Do you need a permit?
No permit required for most private trees
Scranton's tree ordinance says so itself, in one sentence: it does not pertain to private property. The rules cover trees in the right-of-way, in parks and on other city-owned ground, and removing one of those needs permission from the Shade Tree Commission or the City Forester. The one part that follows you onto your own lot is the contractor rule — it is unlawful in Scranton for anyone to run a tree removal, pruning, stump removal or planting business without registering with the Pennsylvania Attorney General under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, and that applies to work on private property too.
What's protected in Scranton
- Trees in the right-of-way. Section 434-4 defines TREES as "Trees now or hereafter growing along the City of Scranton's right-of-way, on any city street, highway, lane, alley or avenue (normally such trees are situated between curb and sidewalk) and trees on public parks and places owned by the City of Scranton."
- Trees in city parks and on all other grounds the City of Scranton owns in fee simple.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Penalties
- Section 434-5B: "Any person violating any of the provisions of Subsection A above shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $250 per violation." Section 434-6B, for unregistered tree contractors: "Any person violating any provisions of Subsection A above shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $500 per violation."
- Ordinance
- Code of the City of Scranton, Chapter 434 — Trees and Weeds, adopted 9-26-1979 as Ch. 34 of the 1979 Code. Article II (Trees), sections 434-3 through 434-6, was added by Ord. No. 4-1981 and amended 6-2-2003 by Ord. No. 165-2003. The Shade Tree Commission is established at Chapter 18, Article V, adopted as Ord. No. 39-1980. Chapter 445 (Zoning) was adopted 5-9-2023 by Ord. No. 54-2023, repealing the 1993 zoning ordinance. Code current through legislation of 12-16-2025.
Worth knowing
- The decisive sentence, section 434-5A: "This article contains rules and regulation pertaining to street, highway, lane, alley or avenue trees solely within the right-of-way of such streets, highways, lanes and avenues within the City of Scranton as well as trees on public parks and all other grounds for which the City of Scranton has record ownership. This article does not pertain to private property, except as stated in section 434-6 only."
- The contractor rule is section 434-6A, and it is the exception that does reach your yard: "It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to engage in the business of tree removal, tree pruning, stump removal and tree planting without first registering with the Office of Attorney General, Business of Consumer Protection, as required by the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, 73 P.S. section 517.1 et seq. ('HICPA'). The requirement is applied on work being performed either on private property or publicly owned property."
- The same section sets minimum insurance for tree services: "Liability insurance in the minimum amount of $500,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for property damage. In addition, worker's compensation insurance shall also be required." Ask to see both before you hire.
- For a right-of-way or park tree, section 434-5A(9) is absolute: "It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or city department to remove any tree without first obtaining permission from the Shade Tree Commission and/or City Forester." Planting one there also needs permission, under subsection (2).
- Topping is banned on regulated trees. Section 434-5A(3) defines it as "the severe cutting back of limbs to stubs larger than five inches in diameter within the tree's top to such a degree so as to remove the normal canopy and disfigure the tree," with exceptions the Shade Tree Commission or City Forester may allow for storm-damaged, diseased or utility-constrained trees.
- Section 434-5A(11) puts leaf, twig and branch cleanup from the sidewalk on the property owner.
- Section 434-2 makes it a nuisance for anyone to pull up, break, injure or destroy "any plant, vegetable, flower, tree or shrubbery ... without the consent of the owner thereof" — which is the provision that protects your yard tree from a neighbour, not from the city.
- The city's cross-reference is stale: Chapter 434 points to "Shade Tree Commission - See Ch. 18, Art. VI," but Article VI is now the Blighted Property Review Committee, re-adopted in its entirety 7-22-2025 by Ord. No. 86-2025. The Shade Tree Commission is at Chapter 18, Article V.
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 Scranton charges a fee for permission to remove a right-of-way or park tree. The code sets no fee and the city publishes none.
- — The application form, submission channel and turnaround time for Shade Tree Commission or City Forester permission. Chapter 434 requires permission but describes no process.
- — Whether the Shade Tree Commission currently has appointed members and is meeting. The commission is established by ordinance but the city website does not list it among active boards.
- — Replacement or mitigation requirements after an approved removal of a right-of-way tree.
- — The 2023 zoning ordinance (Chapter 445) contains landscaping, street tree and buffer requirements that attach to development and site plan review. We found no provision in it requiring a permit for a homeowner to remove an existing tree on a developed residential lot, but we did not read every article in full.