService.
- 3
Include a written statement giving the reasons for removal, and a map of the parcel showing the species, location and size of every tree 4 inches or greater in diameter measured 5 feet above the ground that you propose to remove.
- 4
A tree preservation plan is required only when the removal permit is tied to a building permit or landscape plan approval.
- 5
Pay the $40 fee and mark the trees as Public Works directs.
- 6
Wait for approval. The city states twice that the permit must be approved before the tree comes down.
- 7
Emergency exception: call Public Works for field permission first. If staff are unavailable you may remove the tree, but you must notify Public Works within 48 hours of the removal and the reason for it.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Section 5-10-5.4: "A fee of forty dollars ($40.00) shall be charged for each tree removal permit to cover the cost of staff review. A single permit may authorize the removal of more than one tree, but shall only apply to a single parcel of land." Parkway tree removal by the city is free to the owner; a replacement parkway tree is cost-shared at $165 of a $330 tree.
- Penalties
- Section 5-10-5.6: "In addition to providing or paying for trees, violators of this Section may be fined up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each tree removed without, or in violation of, a permit or preservation plan." Replacement is steep and scales with size: 3 trees for a 4-9 inch trunk, 5 for 10-15 inches, 7 for 16-21, 9 for 22-27, 11 for 28-33, and 13 trees for 34 inches or greater. Section 5-10-5.5.3 adds compensation to the city "in the amount of the assessed value of the tree." If replacements are not planted within 60 days the city may plant them and bill you, and an invoice unpaid for 60 days "shall constitute a lien against the property." Damaging a parkway tree is separate: $75 for a first citation, $150 for a second, $300 for a third and later citations within 12 months.
- Ordinance
- Naperville Municipal Code, Title 5 (Building Regulations), Chapter 10 - Landscaping, Screening and Tree Preservation, Section 5-10-5 (Tree Preservation). Base text Ord. 93-14, adopted January 19, 1993; fee subsection Ord. No. 18-145, section 6, adopted December 18, 2018. Parkway and city trees are Title 9, Chapter 3 - Urban Forest Protection, which Ord. No. 23-122, section 1, adopted August 15, 2023, repealed and reenacted in its entirety. Code current through Ordinance No. 26-040, adopted April 21, 2026 (Supp. No. 100).
Worth knowing
- Parkway trees are the city's. Section 9-3-8.1: "Parkway trees are city property and may only be removed by the City, unless an exception is made through the tree removal permit process." Removal and stump grinding cost the homeowner nothing. Planting a parkway tree needs a free permit.
- The obligation runs the other way too, and this part applies to every lot no matter how small. Section 4-3-1 makes it "unlawful for the owner of any premises in the City to permit any tree to remain on such premises if any part of it is infected or infested with" Dutch elm disease, oak wilt, Asian long horned beetle, emerald ash borer, or anything else the Illinois or U.S. Department of Agriculture deems a nuisance. You get 10 days from notice, after which the city can abate and lien the cost plus interest.
- Naperville does not license or register tree service companies. Title 3, Chapter 5 covers electrical, plumbing and sidewalk contractors only. The certified-arborist requirement in section 9-3-4.2 applies to contractors working for the city, not for you. That said, section 5-10-5.5.1 puts liability on the property owner for unpermitted removal done by "the property owner's contractor, agent, employee."
- There is no landmark, heritage or specimen tree designation anywhere in the Naperville code.
- The erosion and sedimentation control permit in Title 5, Chapter 9 covers "clearing," but section 5-9-5.2.1 exempts "Development of a site, parcel or lot of less than two (2) acres in any zoning district," so it does not catch ordinary residential lots either.
- Lots with wetlands or waterways have a further layer. Naperville adopts the DuPage Countywide Stormwater and Floodplain Ordinance by reference, and that ordinance states "Development of buffer, or a reduction in width, function, or the removal of native vegetation, shall not occur without mitigation."
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.
- — The city's own private-tree page lists only two triggers, residential over 1.5 acres and all non-residential. The codified ordinance has a third: "and all parcels of land for which a landscape plan is required." Both are reported rather than reconciled. A small residential lot undergoing development that needs Plan Commission or Zoning Administrator approval could be pulled in by that third prong even though the city page implies it is exempt.
- — Whether the Civic Access portal currently charges the $40 figure in the code. The portal is a JavaScript application whose live fee schedule could not be read.
- — Any email address for the Public Works forestry function. None is published; contact is by phone or the online request center.
- — The name of a city forester or lead arborist. No such position exists in the code and none is named on the city site.
- — Whether Naperville or DuPage County administers the county stormwater ordinance's wetland-buffer vegetation provisions inside city limits.
Sources
- City of Naperville - Private Trees, Removal and Preservation
- City of Naperville - Parkway Trees
- City of Naperville - Our Urban Forest
- Naperville Municipal Code, Title 5 Chapter 10 - Landscaping, Screening and Tree Preservation
- Naperville Municipal Code, Title 9 Chapter 3 - Urban Forest Protection
- Naperville Municipal Code, Section 4-3-1 - Tree Diseases, Insect Infestations and Hazardous Trees
- City of Naperville - Permits and Licenses (Civic Access portal)