Do you need a permit?
It depends on the tree
San Jose regulates trees on private property by size and by what kind of lot you are on. On a single-family or duplex lot you need a Tree Removal Permit for any "ordinance-size" tree — 38 inches or more in trunk circumference measured 4.5 feet above the ground, which works out to about 12.1 inches in diameter — and that holds even if the tree is dead. On multifamily, commercial, industrial, or mixed-use property, or in a common area, you need a permit for a tree of any size. Below ordinance size on a single-family or duplex lot, with no street tree or heritage tree involved, you can remove it without a permit.
Size threshold
City of San Jose: "An ordinance-size tree on private property is either: Single Trunk - 38 inches or more in circumference at 4 1/2 feet above ground, or Multi-trunk - The combined measurements of each trunk circumference, at 4 1/2 feet above ground, add up to 38 inches or more in circumference." The city adds: "A 38-inch tree equals 12.1 inches in diameter." San Jose Municipal Code Sec. 13.32.020(L) states the same threshold as "thirty-eight (38) inches or more in circumference at a height of fifty-four (54) inches above natural grade slope."
What's protected in San Jose
- Any ordinance-size tree, live or dead, on a single-family or duplex lot
- Any tree of any size on multifamily, commercial, industrial, or mixed-use property, or in a common area
- Street trees in the public right-of-way, which can extend up to 12 feet from the curb in some locations
- Heritage trees — more than 100 trees on the City Council-adopted Heritage Tree List, designated for size, history, unusual species, or unique quality
- Unsuitable Trees (a lighter permit path, single-family lots only): Eucalyptus, Liquidambar, Pine, Tree of Heaven, Tulip tree, and Palm tree unless in the Palm Haven Conservation Area
How to apply in San Jose
- 1
Speak with a planner at 408-535-3555 before removing any size tree on the property types the city lists.
- 2
Fill out the Tree Removal Permit Application linked from the city's tree removal permits page.
- 3
Attach a tree description table and a site plan on an 8.5x11 sheet showing property lines, street name, all structures to scale, and all trees labeled to match the table; plus a color photograph of each entire tree printed on 8.5x11 paper.
- 4
Pay the non-refundable fee where one applies, by check to the City of San Jose. An arborist report is not automatically required; staff will tell you if one is needed.
- 5
Dead, dying, or diseased trees need a signed certified arborist report; the Director decides, with no public notice, no hearing, and no appeal. Unsuitable Trees follow the same streamlined path without the arborist report.
- 6
Live ordinance-size trees removed for other reasons trigger a ten-day public notice period: the city mails notices and you post one in the front yard. If anyone requests it during that window, a Director's Hearing is held.
- 7
An imminent hazard supported by a signed certified arborist report may qualify for a same-day over-the-counter permit at the Development Services Permit Center, Monday to Friday 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- Planning Application Filing Fee Schedule effective August 11, 2025, with the 11.97% Citywide Planning Fee shown separately: Dead Tree $497 + $59 (each additional tree $30 + $3); Unsuitable Tree $398 + $47 (each additional $30 + $3); Live Trees on single-family and two-family/duplex properties $2,587 + $309; Live Trees on all other properties $2,985 + $357; Heritage Trees $13,185 + $1,578. Off-Site Tree Replacement Fee is $1,000 per required 15-gallon replacement tree. Appealing a Tree Removal Permit costs $0.
- Penalties
- The city states that pruning or removing a street tree without a permit can draw fines up to $15,000 per tree, and pruning or removing a heritage tree without a permit up to $30,000 per tree. SJMC Sec. 13.28.220(B) sets the heritage-tree civil penalty at "an amount up to thirty thousand dollars for each such tree so vandalized, mutilated, removed or destroyed within a three-year period." SJMC Sec. 13.32.060 subjects unlawful removal of a live or dead tree to administrative citation and a fine set by City Council resolution. Applications for a Live Tree Removal Permit where the tree was already removed without a permit are subject to double the replacement ratios.
- Ordinance
- San Jose Municipal Code Title 13, Chapter 13.32 — Tree Removal Controls (Secs. 13.32.010–13.32.150), with street trees under Chapter 13.28 — Street Trees, Hedges and Shrubs. Code current through Ordinance No. 31330, enacted June 16, 2026.
Worth knowing
- Dead trees are not exempt on single-family and duplex lots. The city is explicit: a permit is required to remove an ordinance-size tree "even if it is unhealthy or dead."
- "Remove" is defined broadly in SJMC Sec. 13.32.020 to include excessive pruning, cutting, girdling, poisoning or watering, and excessive excavation, alteration or grading of the soil within the dripline.
- A permit is considered for approval only if the tree is a safety hazard, is dead, dying or diseased, is unsuitable, or restricts economic development and proposed improvement of a parcel.
- Replacement ratios scale with trunk size: at 38 inches or more, native 5:1, non-native 4:1, orchard 3:1; from 19 up to 38 inches, native 3:1, non-native 2:1; under 19 inches, 1:1. Minimum 15-gallon; a 24-inch box counts as two 15-gallon trees. Single-family and two-dwelling properties may mitigate at 1:1.
- The 38-inch figure does not change by zoning. What changes by zoning is which trees need a permit at all: ordinance-size only on single-family and duplex lots, any size elsewhere (a Permit Adjustment covers under-size trees on those other lots).
- Street tree pruning permits from the Department of Transportation are free.
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 specific dollar amount of the administrative fine set by City Council resolution under SJMC Sec. 13.32.060.
- — The current adopted resolutions containing the full Heritage Tree List and the full List of Unsuitable Trees. Only the city web page summaries were read.
- — A Planning Division email address for tree removal permit questions; the city publishes a phone number only.
- — The street address and full counter hours of the Development Services Permit Center beyond the tree-hazard intake window.
Sources
- City of San Jose Planning Division — Tree Removal Permits
- San Jose Municipal Code Chapter 13.32 — Tree Removal Controls
- San Jose Municipal Code Chapter 13.28 — Street Trees, Hedges and Shrubs
- City of San Jose — Planning Application Filing Fee Schedule, effective August 11, 2025 (PDF)
- City of San Jose Department of Transportation — Street Tree Permits