Tree Removal Permits in North Las Vegas, NV

Verified against North Las Vegas city sources · last checked 2026-08-07

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

North Las Vegas passed a brand-new urban forestry ordinance on December 4, 2024, with heritage trees, a Municipal Forester and a no-net-loss canopy policy - and it applies to city trees, not yours. The chapter says so in its first sentence: its purpose is "to preserve and protect all varieties of trees planted by the City or caused to be planted by the City on publicly-owned property or right-of-way easements." The zoning code's significant-tree rule is the other place to check, and it exempts ordinary houses by its own applicability clause.

Size threshold

None for a tree on an ordinary residential lot. The zoning code defines significance by proportion rather than by a fixed number, and does not apply to ordinary single-family lots. NLVMC 17.24.030.D.1.ii: "A significant tree is a tree that has reached seventy-five (75) percent or greater of the mature dimensions of a typical specimen of the species. (For example, a typical mature honey mesquite measures twenty (20) feet tall and has a twelve-inch caliper. A significant honey mesquite tree would therefore be a tree measuring fifteen (15) feet or taller in height with a caliper of eight inches or more.) The City shall prepare and maintain a list of the mature dimensions of all typical local protected species."

What's protected in North Las Vegas

City trees. NLVMC 12.15.020 defines a "Public tree" or "City tree" as "any tree which is located within any public park, City easement, or on any other City-owned property or right-of-way," and NLVMC 12.15.070 states simply: "No unauthorized person shall injure, deface or destroy any City tree by any means."
Trees in the public street or right-of-way. NLVMC 12.15.110: "No person shall remove or replace any tree in the City in or upon any public street or right-of-way without having first obtained permission from the Municipal Forester or Director or designee, as required by this chapter." The same section adds that anyone who damages a city tree "due to the individual's intentional or negligent act shall pay the City the actual costs to the City related to the removal, replacement, or mitigation of the damaged City tree."
Significant trees on qualifying development sites only. NLVMC 17.24.030.D.1.vi: "It is the responsibility of the property owner to preserve and maintain any significant tree. Where a significant tree is not preserved or not maintained, it shall be replaced at a ratio of two replacement trees for every one inch in caliper of the significant tree either on the subject property or off-site as permitted by the City." The applicability clause at 17.24.030.D is what keeps this off a normal house: the standards "shall apply to all multifamily, mixed-use, commercial, and industrial developments greater than one acre and all single and two-family residential projects of more than five dwelling units."
Native vegetation along washes, again as a development standard. NLVMC 17.24.030.D.3: "Native vegetation within twenty-five (25) feet of the defined bank of a wash shall be preserved unless the City approves an alternative naturalized landscaping/drainage plan."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee is set in Chapter 12.15 for the right-of-way tree permission. The one dollar figure in the code that touches tree work is a business license fee on the contractor, not the homeowner: NLVMC 5.02.280, "Tree Toppers. For each tree topper, one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) annually. Tree toppers digging up or removing tree stumps shall require a state license."
Penalties: Chapter 12.15 sets no fine of its own. Its financial consequence is restitution: NLVMC 12.15.110 requires anyone who damages a city tree intentionally or negligently to "pay the City the actual costs to the City related to the removal, replacement, or mitigation of the damaged City tree." For vegetation encroaching from private land, NLVMC 12.08.300.D provides that if you ignore the order the City may do the work "at the expense of such property owner; and the City shall have a lien therefor upon the property chargeable therewith until paid," and the Council may direct the assessor to levy the cost as a tax on the next assessment roll.
Ordinance: North Las Vegas Municipal Code Chapter 12.15 (Urban Forestry and Tree Protection), Title 12 (Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places). Every section carries the same derivation and it is recent: Ord. No. 3255, section 1, adopted December 4, 2024. The zoning provision is NLVMC 17.24.030 (Natural Resources), Chapter 17.24 (Development Standards), Title 17 (Zoning Ordinance), from Ord. No. 2591, section 1, adopted June 15, 2011, effective October 1, 2011. Note the codification lag: the Municode edition of the North Las Vegas code is stated as current only through "Ordinances passed and adopted on or before July 1, 2025" (Supp. No. 145), so anything adopted in the last year may not appear.

