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

Usually, yes. Toronto needs a permit to injure or remove any private tree with a stem 30 centimetres or more in diameter at 1.4 metres above ground. Every City street tree is protected at any size. So is every tree on land in a Ravine and Natural Feature Protection area. So is a replacement tree planted as a condition of an earlier tree permit, and, since September 1, 2026, any tree planted because of a variance, consent, site plan or City compliance action. The fee is $145.87 per private tree, or $436.39 if the removal is tied to construction. Ravine trees have their own, lower fees. Cut a protected tree without a permit and the fine runs $500 to $100,000 per tree.

The 30 cm rule, and how to measure it

Section 813-12 of Municipal Code Chapter 813 bans injuring, destroying or removing a protected tree without a permit. By-law 402-2026 rewrote that section from September 1, 2026. It now protects, at any size, a tree planted because of a variance, consent, site plan or compliance action. A replacement tree planted as a condition of an earlier tree permit was already protected at any size (the old § 813-20H) and still is. Any other tree is protected if "at least one stem has a diameter measurement of 30 centimeters or more". Chapter 813 takes that measurement "1.4 metres above ground level" on a straight, upright stem. Two things follow from that wording. One stem over the line is enough, even on a tree with several. And you measure at the set height, not at the flare, the swollen base of the trunk, which reads too wide. "Injure" is broad too. Trenching in the root zone, storing soil over roots, driving equipment across them and heavy canopy removal all count.

How to measure DBH yourself

1. Mark the point 1.4 m up the trunk from ground level. On a tree leaning on an angle, or growing straight up out of a slope, § 813-11B measures that 1.4 m "along the centre of the stem axis".
2. Wrap a tape round the trunk at the mark, at 90 degrees to it, and read the circumference. Divide by 3.14 to get the diameter. About 94 cm around is the 30 cm tipping point.

Over 61 cm: the "distinctive tree" test

Since September 1, 2026, the criteria the City "shall consider" under § 813-16 include "If the tree is a distinctive tree". That is a healthy tree, not a designated Heritage Tree, with a stem "greater than 61 centimetres" across. The City's Executive Director of Environment, Climate and Forestry decides which trees qualify. It is a factor to weigh, not a ban. Chapter 658 adds it for ravine trees.

What a tree permit actually costs

The first five City fees below are the only amounts on the Injure or Remove Trees application form, updated January 2026. There is no cap: six trees means six fees. The ravine rows are from the City's new ravine permit form. The cash-in-lieu and arborist rows are on neither form.

The rate turns on two things: whose tree it is, and whether the removal is tied to construction. The construction box is wide. The form applies it to activity that "includes but is not limited to building, demolition, excavation, boring, placement of fill or surface treatment, storage of construction materials or equipment, storage of soil, construction waste or debris, movement of vehicles and equipment". It also applies to applications for an official plan amendment, plan of subdivision and condominiums, site plan control, minor variance, consent and building permits. Includes but is not limited to makes that list a floor, not a ceiling.

The City adds that it "does not consider the following to be as-of-right construction: pools, landscape features and accessory structures (e.g. sheds, gazebos, cabanas, etc.), standalone garages and basements that extend beyond the above-ground footprint of the building". Excavation and fill placement are both named on the form. So a pool, or a basement that runs past the footprint above it, is construction-related. That is $436.39 a tree, not $145.87.

The arborist report is a separate cost. The City requires it but does not set the price. The report ranges above are "general market-style estimates" from torontotreeservices.ca, a referral site that passes requests to independent contractors. It says it "does not itself perform" arborist reports. Loyal Tree, an arborist firm, puts a single-tree report at $300 to $800 across the GTA. But § 813-15E lets the Executive Director "waive the requirement for an arborist report in non-commercial applications". Ask before you pay for one.

The fee waiver in § 813-14B

The fees have no cap, but they are not charged to everyone. Section 813-14B says "no fee shall be payable" for the not-for-profit part of housing projects by Toronto Community Housing, Habitat for Humanity and recognised non-profits. The same words cover "owners living below the low-income cut off before tax as determined by Statistics Canada". That is a full waiver, not a discount. Raise it before you pay. The new ravine fees carry the same two waivers (§ 658-5C). There are also waivers, as the Executive Director determines, for voluntary stewardship projects and for stewardship or restoration work by the City or the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).

The ravine rule that changes everything

Do not decide this by looking out the window. Chapter 658 protects "any tree, woodland vegetation or slope in a protected area". Its list of protected features runs well past ravines. It takes in tableland forests, treed portions of the Lake Iroquois shoreline, Rouge Park, and public parks and golf courses in valleys. A tableland forest is expressly "woodland areas that are not contiguous with ravines". So a flat, treed lot nowhere near a valley can sit in a Ravine and Natural Feature Protection (RNFP) area.

Where the line covers your land, Chapter 658 replaces the 30 cm test.

