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Tree Removal Permits in Oldsmar, FL
City of Oldsmar tree permit requirements - thresholds, protected species, replacement rules and the paperwork we handle for you.
“Happy trees did an amazing job cutting my trees and providing information. Steve was really nice and knowledgeable. Great communication and pricing. Definitely will be using their service again!!”
- 462 Google reviews
- Licensed & Insured
- ISA Certified Arborist on staff
- Pinellas since 1989
Two things make Oldsmar different, and both are worth knowing before you call anybody.
First: Oldsmar sits on the Pinellas/Hillsborough line, and Hillsborough’s rules do not apply to you. Oldsmar is an incorporated city in Pinellas County. Residents here routinely get advice, sometimes from tree companies driving over from Tampa, that is describing a different county’s code entirely.
Second: we are not going to give you a bright-line rule, because Oldsmar’s code does not contain one. That is an unusual thing for a page like this to say, so here is exactly why.
Why there is no simple answer
Oldsmar’s tree rules are Land Development Code Article XII, § 12.2, sections 12.2.1 through 12.2.10. § 12.2.5 says, in full:
Permits shall be required to remove specimen and resource trees from a site. Within the context of the protection requirements as set forth in sections 12.2.3 and 12.2.4, every effort shall be made to remove only those trees which, for reasons of distress, have the least likelihood for longterm survival, as opposed to the removal of healthy tree varieties.
The problem is the frame. Throughout §§ 12.2.3, 12.2.4, 12.2.6 and 12.2.8 the article speaks of "the site development," "the developer of a site," "any development." And § 12.5(4) states the article’s own applicability trigger: "This article applies to every development action that requires the issuance of a building permit."
There is no section in the Oldsmar LDC that plainly states a homeowner doing no development needs a permit to remove a tree. § 12.2.5’s phrase "from a site" is the closest thing and it is ambiguous. Nothing in the LDC’s general provisions, definitions, or the whole of Article XII, § 12.5, and Chapter 26 Article V. The published code does not contain a primary source stating the homeowner trigger plainly.
What the City actually does, though, is clear enough to plan around. Oldsmar administers a standalone Tree Removal Application addressed to residential as well as commercial property, requires a survey or site plan, charges a fee, and requires the property owner’s signature, and the Building Division FAQ lists tree removal among the work types requiring a permit. So the practical guidance is: plan on a permit in Oldsmar, and call Planning & Redevelopment at 813-749-1100 before you cut. We make that call as part of the job.
What is protected, a named species list, and nothing else
Oldsmar uses two tiers, both limited to the same eleven species. There is no palm category and no grand or heritage tree tier.
Specimen trees (§ 12.2.1), all oaks, maples, sweet gum, hickory, elm and sycamore at 18 inches DBH and larger; loblolly bay, sweet bay, real bay, swamp bay and magnolia at 12 inches and larger.
Resource trees (§ 12.2.2), the same species from 6 inches (oaks, maples, sweet gum, hickory, elm, magnolia) or 8 inches (the bays and sycamore) up to specimen size.
So a 10-inch laurel oak in an Oldsmar back yard is a resource tree; a 24-inch one is a specimen tree. A slash pine, a sabal palm, a citrus, a camphor, a crape myrtle, none of these appears on either table. By the structure of §§ 12.2.1, 12.2.2 and 12.2.5, a tree that is neither a specimen nor a resource tree is not subject to the § 12.2.5 permit requirement. We state that as a reading of the code’s structure, not as an express exemption clause, because Article XII contains no exemptions section.
One more caution: § 12.2.1’s narrative list says "loblolly," which in Florida usually means loblolly pine, but both tables define the species as loblolly bay. Read the tables. Pines are not protected under Article XII.
Note also that Article XII never defines DBH or its measurement height. The universal Florida standard, codified by both Pinellas County and Safety Harbor, is 4.5 feet above grade, but it is not codified in Oldsmar, and we will not state one for you.
The nearest thing to a hazard exemption
§ 12.2.10 encourages removal of Brazilian pepper, poison wood, melaleuca/punk and Australian pine, and then says:
Permits shall not be required to remove tree species 1, 4 as identified above. Removal of diseased or infested trees shall require certification by a professional in the field documenting the nature and extent of disease and/or infestation.
