Tree Removal Permits in Phoenix, AZ

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

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Phoenix has no tree removal permit for private residential property. The city's protected native plant rules live in the Zoning Ordinance's development review chapter and are triggered by a construction project, not by owning a desert tree, and the Planning and Development Department states plainly that it reviews landscape plans "for commercial, industrial and subdivision projects." The state Native Plant Law does not reach you either, because A.R.S. 3-904(H) exempts built residential lots of ten acres or less. Three things can change the answer: a Desert Character overlay, a hillside designation, or a recorded natural-open-space tract or rezoning stipulation on your parcel.

Size threshold

The 4-inch and 3-foot figures people quote for Phoenix come from the development review guidelines, not from a homeowner rule. Zoning Ordinance section 507 Tab A: "Development should minimize the removal of existing healthy Sonoran Desert vegetation (trees over 4" caliper in diameter) and cacti over 3'." The same section defines "PROTECTED NATIVE PLANTS shall mean cacti, which are three (3) feet, or greater in height and trees which are four (4) inches or greater in caliper of the following species." Note the marker (P) on that guideline: section 507.D makes (P) a rebuttable presumption, not a requirement (R).

What's protected in Phoenix

Protected native trees at 4 inches caliper or more, in a development review context: whitethorn acacia, catclaw acacia, red barberry, crucifixion thorn, hackberry, blue palo verde, foothill palo verde, desert willow, juniper, ironwood, cottonwood, mesquite, scrub oak, sugar sumac, Arizona rosewood.
Protected cacti at 3 feet or more, same context: saguaro, barrel, ocotillo, night-blooming cereus.
Desert Character Overlay Districts, Zoning Ordinance section 653 — this one is a hard requirement and it binds ongoing conduct: "Native Sonoran Desert vegetation shall not be pruned or removed from areas identified as permanent undisturbed open space or outside of building/construction envelopes. Dead trees or cacti are not to be removed unless they are within a distance where, if they fall, they may cause harm to improvements within the built environment."
Hillside development areas — City Code section 32-32: "No clearing, grubbing or grading shall be permitted within the hillside development area as defined in Section 710.B of the Zoning Ordinance except in accordance with a site grading and drainage plan approved by the Planning and Development Department."
Recorded natural open space tracts and parcel-specific rezoning stipulations. Phoenix's own Desert Preservation and Fire Protection Guide asks whether dead vegetation may be removed from natural open space for fire protection and answers "No."
Trees in parks, boulevards, alleys and streets — City Code section 34-15 makes it unlawful for any person to "cut, trim, remove, injure or interfere with" them.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee, because no permit applies in the ordinary residential case.
Penalties: Zoning Ordinance violations are class 1 misdemeanors with a minimum fine of $100, rising to a $250 minimum for a second violation within 36 months and $500 for a third; the City Attorney may instead pursue a civil sanction of not less than $100 and not more than $2,500. Each day may be a separate offense. City Code violations with no specific penalty, which is the category section 34-15 falls into, are class 1 misdemeanors under section 1-5 carrying up to $2,500, up to six months imprisonment, or up to three years probation. A lot graded without a valid grading permit or beyond an approved hillside plan "shall be restored to natural grade and revegetated," and further building permits can be withheld.
Ordinance: Phoenix Zoning Ordinance section 507 and Tab A (native plant preservation, development review) and section 653 (Desert Character Overlay Districts); Phoenix City Code Chapter 34 (Trees and Vegetation), section 23-32 (encroachment) and section 32-32 (hillside). The Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance G-7461, passed December 3, 2025. The City Code is current through Ordinance G-7524, passed June 17, 2026.

Worth knowing

Phoenix City Code Chapter 34 is titled "Trees and Vegetation" and sounds like it should govern your yard. It does not. It is a special-assessment mechanism for the city to plant and maintain trees in the strip between sidewalk and roadway, and its one prohibition covers public land.
The duty runs the other way for overgrowth. City Code section 23-32: "It shall be unlawful for any person to permit trees, shrubs or bushes growing upon their property to encroach and interfere with a traffic control device, the passage of persons or vehicles, or the flow of drainage water over or on any public right-of-way or easement."
Phoenix bans planting pollen-producing varieties of olive and mulberry. Existing ones are grandfathered, so this is a planting rule, not a removal rule.
Zoning Ordinance section 507.C is why an established house is not sitting inside an open development obligation: "Development which existed at the time of annexation, or for which all required permits were issued by the City, is assumed to have a valid development review plan, even if no approved site plan exists."
Phoenix's code is published by Code Publishing at phoenix.municipal.codes, not by American Legal. Anything citing an amlegal Phoenix URL is pointing at a dead link.
CC&Rs are a separate private layer. Phoenix's own guide tells residents to check them before clearing, and the city does not enforce them.
If you do fall outside the state's 10-acre residential exemption, or you want to move or sell a protected plant rather than destroy it, the office is the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Plant Services Division, 1010 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007, scheduling desk (602) 542-3578, by appointment. Department main line (602) 542-4373.

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 Historic Preservation districts restrict tree or landscape removal on designated properties. Zoning Ordinance Chapter 8 and the HP overlay were not audited.
— Parcel-specific zoning stipulations, PAD or specific-plan conditions, and recorded plat natural-open-space tracts. These are per-property and are the single biggest reason to call 602-262-7131 with your address before you cut.
— Whether Street Transportation will administratively permit a homeowner to remove a right-of-way tree in front of their own house. The code writes only a utility-interference pathway.
— Whether the "City Forester" position named in City Code section 34-15 still exists and which department houses it.
— Dollar fees for the development-side salvage permit and landscape plan review. The PDD fee schedule PDF is an image scan with no extractable text — call Payments and Submittals at 602-534-5934.
— No page on phoenix.gov states affirmatively that no permit is required to remove a tree on private property. This entry rests on the absence of any such requirement across the full code plus the department's own statement scoping landscape review to commercial, industrial and subdivision projects.