Worth knowing

A contradiction worth knowing about rather than resolving. NLVMC 12.15.055 says the City is "providing for the preservation of historical trees existing within the City" and lists five ways a tree can qualify as a heritage tree, including that it "Is of significant size to warrant protection" - and that section never says the tree must be on public land. But the chapter's stated purpose is limited to trees on publicly-owned property, and every operative prohibition in the chapter names a "City tree." As written, the heritage tree section states criteria without attaching any private-property prohibition or permit to them. If your tree is old, large or associated with a historic site, ask the Municipal Forester directly.
The city cannot be made to cut a healthy tree for you. NLVMC 12.15.100: "No healthy City tree will be removed in response to complaints about leaves, pine cones, pine needles, fruit, or seed debris or other perceived annoyance affecting non-City property adjacent to the City tree."
North Las Vegas is the one Nevada city found so far that regulates the tree crew rather than the tree. NLVMC 5.02.280 charges a "Tree Topper" 150 dollars a year for a city business license and notes that stump work requires a state license. Ask to see both before you hire.
Topping is defined tightly. NLVMC 12.15.020: "Topping means the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree that the tree's canopy is removed or the tree is disfigured." NLVMC 12.15.060 makes topping a public tree improper practice.
Overhanging branches are your problem and there are hard numbers. NLVMC 12.08.300.B requires vegetation on private property to be trimmed to the back of the sidewalk and at least ten feet above it, at least sixteen feet above the street, and at least six feet clear of streetlight wires, poles and luminaires. Subsection C gives you twenty days from the mailing of an order to comply.
The city measures trees by CALIPER, not DBH, and does not say where on the trunk. NLVMC 17.24.030 uses caliper throughout ("a caliper of eight inches or more," "two replacement trees for every one inch in caliper") without stating a measuring height, which is unusual and worth clarifying with Planning if a number matters to your project.
Master-planned and association-governed neighborhoods are common in North Las Vegas, and an association can require architectural approval to remove a tree that the City does not regulate at all. The city not requiring a permit is not the same as being free to cut.

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.

— How the heritage tree provision at NLVMC 12.15.055 is applied in practice, and whether any tree has actually been designated. The City publishes no heritage tree register.
— The list NLVMC 17.24.030.D.1.ii requires - "the mature dimensions of all typical local protected species" - which is the document that decides whether a given tree is "significant." It is not published online.
— The measuring height for caliper in NLVMC 17.24.030. The section never states one.
— The application form, processing time and any fee for the NLVMC 12.15.110 right-of-way tree permission.
— Whether ordinances adopted after July 1, 2025 changed any of this. The Municode edition of the North Las Vegas code is codified only through that date, which is the most stale of any Nevada city examined.
— The direct phone number and email for the Municipal Forester, and the street address of the Parks and Recreation administrative office. Neither is published; the address given above is the City Hall address and was not confirmed on a city page during this review.
— Whether Southern Nevada Water Authority turf rules or Nevada AB 356 (2021) impose anything on tree removal or replacement in North Las Vegas.

Sources

Who to contact in North Las Vegas

Municipal Forester, City of North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Department. NLVMC 12.15.020 defines "Director" as "the Director of Parks and Recreation or his/her designee for the City of North Las Vegas," and NLVMC 12.15.030 gives the Municipal Forester "the responsibility for the implementation of municipal tree operations."

City of North Las Vegas main line, which routes Parks and Recreation and the Municipal Forester: (702) 633-1000. Fax (702) 649-3846. TDD access for accessible content: (800) 326-6868. The City does not publish a separate forestry direct line, an after-hours tree line or a 311 code. Official page

City of North Las Vegas, 2250 Las Vegas Blvd. North, North Las Vegas, NV 89030

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Size threshold

What's protected in North Las Vegas

City trees. NLVMC 12.15.020 defines a "Public tree" or "City tree" as "any tree which is located within any public park, City easement, or on any other City-owned property or right-of-way," and NLVMC 12.15.070 states simply: "No unauthorized person shall injure, deface or destroy any City tree by any means."

Trees in the public street or right-of-way. NLVMC 12.15.110: "No person shall remove or replace any tree in the City in or upon any public street or right-of-way without having first obtained permission from the Municipal Forester or Director or designee, as required by this chapter." The same section adds that anyone who damages a city tree "due to the individual's intentional or negligent act shall pay the City the actual costs to the City related to the removal, replacement, or mitigation of the damaged City tree."

Significant trees on qualifying development sites only. NLVMC 17.24.030.D.1.vi: "It is the responsibility of the property owner to preserve and maintain any significant tree. Where a significant tree is not preserved or not maintained, it shall be replaced at a ratio of two replacement trees for every one inch in caliper of the significant tree either on the subject property or off-site as permitted by the City." The applicability clause at 17.24.030.D is what keeps this off a normal house: the standards "shall apply to all multifamily, mixed-use, commercial, and industrial developments greater than one acre and all single and two-family residential projects of more than five dwelling units."

Native vegetation along washes, again as a development standard. NLVMC 17.24.030.D.3: "Native vegetation within twenty-five (25) feet of the defined bank of a wash shall be preserved unless the City approves an alternative naturalized landscaping/drainage plan."

