Tree Removal Permits in Tulsa, OK

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

Do you need a permit?

No permit required for most private trees

Tulsa has exactly one tree permit and it is for PLANTING, not cutting. Title 35 Section 606.B.2 says "A permit is required for the planting of any street tree," and nothing anywhere in the Tulsa Revised Ordinances requires a permit to remove one - on your own property or in the right-of-way. Tulsa in fact pushes the removal duty onto you: Section 606.G.1 makes the owner of property abutting a tree lawn maintain it and "remove any dead tree or any tree or part thereof that is in an unsafe condition." The zoning code's landscaping chapter expressly exempts a one- or two-household lot. The one prohibition to know is topping.

Size threshold

None for removal. The only diameter numbers in Tulsa's tree rules serve other purposes. Topping is defined at Section 606.A as "the cutting back of tree limbs within the tree's crown to stubs larger than three (3) inches in diameter thereby removing the natural canopy and/or disfiguring the tree." A "Tree" for Section 606 means "a woody perennial plant having a well-defined stem or trunk and a definite crown which attains a mature height of at least eight (8) feet." Zoning Subsection 65.080B.4 credits preserved trees on development sites in DBH bands - up to 6 inches, 6 to 12, 12 to 24, and more than 24 inches DBH - but that is a planting credit, not a removal threshold.

What's protected in Tulsa

Street trees and park trees, against topping only. Section 606.H.1: "It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person or for any City department to top any street tree, park tree or other tree on public property." The code official may exempt trees "severely damaged by storms or other causes" and certain trees under utility wires.
Trees in a park. Title 26 makes it an offense to "remove, cut, break, damage, injure or destroy any tree, bush, shrub, plant, vine" in a park area, and Title 26 separately forbids disturbing any tree in a park "by beating, shaking, throwing objects into, ramming, shooting or climbing into any tree."
Preserved trees that earned landscaping credit on a development site. Zoning Subsection 65.080B.4: "If healthy, preserved trees are removed, they must be replaced by the number trees for which credit was given." Tree protection fencing "must consist of orange vinyl construction fencing" at the outer dripline and stay up until work is complete.
Trees that create a nuisance. Title 24 Section 101 lists "Trees damaged or dead to the extent that a limb, tree or part could fall," and Section 103 lists limbs projecting over a public sidewalk or street below the clearance minimum, and sight-triangle obstructions.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee: No fee applies to removal because no removal permit exists. Title 49 (Administrative, Permit, and License Fees) and Title 50 (Annual Permits) contain no tree entry at all. For planting a street tree, Section 606.B.2 says approval of the Infrastructure Development Plan is the permit where an IDP is required and "In all other cases, a License Agreement is the required permit."
Penalties: Title 35 Chapter 7, Section 700: "any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this title shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), including costs. Each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense." Nuisance tree violations are abated under Title 24, which allows remedial civil penalties, summary abatement in an emergency, and recovery of the City's costs.
Ordinance: Tulsa Revised Ordinances Title 35 (Infrastructure Development), Chapter 6, Section 606 (Trees), enacted by Ord. No. 22845, Section 1, March 14, 2013 and amended by Ord. No. 24353, Sections 1 and 2, April 29, 2020 and Ord. No. 24716, Section 1, November 17, 2021. Landscaping and tree preservation credits are in Title 42 (Zoning Code), Chapter 65. Tree nuisances are in Title 24. Tulsa has no title or chapter named "Trees" - Title 54 is literally "(RESERVED)" - so the tree rule sits in the infrastructure title, which is the single most common reason a Tulsa homeowner cannot find it.

Worth knowing

The tree lawn out front is your job, not the City's. Section 606.G.1: "Whenever private property abuts a public right-of-way and there exists in such right-of-way a tree lawn or grassy area between the private property and the pavement of said right-of-way, the owner of the private property shall maintain the trees, plants and shrubs that are planted within that tree lawn or grassy area of the right-of-way and shall remove any dead tree or any tree or part thereof that is in an unsafe condition." Title 24 Section 107 says the same thing from the nuisance side.
The City reserves rights it is not obliged to use. Section 606.G.2 and G.3 give Tulsa "the right but not the obligation" to prune and remove trees in the right-of-way and to remove unsafe or infected trees, and Section 606.K gives the code official "the right but not the obligation" to cause removal of dead or diseased trees on private property under Title 24.
Single-family and duplex lots are out of the landscaping chapter entirely. Section 65.030 expressly exempts "Household living uses consisting of a single household on one lot or two households on one lot (existing or proposed)," along with agricultural uses, public parks and open spaces, and reconstruction after "tornadoes, straight-line winds, ice storms, accidental fire, floods, hail, lightning, or other forces beyond the reasonable control of the property owner."
Tulsa licenses no tree services. Title 21 (Licenses) contains no arborist, tree service or tree trimmer license; the word tree does not appear in it.
Section 606.I still binds you for overhang: "if a tree planted on private property or within the right-of-way abutting private property overhangs any street or right-of-way within the City, the owner of the private property shall prune the branches so that the branches do not obstruct the light from any street lamp or the view of any street intersection."

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 any Tulsa overlay or historic district requires approval for tree work. Zoning Chapter 20 (Overlay Districts) was read and its only tree provisions are river-corridor landscape planting requirements, but the historic preservation review procedures in Chapter 70 were not read for this entry.
— A direct phone number for Tulsa forestry or urban forestry as a named unit. The City routes tree calls through 311 and no separate forestry contact was found on cityoftulsa.org.
— Whether the City charges anything for the Section 606.B.2 street tree License Agreement. No fee for it appears in Title 49 or Title 50.
— Who the "code official" is by title for Section 606 purposes. The definition points to whoever the City designates and no designation document was located.

