Do you need a permit?
Yes — a permit is required
St. Petersburg requires a permit to remove a code-protected tree on private property, and the threshold is low — 4 inches DBH for a shade tree, 8 inches for an understory tree. The only exemption the city recognises is the Florida state one: an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect documenting that the tree poses an unacceptable risk. Unprotected and prohibited species can go without a permit.
Size threshold
Sec. 16.90.020: a protected tree is any shade tree 4" DBH or larger and any understory tree 8" DBH or larger not identified as unprotected or prohibited. A "Grand tree" is any protected tree 30" DBH or larger, excluding laurel oaks.
What's protected in St. Petersburg
- Protected trees — shade 4" DBH or larger, understory 8" DBH or larger
- Grand trees — 30" DBH or larger, excluding laurel oaks
- Signature trees — Royal Poinciana or Jacaranda 8" DBH or larger, Kapok or Banyan 30" DBH or larger
- Native palms with four feet or more of clear trunk
How to apply in St. Petersburg
- 1
Submit the Tree Removal Application through the Building Permit Portal or by email to trees@stpete.org.
- 2
On the site sketch, circle all trees, identify species and diameter, label which are proposed for removal and which remain, and include a north arrow.
- 3
Pay the $25 initial inspection fee. Staff aim to inspect within two weeks of payment.
- 4
Once the City arborist approves the inspection, pay the permit fee.
- 5
Post the issued permit so it is clearly visible from the street. Permits are valid for six months.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Fee
- One- and two-unit properties: $25.00 application and evaluation, $25.00 removal permit issuance. Three or more units and nonresidential: $25.00 application, $45.00 issuance for the first two trees, $10.00 each additional. Grand tree permits: trimming $40.00; removal $75.00 (1-2 family) or $125.00 (3+ units and nonresidential).
- Penalties
- Sec. 16.40.060.5.6: a fine of $500.00 per conviction. An after-the-fact permit may issue if you can show removal would have been approved anyway; if not, you are in violation. After-the-fact fees: $150.00 per tree for the first 12 inches on one- and two-unit property, plus $50.00 per inch above 12" capped at $500.00; $1,000.00 for an after-the-fact Grand tree removal.
- Ordinance
- St. Petersburg City Code Chapter 16, Section 16.40.060.5 (Tree protection), definitions at 16.90.020, fees at Sec. 12-6
Worth knowing
- The city describes the Fla. Stat. 163.045 exemption in detail on its website, though it does not appear in the codified ordinance. All three conditions must be met: signed documentation from an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect based on an onsite assessment following BMP Tree Risk Assessment 2nd Ed. (2017); a finding of unacceptable risk; and a single-family detached residential property.
- The city asks residents to email qualifying documentation to trees@stpete.org so it can track the exemption and avoid unnecessary compliance actions.
- The city employs an on-staff ISA Certified Arborist who performs the assessment for the $25 inspection fee.
- Unprotected species may be removed without a permit — Avocado, Camphor, Cherry laurel, Citrus, Ear, Eucalyptus, Ficus, Italian cypress, Jacaranda, Kapok, Loquat, Mango, Norfolk Island pine, Orchid tree, Royal Poinciana, Silk oak and others. Note large Jacaranda, Royal Poinciana, Banyan and Kapok cross into Signature tree status and do need a permit.
- A permit is also required to trim any branch 8 inches or greater in diameter on a Grand tree.
- Not more than one-quarter of a tree's canopy may be trimmed in any year unless it is dead.
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.
- — Which phone number is current — the live city page and the March 2025 application say 727-463-5680; a 2022 handout the city still links says (727) 893-7471.
- — Whether a separate street-tree or right-of-way removal permit exists outside Section 16.40.060.