Do You Need a Tree Removal Permit in Spokane?

For a tree on your own property in Spokane, generally no. For a tree in the public right of way, the answer changes, and so does who is allowed to do the work. Here is how the city draws the line.

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Do You Need a Permit to Remove a Tree in Spokane?

The City of Spokane sorts this by ownership, not by species or size. Its Urban Forestry permits page puts it directly: a tree on private property does not need a tree permit, and a tree in the public right of way may need one depending on the work being done.

That single distinction answers most of the question. What follows is how to work out which side your tree is on, and what changes when it turns out to be a public one.

Where the tree standsWhat the city requires
Private property, inside your lotNo tree permit
Public right of way, including street treesPublic Tree Permit, depending on the work
Other public propertyPublic Tree Permit
Unsure which one appliesAsk Urban Forestry at 509.363.5495

Note that this page describes the City of Spokane. Rules are set jurisdiction by jurisdiction, so the answer can change on the other side of a city line.

How Do You Tell a Public Tree From a Private One?

Most people assume their property starts at the sidewalk. It usually does not. The right of way commonly includes the sidewalk and the planting strip between it and the curb, and in places it reaches further into what looks like the front lawn. The trees in that strip are street trees, and they are handled under the city's rules rather than yours.

Three ways to settle it before anyone starts cutting:

  • Check your plat or survey, if you have one from the purchase
  • Look at where the city has historically maintained trees on your block
  • Call Spokane Urban Forestry at 509.363.5495 and ask about the specific tree

The third one is fastest and it is free. It also puts the answer on record before there is a stump.

What Work in the Right of Way Needs a Permit?

Planting, pruning, and removal of public trees all sit under the Public Tree Permit. The city names two exceptions that do not require one: planting carried out with assistance from Urban Forestry, and minor pruning, which the permits page defines with specific limits.

  • Branches under two inches in diameter
  • No more than fifteen percent of the canopy removed
  • Ten feet or more of clearance from power lines

Cross any one of those thresholds and the work needs a permit. Removal of a public tree is never in the minor category.

Who Can Apply for a Public Tree Permit?

This is the part that catches homeowners out. The permit is not something you pull yourself and then hire out. Spokane's requirement is that all pruning, planting, and removals of public trees within the public right of way be performed by an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist holding a current Commercial Tree License and an approved Public Tree Permit.

In practice that means the credential and the permit travel together with whoever does the work. So the certification question stops being a nice-to-have and becomes the thing that determines whether the job is legal at all. Our crews are ISA Certified Arborists, licensed, bonded, and insured. If your tree turns out to be a street tree, say so when you call and we will walk through the permit step with you.

The city adds that Urban Forestry staff inspect the site before approving or denying an application, and that applications are typically reviewed within two working days.

What About Spokane Valley and the Surrounding Towns?

Spokane Valley is its own city with its own municipal code, including a chapter on the care of public trees. Liberty Lake, Cheney, Deer Park, and Mead each set their own rules as well, and Coeur d'Alene sits in another state entirely. Nothing on this page carries automatically across those lines.

The safe habit is the same everywhere: if the tree is anywhere near the street, ask the jurisdiction before it comes down. If it is in your back yard, it is almost always simply yours.

Once you know which category you are in, the rest is ordinary tree work. See tree removal in Spokane for what the job involves, the cost guide for what moves the number, signs a tree needs removal if you are still deciding, and how to hire a tree service for what to verify first. In Spokane Valley we work under that city's rules.

Permit Questions Spokane Homeowners Ask

Do you need a permit to remove a tree in Spokane?
It depends entirely on where the tree stands. The City of Spokane's own guidance is that a tree on your private property does not need a tree permit, while a tree in the public right of way may need one depending on the work. So the first question is never what kind of tree it is. It is whose ground it is on.
How do you tell a public tree from a private one?
The usual dividing line is the strip of ground between the sidewalk and the curb, and the trees planted along it. Property lines rarely stop where homeowners assume they do, and the right of way often reaches further into a front yard than the fence suggests. Spokane Urban Forestry will tell you which one yours is at 509.363.5495.
Does the city charge a fee for a tree permit?
The city's permit page does not publish a fee figure, and guessing at one here would not help you. Urban Forestry handles the applications and can answer the fee question directly. It is one phone call, and it happens before anything comes down rather than after.
What work in the right of way needs a permit?
Planting, pruning, and removal of public trees all fall under the permit. The city describes two narrow exceptions: planting done with assistance from Urban Forestry, and minor pruning that stays inside their stated limits on branch size, canopy loss, and distance from power lines. Everything else is a permit job.
Who does the city let apply for a public tree permit?
Not the homeowner directly. Spokane's rule is that pruning, planting, and removal of public trees in the right of way must be performed by an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist holding a current Commercial Tree License and an approved Public Tree Permit.
How long does a tree permit take to review?
The city says applications are typically reviewed within two working days, and that staff inspect the site before approving or denying. That is a short wait measured against the alternative, which is having to explain an unpermitted removal after the fact.
Do you need a permit for minor pruning of a street tree?
Minor pruning is carved out specifically, with limits set by the city: branches under two inches in diameter, no more than fifteen percent of the canopy, and ten feet or more from power lines. Step past any of those three and it is no longer minor pruning in the city's eyes.
What happens if a public tree is removed without a permit?
Public trees in Spokane are governed by the municipal code and the city does enforce it. Rather than guess at penalty figures, the useful point is the arithmetic: a review that typically takes two working days is a great deal cheaper than finding out afterward. Call Urban Forestry at 509.363.5495 first.
Does Spokane Valley have its own tree rules?
It does. Spokane Valley is a separate city and keeps its own municipal code chapter covering the care of public trees, so the Spokane rules on this page do not automatically carry across the line. Same principle applies in the smaller surrounding towns: check with that jurisdiction before touching a tree near the street.
Do trees in a fenced back yard need a permit?
In the ordinary case, no. A tree standing well inside private property is the owner's to remove, which is what makes the right of way the thing worth checking rather than the tree. Utility easements and a few site-specific conditions are the exceptions worth asking about.
What about a tree touching a power line?
That one stops being a permit question and becomes a safety question. Nobody should be pruning or climbing near an energised line, and the city's own minor pruning exception explicitly keeps ten feet of clearance from power lines. Call the utility about the line first, then deal with the tree.

Street Tree or Yard Tree, Start With a Free Look.

Tell us where the tree stands and we will tell you what the city requires before any work is scheduled.

Call: (509) 632-4080
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