Sources

Who to contact in Tulsa

City of Tulsa 311 routes tree and right-of-way calls. Section 606.A defines "Code official" as "the person or persons designated by the City to implement the provisions of this chapter"; in practice the Public Works Department handles street maintenance and right-of-way inspections. Street tree planting approvals run through Development Services or Engineering Services "in consultation with the Tulsa Planning Office at INCOG, and relevant public and private utilities" (Section 606.E), and the recommended and prohibited street tree list is maintained by "the director of the Tulsa Planning Office at the Indian Nations Council of Governments."

311 (City of Tulsa customer care line). Tulsa311@cityoftulsa.org Official page

Public Works Department, 175 East 2nd Street, Suite 690, Tulsa, OK 74103

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Size threshold

What's protected in Tulsa

Street trees and park trees, against topping only. Section 606.H.1: "It shall be unlawful as a normal practice for any person or for any City department to top any street tree, park tree or other tree on public property." The code official may exempt trees "severely damaged by storms or other causes" and certain trees under utility wires.

Trees in a park. Title 26 makes it an offense to "remove, cut, break, damage, injure or destroy any tree, bush, shrub, plant, vine" in a park area, and Title 26 separately forbids disturbing any tree in a park "by beating, shaking, throwing objects into, ramming, shooting or climbing into any tree."

Preserved trees that earned landscaping credit on a development site. Zoning Subsection 65.080B.4: "If healthy, preserved trees are removed, they must be replaced by the number trees for which credit was given." Tree protection fencing "must consist of orange vinyl construction fencing" at the outer dripline and stay up until work is complete.

Trees that create a nuisance. Title 24 Section 101 lists "Trees damaged or dead to the extent that a limb, tree or part could fall," and Section 103 lists limbs projecting over a public sidewalk or street below the clearance minimum, and sight-triangle obstructions.

Fees, penalties, and the ordinance

Fee

No fee applies to removal because no removal permit exists. Title 49 (Administrative, Permit, and License Fees) and Title 50 (Annual Permits) contain no tree entry at all. For planting a street tree, Section 606.B.2 says approval of the Infrastructure Development Plan is the permit where an IDP is required and "In all other cases, a License Agreement is the required permit."

Penalties

Title 35 Chapter 7, Section 700: "any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this title shall be guilty of an offense, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), including costs. Each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense." Nuisance tree violations are abated under Title 24, which allows remedial civil penalties, summary abatement in an emergency, and recovery of the City's costs.

Ordinance

Tulsa Revised Ordinances Title 35 (Infrastructure Development), Chapter 6, Section 606 (Trees), enacted by Ord. No. 22845, Section 1, March 14, 2013 and amended by Ord. No. 24353, Sections 1 and 2, April 29, 2020 and Ord. No. 24716, Section 1, November 17, 2021. Landscaping and tree preservation credits are in Title 42 (Zoning Code), Chapter 65. Tree nuisances are in Title 24. Tulsa has no title or chapter named "Trees" - Title 54 is literally "(RESERVED)" - so the tree rule sits in the infrastructure title, which is the single most common reason a Tulsa homeowner cannot find it.

Worth knowing

The tree lawn out front is your job, not the City's. Section 606.G.1: "Whenever private property abuts a public right-of-way and there exists in such right-of-way a tree lawn or grassy area between the private property and the pavement of said right-of-way, the owner of the private property shall maintain the trees, plants and shrubs that are planted within that tree lawn or grassy area of the right-of-way and shall remove any dead tree or any tree or part thereof that is in an unsafe condition." Title 24 Section 107 says the same thing from the nuisance side.
The City reserves rights it is not obliged to use. Section 606.G.2 and G.3 give Tulsa "the right but not the obligation" to prune and remove trees in the right-of-way and to remove unsafe or infected trees, and Section 606.K gives the code official "the right but not the obligation" to cause removal of dead or diseased trees on private property under Title 24.
Single-family and duplex lots are out of the landscaping chapter entirely. Section 65.030 expressly exempts "Household living uses consisting of a single household on one lot or two households on one lot (existing or proposed)," along with agricultural uses, public parks and open spaces, and reconstruction after "tornadoes, straight-line winds, ice storms, accidental fire, floods, hail, lightning, or other forces beyond the reasonable control of the property owner."
Tulsa licenses no tree services. Title 21 (Licenses) contains no arborist, tree service or tree trimmer license; the word tree does not appear in it.
Section 606.I still binds you for overhang: "if a tree planted on private property or within the right-of-way abutting private property overhangs any street or right-of-way within the City, the owner of the private property shall prune the branches so that the branches do not obstruct the light from any street lamp or the view of any street intersection."

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 any Tulsa overlay or historic district requires approval for tree work. Zoning Chapter 20 (Overlay Districts) was read and its only tree provisions are river-corridor landscape planting requirements, but the historic preservation review procedures in Chapter 70 were not read for this entry.
— A direct phone number for Tulsa forestry or urban forestry as a named unit. The City routes tree calls through 311 and no separate forestry contact was found on cityoftulsa.org.
— Whether the City charges anything for the Section 606.B.2 street tree License Agreement. No fee for it appears in Title 49 or Title 50.
— Who the "code official" is by title for Section 606 purposes. The definition points to whoever the City designates and no designation document was located.