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee is set in Chapter 12.15 for the right-of-way tree permission. The one dollar figure in the code that touches tree work is a business license fee on the contractor, not the homeowner: NLVMC 5.02.280, "Tree Toppers. For each tree topper, one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) annually. Tree toppers digging up or removing tree stumps shall require a state license."

Penalties

Chapter 12.15 sets no fine of its own. Its financial consequence is restitution: NLVMC 12.15.110 requires anyone who damages a city tree intentionally or negligently to "pay the City the actual costs to the City related to the removal, replacement, or mitigation of the damaged City tree." For vegetation encroaching from private land, NLVMC 12.08.300.D provides that if you ignore the order the City may do the work "at the expense of such property owner; and the City shall have a lien therefor upon the property chargeable therewith until paid," and the Council may direct the assessor to levy the cost as a tax on the next assessment roll.

Ordinance

North Las Vegas Municipal Code Chapter 12.15 (Urban Forestry and Tree Protection), Title 12 (Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places). Every section carries the same derivation and it is recent: Ord. No. 3255, section 1, adopted December 4, 2024. The zoning provision is NLVMC 17.24.030 (Natural Resources), Chapter 17.24 (Development Standards), Title 17 (Zoning Ordinance), from Ord. No. 2591, section 1, adopted June 15, 2011, effective October 1, 2011. Note the codification lag: the Municode edition of the North Las Vegas code is stated as current only through "Ordinances passed and adopted on or before July 1, 2025" (Supp. No. 145), so anything adopted in the last year may not appear.

Worth knowing

A contradiction worth knowing about rather than resolving. NLVMC 12.15.055 says the City is "providing for the preservation of historical trees existing within the City" and lists five ways a tree can qualify as a heritage tree, including that it "Is of significant size to warrant protection" - and that section never says the tree must be on public land. But the chapter's stated purpose is limited to trees on publicly-owned property, and every operative prohibition in the chapter names a "City tree." As written, the heritage tree section states criteria without attaching any private-property prohibition or permit to them. If your tree is old, large or associated with a historic site, ask the Municipal Forester directly.
The city cannot be made to cut a healthy tree for you. NLVMC 12.15.100: "No healthy City tree will be removed in response to complaints about leaves, pine cones, pine needles, fruit, or seed debris or other perceived annoyance affecting non-City property adjacent to the City tree."
North Las Vegas is the one Nevada city found so far that regulates the tree crew rather than the tree. NLVMC 5.02.280 charges a "Tree Topper" 150 dollars a year for a city business license and notes that stump work requires a state license. Ask to see both before you hire.
Topping is defined tightly. NLVMC 12.15.020: "Topping means the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than three inches in diameter within the tree's crown to such a degree that the tree's canopy is removed or the tree is disfigured." NLVMC 12.15.060 makes topping a public tree improper practice.
Overhanging branches are your problem and there are hard numbers. NLVMC 12.08.300.B requires vegetation on private property to be trimmed to the back of the sidewalk and at least ten feet above it, at least sixteen feet above the street, and at least six feet clear of streetlight wires, poles and luminaires. Subsection C gives you twenty days from the mailing of an order to comply.
The city measures trees by CALIPER, not DBH, and does not say where on the trunk. NLVMC 17.24.030 uses caliper throughout ("a caliper of eight inches or more," "two replacement trees for every one inch in caliper") without stating a measuring height, which is unusual and worth clarifying with Planning if a number matters to your project.
Master-planned and association-governed neighborhoods are common in North Las Vegas, and an association can require architectural approval to remove a tree that the City does not regulate at all. The city not requiring a permit is not the same as being free to cut.

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.

— How the heritage tree provision at NLVMC 12.15.055 is applied in practice, and whether any tree has actually been designated. The City publishes no heritage tree register.
— The list NLVMC 17.24.030.D.1.ii requires - "the mature dimensions of all typical local protected species" - which is the document that decides whether a given tree is "significant." It is not published online.
— The measuring height for caliper in NLVMC 17.24.030. The section never states one.
— The application form, processing time and any fee for the NLVMC 12.15.110 right-of-way tree permission.
— Whether ordinances adopted after July 1, 2025 changed any of this. The Municode edition of the North Las Vegas code is codified only through that date, which is the most stale of any Nevada city examined.
— The direct phone number and email for the Municipal Forester, and the street address of the Parks and Recreation administrative office. Neither is published; the address given above is the City Hall address and was not confirmed on a city page during this review.
— Whether Southern Nevada Water Authority turf rules or Nevada AB 356 (2021) impose anything on tree removal or replacement in North Las Vegas.