Does tree removal require a permit in Connecticut?

A tree in your own yard

Connecticut has no statewide permit for taking down a tree on your own land. Town rules are the ones to check. Wallingford, Meriden, Cheshire, and Durham each have a building department and a land use office, and a phone call before the work tells you in a few minutes whether your tree needs anything.

Where a permit or a sign-off does come up

Trees in the strip along the road are usually the town's, even when they look like yours. In Connecticut the town tree warden has say over those, and cutting one without asking can mean a fine. If the tree is near the road, ask the town whose it is first.

Every Connecticut town has an inland wetlands commission, and work within a set distance of a wetland or stream can need their approval. That comes up more on land clearing than on a single tree.

Taking down a number of trees to build, pave, or open up land often involves the land use office, zoning, or wetlands, depending on the town and how much is coming out. See the land clearing page for what to ask.

A tree in the wires needs no permit, but the utility has to be involved before anyone cuts. Call them first.

What we do about it

Jesse looks at the tree on the estimate and tells you if it is the kind of job that usually needs a call to the town. We can tell you what we have seen in your town. The call itself is yours to make, since the town deals with the owner.

Once the tree is clear to come down, the rest is the usual job. You get the price up front. The crew takes the tree down in sections, by crane when the house or the wires need it, and hauls everything away.