Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Oshkosh regulates public trees. Section 26-7(1) requires a written permit from the City Forester to "plant, remove, maintain or protect any Public Tree or Shrub," and Public Trees are defined as those on public property - rights-of-way, parks, and other city land. No permit is required to remove a tree from your own yard. The chapter does reach onto private property in one direction: a dead, diseased or infested tree there is a declared public nuisance, and the City Forester can order it removed and bill you, with one narrow carve-out for land zoned conservancy.
Size threshold
None. Chapter 26 sets no diameter, DBH or caliper trigger. The only size language is definitional, at Section 26-2(7): "Tree" shall mean a woody plant usually with a single stem un-branched at the base, reaching a height of twelve feet or more," and 26-2(8): "Shrub" shall mean a woody plant usually with multiple stems branched at or near the base, reaching a height of less than twelve feet."
What's protected in Oshkosh
- Public trees and shrubs - "any tree or shrub as herein defined, presently or hereafter planted in or upon any public property." Section 26-2(5): "Public Property" shall include all rights-of-way, parks, and other lands owned, controlled, or leased by the city."
- Street trees, which is the terrace. Section 26-2(10): "Street tree" shall mean any public tree presently of hereafter located in the public right-of-way between the curb and public sidewalk, or between the curbs of a median strip, or equivalent location with respect to future curb, sidewalk or median strips where such curbs or sidewalk are not yet installed."
- Dead, diseased or infested trees on public or private property. Section 26-5(1)(a) declares a public nuisance "Any tree or shrub or part thereof located upon any public or private property except in any area zoned conservancy, is infected with an infectious plant disease, is infested with injurious insects or pests, is injurious to public improvements, is dead or cannot substantially support foliage, or endangers the life, health or safety of persons or property."
- Elm, oak and ash by name. Section 26-5(1)(b) covers Dutch elm disease, (c) covers oak wilt in both the red oak and white oak groups, and (d) covers ash colonized "to any degree with the Emerald Ash Borer, Ash Bark Beetle, Flatheaded Appletree Borer, Clearwing Ash Borer or Red-headed Ash Borer."
- Anything over 30 inches tall in a Clear-vision triangle, defined by Section 26-2(1) as the triangle formed by intersecting curb lines and a third line 30 feet in each direction from the curb line intersection.
How to apply in Oshkosh
- 1
These steps are for a public tree. A tree behind your lot line needs no permit.
- 2
Section 26-7(2): apply in writing to the City Forester, specifying the location and description of the proposed work.
- 3
The Forester weighs "the safety, health, and welfare of the public, location of utilities, public sidewalks, driveways and street lights, general character and aesthetic quality of the area... and the soil conditions and physiological needs of the tree or shrub."
- 4
Section 26-7(3): the permit is issued on a standard form, describes the work, specifies genus, species, variety, size, grade and location of anything to be planted, and carries "an expiration date not to exceed six (6) months after the date of issuance."
- 5
Section 26-7(4): no permit is required to water or fertilize a public tree, or "to take the necessary action to guard the public safety or clear the public way in the event of a storm, accident or other emergency."
- 6
Removal work has to finish the job: Section 26-7(5)(c) requires stumps and roots that elevate sidewalks or boulevards to be ground out "to a depth suitable for the future planting of trees, shrubs, or turf," the hole filled with mineral topsoil, tamped, and seeded.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Penalties
- Section 26-13: "(1) Every person convicted of a violation of this section shall suffer forfeiture not to exceed $500.00 together with the costs of prosecution, and in default of payment assessed imprisonment for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days in the county jail. (2) In addition to the forfeiture the city may require restitution for the fair market value of the tree(s) and/ or shrub(s) which were damaged or destroyed as result of violation of this ordinance."
- Ordinance
- City of Oshkosh Municipal Code chapter 26 - Trees and Vegetation, Sections 26-1 through 26-14. Every section carries the history line "Chapter 26 - Trees and Vegetation, Revised 03/14/17." Sections 26-4 (City Forester) and 26-12 (Appeal From Order of the City Forester) carry an additional line: "Ordinance 26-20, Passed 03/31/26," so the chapter was touched again in March 2026. Section 26-3 adopts by reference "City of Oshkosh Forestry Specifications for Construction on Public Lands" and "ANSI A300 11 American National Standard for Tree Care Operations," each "in its entirety and on file in the City Forester's office." The code snapshot used here was published July 15, 2026.
Worth knowing
- The private-property nuisance rule is the one that generates letters. Section 26-5(1)(d)(2): "No person shall permit any public nuisance as defined in subsection (1) of this section to remain in or upon any premises owned or leased by that person within the city." Notice under Section 26-5(2)(b) must specify "the nature and exact location of the nuisance, the manner in which the nuisance shall be abated, and the time limit in which the nuisance shall be abated which shall not be less than fifteen (15) days after the issuance of said notice unless the City Forester shall determine that immediate action is necessary for the public safety."
- A private tree overhanging a street or park is abated through the nuisance chapter, not the tree chapter. Section 26-5(2)(c) routes those to Article IV of Chapter 17.
- You may not top a public tree even with a permit in hand for other work. Section 26-6(1)(c) separately bars anyone from "Top or make topping cuts on any Public Tree" without the Forester's written permission, and Section 26-2(11) defines topping to include "heading, hat racking, dehorning or rounding over."
- Clearance heights are higher than most: 16 feet above the travel portion of a public street and 8 feet above a public sidewalk, for trees on private premises adjacent to the right-of-way as well as in it.
- Conifers are banned on the terrace, along with poplars, ailanthus, catalpa, mountain ash, box elder, silver maple, willow, white bark birch and black locust. New street trees must be at least one inch in diameter, no closer than two feet to the curb, ten feet from any driveway or fire hydrant, and 25 feet apart.
- The city treats and marks trees on a published Pruning Zone Map and runs a Memorial Tree Program; both are linked from the Forestry page.
- Oshkosh does not license tree services. A sweep of the code found no tree, arborist or trimmer license; the only comparable requirement is a Street Obstruction License if the work blocks a sidewalk, terrace or public way.
- Appeals go through a conference first. Section 26-12 gives you 10 days to object in writing and request a conference with the City Forester and the Director of Public Works Operations, then 10 more days to appeal to the Board of Public Works, which must hear it within 30 days.
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 permit fee. Chapter 26 sets none and the Forestry page publishes none.
- — What "except in any area zoned conservancy" in Section 26-5(1)(a) actually exempts. The phrase carves conservancy-zoned land out of the private-property nuisance rule, but the code does not explain the effect and Oshkosh does not publish guidance on it.
- — The contents of the City of Oshkosh Forestry Specifications for Construction on Public Lands, which Section 26-3 makes part of the ordinance and keeps on file in the Forester's office rather than publishing.
- — What Ordinance 26-20, passed March 31, 2026, changed. It is cited only under Sections 26-4 and 26-12, and the ordinance text was not retrieved.
- — Whether emerald ash borer caused the March 2017 revision. Section 26-5(1)(d) names five ash borers, but no city document states the reason for the revision.
- — A direct email address for the Forestry Division. The city routes contact through a web form.
- — Whether the zoning code adds any private tree permit. Chapter 30's landscaping standards are development requirements administered through Site Plan review, and the only tree-preservation language found lets the Director of Community Development allow substitutions based on "The preservation of existing trees" - which is a discretion, not a permit.