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

Usually, yes. Toronto requires 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, as is every tree on land in a Ravine and Natural Feature Protection area. The fee is $145.87 per private tree, or $436.39 if the removal is construction-related; cutting a protected tree without one carries a fine of $500 to $100,000 per tree.

The 30 cm rule, and how to measure it

Section 813-12 of Municipal Code Chapter 813 prohibits injuring, destroying or removing "any tree, including a multi-stem tree having at least one stem that has a diameter measurement of 30 centimetres or more measured at 1.4 metres above ground level" without a permit. Measuring at the flare overstates the trunk, and one stem is enough. "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 growing on an angle or vertically on a slope, § 813-11B takes 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, read the circumference and divide by 3.14. About 94 cm is the 30 cm tipping point.

What a tree permit actually costs

The City fees below are the only amounts on the Injure or Remove Trees application form, updated January 2026, and are uncapped: six trees means six fees. The cash-in-lieu and arborist rows are not on the form.

The rate turns on 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", plus 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 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 named on the form, so a pool or an over-footprint basement is construction-related: $436.39 a tree, not $145.87.

The arborist report is a separate cost the City requires but does not set; the ranges above are one Toronto firm's prices, another quotes $300 to $800. But § 813-15E lets the General Manager "waive the requirement for an arborist report in non-commercial applications", so ask before commissioning one.

The fee waiver in § 813-14B

The fees are uncapped, but not universal. Section 813-14B says "no fee shall be payable" for the not-for-profit portion of housing projects by Toronto Community Housing, Habitat for Humanity and recognised non-profits, or by "owners living below the low-income cut off before tax as determined by Statistics Canada." Raise it before you pay.

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", and its protected features run past ravines to 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", so where the mapped line crosses a property, trees outside it revert to Chapter 813's 30 cm test.
• The ground is protected too: under § 658-2B, dumping fill or refuse or altering the grade needs its own permit. Section 658-4B exempts tilling that makes no slope steeper than 10 per cent, under five cubic metres of soil to maintain manicured areas, rooftop gardens and courtyards, certified emergency work, TRCA-regulated grade changes, and compliant fences kept clear of fill uphill.
• The paperwork is heavier: the arborist report must also cover trees within 12 metres next door, and geotechnical, grading and forest-restoration plans are required.

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 substitute the Open Data download. The RNFP dataset is live, but 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 $91.96 per request; toronto.ca 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 General Manager", and Chapter 658 matches it. No permit is needed for a 100 per cent dead tree, a terminally diseased tree that can no longer be maintained, a tree posing imminent danger, or pruning to good arboricultural practice.

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

For three of those only (imminently hazardous, terminally diseased and 100 per cent dead), the City is explicit: "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 to maintain tree health" with no certification step, unlike §§ 813-13C and D, which cover utility pruning and emergency work only "as certified by the General Manager".

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 assemble everything first: form, fee, arborist report, replanting plan, photos, and (for construction) 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: notice posted 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 GTA firm that publishes a timeline 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 refused, you have 14 days to appeal to Community Council, whose decision is final.

What happens if you skip it

The City does not accept after-the-fact applications. 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 authorisation, and two for every tree injured in a ravine.

Contravention fees. Charged per tree under the same schedule, whose private-tree lines read "Contravention Fee - Private Trees": $297.08 non-construction, $891.30 construction. Ravine trees carry the same pair; grade alteration does not: 8.7010, "Dumping/Alteration of Grade Contravention Fee - Private Ravine/Natural Feature Tree", is a single $891.30. "Contravention inspection fee" is the schedule's term for street trees. Unpaid 90 days after the Order, these join your tax roll.

Fines. On conviction under Chapter 813 the minimum is $500 per tree and the maximum $100,000 per tree, plus "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 non-refundable base fee of $399.77 (HST included), with a 30-business-day review.