• Every tree on that land is protected at any diameter: a 10 cm sapling needs a permit. But § 658-2A regulates "any tree on any land in a protected area". Where the mapped line cuts across a property, trees outside it fall back to Chapter 813's 30 cm test.
• The ground is protected too. Under § 658-2B, dumping fill or refuse or changing the grade needs its own permit. Section 658-4B then exempts a short list. Tilling is exempt if it leaves no slope steeper than 10 per cent. So is under five cubic metres of soil used to keep up manicured areas, rooftop gardens and courtyards. So are certified emergency work, TRCA-regulated grade changes, and fences that comply and are kept clear of fill uphill.
• The paperwork is heavier. The arborist report must also cover trees within 12 metres next door, and you need geotechnical, grading and forest-restoration plans. Since September 1, 2026, there are separate ravine fees too, from $87.57 per tree (see the table above).

How to check whether your lot is in one

1. Open **map.toronto.ca/torontomaps** in a browser (the City recommends a computer over a smart device) and search your address.
2. In the Boundaries menu, tick "Ravine and Natural Feature Protection By-law", near the bottom.
3. Stripes over your property mean you are in an RNFP area.

Do not use the Open Data download instead. The RNFP dataset is live, but it is not current. Its metadata records a last refresh of 23 July 2019, a currency date of May 2018, and a warning that it "will only be refreshed every 10-20 years". To have the line plotted on a survey, the City charges $94.26 per request in 2026 (fee EE8.7020). A toronto.ca page still shows $81.57 plus HST as a 2022 fee.

Dead, dying and dangerous trees

Section 813-13A exempts "a terminally diseased, dead or imminently hazardous tree certified as such by the Executive Director", and Chapter 658 matches it. No permit is needed in four cases. One is a 100 per cent dead tree. Another is a terminally diseased tree that can no longer be kept alive. The third is a tree posing imminent danger. The fourth is pruning to good arboricultural practice.

A permit is still needed in three. A tree merely in poor condition needs one. So does a tree causing or likely to cause structural damage to a load-bearing structure or roof. So does a tree being moved. Nuisance reasons are "generally not supported". The not-accepted list is landscaping, routine upkeep ("fallen leaves, flowers, fruit, twigs and small branches") and roots.

For three of those only, the City is explicit. Those three are imminently hazardous, terminally diseased and 100 per cent dead. It says: "You must request and receive a permit exception confirmation from the City for the following". Send size, species, condition, photos and location.

Pruning is not on that list. § 813-13B exempts "pruning of a tree in accordance with good arboricultural practice", with no certification step. That is unlike §§ 813-13C and D, which cover utility pruning and emergency work only "as certified by the Executive Director".

Applying, and how long it takes

Apply through the online permit system or a district counter. The City no longer accepts tree permit applications by email. Incomplete packages are not processed, so put the whole package together first. That means the form, the fee, the arborist report, a replanting plan and photos. For construction, add a site plan showing every tree 30 cm or larger on your lot and within six metres next door.

Nothing on the City's tree and ravine permit pages sets a target turnaround. What they do publish are the fixed waits.

• 14 days minimum: a notice must sit on the property before a permit to remove a healthy tree can issue (§813-19). The plans must also satisfy the Ward Councillor.
• 15 business days: for the City to notify boundary-tree co-owners or a neighbour-tree owner, plus a second notice at least 15 days before the permit issues.
• 1 to 2 weeks: for an arborist to visit and produce the report.
• 1 day: the permit must be posted, visible from the street, before work starts.

One referral site, torontotreeservices.ca, publishes a timeline. It tells owners to "plan for several weeks at minimum, and longer if the application is tied to construction, a boundary tree, a ravine-regulated area, or missing documentation". If you are refused, you have 14 days to appeal to Community Council, and its decision is final.

What happens if you skip it

The City does not accept after-the-fact applications, and cutting a tree down does not hide its size. Since September 1, 2026, if a trunk's diameter "cannot be measured because it has been injured or destroyed", § 813-25B(5) applies. It says "a tree with a stump diameter of 40 centimeters or greater will be considered a protected tree". The stump is measured 0.3 metres up, or at the highest point below that if 0.3 metres is not feasible.

Once a contravention is confirmed, three things stack.

Orders. Stop Work Orders are served on site. Orders to Comply arrive by registered mail with a deadline. Among the "examples of remedial work" an Order "can include" are five trees planted for every one removed without permission. Since September 1, 2026, the City says that ratio is the starting point and rises for larger trees. Two trees are required for every tree injured in a ravine.

Contravention fees. These are charged per tree, under Chapter 441's Appendix C, Schedule 20 since By-law 402-2026. The City's 2026 user-fee list puts "Contravention Fee - Private Trees" at $304.51 non-construction and $913.58 construction. Ravine trees carry the same pair. Grade alteration does not: EE8.7010, "Dumping/Alteration of Grade Contravention Fee - Private Ravine/Natural Feature Tree", is a single $913.58. "Contravention inspection fee" is the schedule's term for street trees. Leave these unpaid 90 days after the Order and they join your tax roll.

Fines. On conviction under Chapter 813 the minimum is $500 per tree and the maximum $100,000 per tree. On top of that sits "a special fine of $100,000.00" under § 813-29B, stated flat, not as a ceiling. Chapter 658 mirrors this and adds $500 to $10,000 for each day unauthorised fill or grading continues.

If you are outside Toronto

The 905 thresholds are lower, not higher. Mississauga protects private trees at 15 cm and charges a base fee of $399.77 (HST included) that you do not get back. Its review takes 30 business days.