Rules change, and the lot’s zoning and the tree’s species matter. Use this page to understand the questions, then confirm them with the city. The primary public page is Tree Information from the City of Tampa. A shorter removal summary is on the city’s tree resources page. Applications are filed in the city’s Accela system from links on those pages. This guide does not invent a portal address.
Why the city regulates trees
The city describes trees as part of the urban forest: shade, stormwater, and property character. The public tree page points to section 27-284 of the city code as the local protection. The practical result is that cutting, damaging, or removing a protected tree without the required authorization can draw enforcement. The city tells people that unpermitted removal can be treated as a serious violation.
Words the city uses
The city’s definitions sheet explains how to measure. Diameter at breast height, DBH, is the trunk diameter at four and a half feet above grade. A protected tree, in the city’s summary, includes mitigation trees, mangroves, cypress, and non-exempt species at five inches DBH or more. Grand trees are a larger class, described around 32 inches DBH with a condition rating and species limits in the code, and state champion or challenger trees are treated as grand. Specimen trees are described around 24 inches DBH. Those thresholds are a starting point. The ordinance, not this paragraph, is the rule.
The city also publishes exempt categories, including certain invasive species and camphor, in its measuring guide. An exempt species is not the same thing as “any tree I dislike.” If you are not sure of the species, do not guess your way into a violation.
Removal
The city’s tree resources page says removals of trees five inches DBH or above, excluding invasive species, require a removal permit, and that grand trees can require a heavier public process when they are not hazardous. It also says removals can require mitigation, meaning replacement trees or a payment into the tree fund when replacements will not fit. A forester reviews the permit, or a private arborist report in the city’s program can be part of that review.
Building permits and tree permits are connected in the code: the city does not want a building permit to skip a required tree permit. If the removal is for construction, say that when you ask the city what the application needs. This website’s tree removal page is about the physical work, not about filing that application.
Pruning
On the tree information page, the city says that if a tree is 24 inches or greater in DBH, you must obtain a permit before pruning. Those permits are inspected by a city forester, or a report can be submitted through the city’s private-arborist route. Pruning is not a loophole for removal. Severe cutting can be treated as damage. See tree trimming and pruning for how the work is described.
The state exemption is narrow
The city publishes an interpretation of Florida Statute 163.045. In the city’s summary, a residential property owner can be outside the city’s permit demand only when documentation is already in hand, the documentation is an on-site assessment under the ISA tree-risk BMP by an ISA-certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect, the writing shows the tree poses an unacceptable risk that cannot practically be brought below moderate except by removal, and the property is a single-family detached residential lot in actual single-family use. All of those pieces are required in the city’s explanation. A note from a neighbor, a photo of a dead limb, or a form on this website is not that documentation.
This site does not offer to produce that risk assessment and does not tell you that you qualify.
Public trees and power lines
Trees in the right of way, medians, and city alleys are maintained by the city, not by a private request on this form. The tree information page lists the forestry division at 813-274-5744 for right-of-way pruning questions, and Neighborhood Enhancement at 813-274-5545 for trees on city-owned vacant lots or for code questions. Tampa Electric’s non-emergency line-clearance number on that page is 813-228-1010. For a downed line or a tree on a line, the city lists TECO emergency at 813-228-1111.
Permit questions can go to Construction Services at 813-274-3100, option 1, or [email protected]. Those are city contacts. They are not Gulfroot Tree Care numbers.
What to do with this information
- Identify whether the lot is inside the City of Tampa.
- Identify the species if you can, and measure DBH if it is safe to do so.
- Read the city pages linked above before scheduling a cut.
- If you want the physical work reviewed, use the quote form and mention that a permit may be open. Do not expect the form to file it.
Related reading: dead tree removal, trimming, and why this guide stays with Tampa.