City of Ottawa tree removal permit

Rules checked against the City of Ottawa’s own pages on 26 September 2026. The by-law is the authority; the sources are listed at the end.

Which trees need a permit

Ottawa’s Tree Protection By-law (No. 2020-340) took effect on 1 January 2021. It says these trees cannot be injured or removed without a permit from the City:

• Distinctive trees: any private tree 30 cm or more in diameter at breast height, on a property of 1 hectare or less, inside the urban area. This is the rule that covers most homeowners.
• On private properties in the urban area larger than 1 hectare, every tree 10 cm or more in diameter.
• On private properties in the urban area with a Site Plan, Plan of Subdivision or Plan of Condominium application, every tree 10 cm or more in diameter.
• Every City-owned tree, in both the urban and rural areas.

The private-tree rules also apply in the urban expansion areas mapped in the by-law. Not sure which area your property is in? The City’s geoOttawa map shows it under the Forestry heading, and the City’s Decision Tree tool walks through whether you need a permit at all.

How the 30 cm is measured

Diameter at breast height means the width of the trunk 1.3 metres above the ground. A 30 cm diameter works out to a trunk roughly 94 cm (about 37 inches) around, so a tape measure wrapped around the trunk at chest height gives you a quick first answer.

When you do not need a permit

• The tree is dead or hazardous and an immediate threat to public health and safety. Photograph it before it comes down, to show its condition and why it was exempt.
• It is a private ash tree infested with emerald ash borer. The wood must be disposed of inside the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s regulated area.
• You are pruning. No permit is needed, but the work should follow good arboricultural practice, because injuring a protected tree is itself an offence.
• A few activities are exempt, such as normal farm practices and power-line maintenance. The City asks you to email urbantree@ottawa.ca before relying on one.

How to apply

You apply online by submitting a Tree Information Report and paying the fee in the same form. Only include trees the by-law actually protects, because the fee is charged per tree and it is non-refundable.

• $200 per tree for a distinctive tree not connected to infill development, capped after five trees per owner (fees as of 1 February 2026).
• $1,240 per tree when the removal is tied to infill development, also capped after five.
• Removals that are part of a Site Plan or Plan of Subdivision application pay through that application instead.

What the Tree Information Report has to contain is set out in Schedule C of the by-law. Tree King’s certified arborists prepare these reports; see arborist reports.

After the permit is approved

• Post the permit where the public can see it, on the property and on the tree itself, for at least seven days before the removal. The notice on the property stays up for at least seven days after the tree is gone.
• Plant a replacement. Outside of development the City requires one new tree for each tree removed. Infill development requires two for a distinctive tree 30 to 49 cm across and three for one of 50 cm or more, with money accepted where the lot has no room.

Protecting the trees you keep

Anyone working near a protected tree has to fence off its critical root zone with a 1.2 metre fence before work starts, and keep materials, equipment, grade changes and new hard surfaces out of that zone. The critical root zone is 10 cm out from the trunk for every centimetre of trunk diameter: a 40 cm tree has a 4 metre zone.

Penalties

Removing or injuring a protected tree without a permit, ignoring permit conditions or failing to protect a tree can bring a fine from $500 to $100,000. Carrying on after a stop work order is fined per day, and a special fine can be added where someone stood to profit from the removal. Anyone can check whether a removal has a permit by calling 3-1-1.

Trees on the property line

The City permit is not the only rule. Under section 10 of Ontario’s Forestry Act, a tree whose trunk grows across the boundary belongs to both neighbours, and injuring or destroying it without both owners’ consent is an offence. Get your neighbour’s agreement in writing before any work on a shared tree.

How Tree King helps

We tell you whether the tree needs a permit at all, prepare the Tree Information Report if it does, and do the removal once the permit is posted. Read when you need an arborist report in Ottawa for what the report includes, and what sets the cost of tree removal in Ottawa for what changes the price of the removal. Stump grinding is quoted separately. Quotes are free: call 613-627-2017.

Sources

• Tree Protection By-law: general information (City of Ottawa)
• Tree permits and compensation (City of Ottawa)
• Submit your Tree Information Report online (City of Ottawa)
• Protecting trees (City of Ottawa)
• Enforcement (City of Ottawa)
• Tree Protection By-law No. 2020-340 (full text)
• Forestry Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.26, section 10 (boundary trees)