Sources

Who to contact in Phoenix

Zoning Division, Planning and Development Department, City of Phoenix

602-262-7131 (the Desert Preservation guide adds "Option 6" for zoning-stipulation questions). PDD main line 602-262-7811. Street and right-of-way trees: Street Transportation Department, 602-262-6284, or the 24/7 maintenance line 602-262-6441. zoning@phoenix.gov Official page

200 West Washington Street, Second Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85003

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Size threshold

What's protected in Phoenix

Protected native trees at 4 inches caliper or more, in a development review context: whitethorn acacia, catclaw acacia, red barberry, crucifixion thorn, hackberry, blue palo verde, foothill palo verde, desert willow, juniper, ironwood, cottonwood, mesquite, scrub oak, sugar sumac, Arizona rosewood.

Protected cacti at 3 feet or more, same context: saguaro, barrel, ocotillo, night-blooming cereus.

Desert Character Overlay Districts, Zoning Ordinance section 653 — this one is a hard requirement and it binds ongoing conduct: "Native Sonoran Desert vegetation shall not be pruned or removed from areas identified as permanent undisturbed open space or outside of building/construction envelopes. Dead trees or cacti are not to be removed unless they are within a distance where, if they fall, they may cause harm to improvements within the built environment."

Hillside development areas — City Code section 32-32: "No clearing, grubbing or grading shall be permitted within the hillside development area as defined in Section 710.B of the Zoning Ordinance except in accordance with a site grading and drainage plan approved by the Planning and Development Department."

Recorded natural open space tracts and parcel-specific rezoning stipulations. Phoenix's own Desert Preservation and Fire Protection Guide asks whether dead vegetation may be removed from natural open space for fire protection and answers "No."

Trees in parks, boulevards, alleys and streets — City Code section 34-15 makes it unlawful for any person to "cut, trim, remove, injure or interfere with" them.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee, because no permit applies in the ordinary residential case.

Penalties

Zoning Ordinance violations are class 1 misdemeanors with a minimum fine of $100, rising to a $250 minimum for a second violation within 36 months and $500 for a third; the City Attorney may instead pursue a civil sanction of not less than $100 and not more than $2,500. Each day may be a separate offense. City Code violations with no specific penalty, which is the category section 34-15 falls into, are class 1 misdemeanors under section 1-5 carrying up to $2,500, up to six months imprisonment, or up to three years probation. A lot graded without a valid grading permit or beyond an approved hillside plan "shall be restored to natural grade and revegetated," and further building permits can be withheld.

Ordinance

Phoenix Zoning Ordinance section 507 and Tab A (native plant preservation, development review) and section 653 (Desert Character Overlay Districts); Phoenix City Code Chapter 34 (Trees and Vegetation), section 23-32 (encroachment) and section 32-32 (hillside). The Zoning Ordinance is current through Ordinance G-7461, passed December 3, 2025. The City Code is current through Ordinance G-7524, passed June 17, 2026.

Worth knowing

Phoenix City Code Chapter 34 is titled "Trees and Vegetation" and sounds like it should govern your yard. It does not. It is a special-assessment mechanism for the city to plant and maintain trees in the strip between sidewalk and roadway, and its one prohibition covers public land.
The duty runs the other way for overgrowth. City Code section 23-32: "It shall be unlawful for any person to permit trees, shrubs or bushes growing upon their property to encroach and interfere with a traffic control device, the passage of persons or vehicles, or the flow of drainage water over or on any public right-of-way or easement."
Phoenix bans planting pollen-producing varieties of olive and mulberry. Existing ones are grandfathered, so this is a planting rule, not a removal rule.
Zoning Ordinance section 507.C is why an established house is not sitting inside an open development obligation: "Development which existed at the time of annexation, or for which all required permits were issued by the City, is assumed to have a valid development review plan, even if no approved site plan exists."
Phoenix's code is published by Code Publishing at phoenix.municipal.codes, not by American Legal. Anything citing an amlegal Phoenix URL is pointing at a dead link.
CC&Rs are a separate private layer. Phoenix's own guide tells residents to check them before clearing, and the city does not enforce them.
If you do fall outside the state's 10-acre residential exemption, or you want to move or sell a protected plant rather than destroy it, the office is the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Plant Services Division, 1010 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007, scheduling desk (602) 542-3578, by appointment. Department main line (602) 542-4373.

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 Historic Preservation districts restrict tree or landscape removal on designated properties. Zoning Ordinance Chapter 8 and the HP overlay were not audited.
— Parcel-specific zoning stipulations, PAD or specific-plan conditions, and recorded plat natural-open-space tracts. These are per-property and are the single biggest reason to call 602-262-7131 with your address before you cut.
— Whether Street Transportation will administratively permit a homeowner to remove a right-of-way tree in front of their own house. The code writes only a utility-interference pathway.
— Whether the "City Forester" position named in City Code section 34-15 still exists and which department houses it.
— Dollar fees for the development-side salvage permit and landscape plan review. The PDD fee schedule PDF is an image scan with no extractable text — call Payments and Submittals at 602-534-5934.
— No page on phoenix.gov states affirmatively that no permit is required to remove a tree on private property. This entry rests on the absence of any such requirement across the full code plus the department's own statement scoping landscape review to commercial, industrial and subdivision projects.