So diseased and infested trees are carved out of the no-permit list. They need a professional’s certification documenting the nature and extent of the problem, in practice, an arborist report.
There is no storm-damage exemption anywhere in Oldsmar’s tree code. Nothing in §§ 12.1–12.5, the Chapter 26 Article V section list, or LDC Article I says otherwise. Do not let anyone tell you post-hurricane removal is exempt here.
And note the duty running the other way: under Code § 26-129 the City may notify owners of dead or diseased trees on private property that constitute a hazard or harbor pests, and removal must be done by the owner at their own expense within 60 days of the notice, or the City removes them and bills.
Start here
Send us a photo of the tree.
You do not have to know whether it needs to come down. That is the part we are for.
- One photo, whole tree in frameTrunk base to top. A close-up of anything that looks wrong helps.
- Text us the photoThe text button below opens the right thread. Add your street and city.
- We come out and lookEvery estimate is in person, free, sometimes the answer is that it needs nothing.
Fees, mitigation and penalties
The Tree Removal Application states the fee on its face: $90 for up to three trees, plus $10 per tree beyond the first three. It asks for the address, property type, owner details, type and number of trees, a survey or site plan showing the trees, the reason for removal and an electronic signature, and it allows an "authorized agent" to sign, which is how we file on a customer’s behalf.
Mitigation in Oldsmar is preservation-percentage based, not inch-for-inch, and every provision is written for development sites: § 12.2.3 requires preserving 60–80% of specimen trees depending on density; § 12.2.4 requires 10–30% of resource trees; § 12.2.6 requires 15% of a development’s square footage be designated for tree protection. Whether any of that reaches a homeowner’s standalone removal is not something the City publishes, its own form has no replacement or mitigation fields at all, unlike Safety Harbor’s. We ask the City that question about your parcel before we quote.
Oldsmar publishes no tree-specific fine, and we will not invent one. The general LDC penalty at § 1.7.1 makes a violation an ordinance violation subject to prosecution with each day a separate offense, and note how far it reaches: "whether as owner, lessor, principal, agent, employee or otherwise." That includes the tree contractor. We also could not confirm any tree fund, tree bank or fee-in-lieu mechanism in Oldsmar, and no review turnaround time is published anywhere we could find.
Oldsmar is the one city that tells you about the state law on its own form
The City of Oldsmar Tree Removal Application carries this field:
Certified Arborist or Florida Landscape Architect letter, Residential property owner may provide documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree presents a danger to persons or property in lieu of obtaining City permit. HB1159 (F.S. 163.045)
That is a city-built upload lane for the statutory exemption, and no other jurisdiction in this county has one. Two things to hold in mind: the form’s "presents a danger" language is the 2019 version of the statute, and the controlling standard since the 2022 amendment is the tighter unacceptable risk test; and the statute is not in Oldsmar’s codified ordinances at all, a full-text search returns zero hits. The current statute, and what the 2022 amendment changed, is explained here.
Frequently asked questions
So do I need a permit or not? Plan on yes. The City runs a residential tree removal application and charges $90 for up to three trees. The code does not state the homeowner trigger plainly, so nobody can honestly give you a rule, call Planning & Redevelopment at 813-749-1100, or let us call.
My tree is a slash pine. Is it protected? Not under Article XII on the face of the two tables, pines are not on the specimen or resource lists. Neither are palms or citrus. That is a reading of the code’s structure, and worth confirming with the City for a specific tree.
I got a quote from a Tampa company that said Hillsborough rules apply. They do not. Oldsmar is in Pinellas County and runs its own city code. Getting that wrong is how a homeowner ends up on the wrong side of an ordinance violation where each day counts separately.
Is there a fine if I skip it? Oldsmar sets no tree-specific dollar amount, so we cannot quote one. What we can tell you is that § 1.7.1 reaches the owner and the contractor alike and treats each day as a separate offense.
Verified against the Oldsmar Land Development Code Art. XII and the City’s published Tree Removal Application as of July 2026. Oldsmar’s tree sections carry no ordinance history citations, so no amendment date is published; Ordinances change, if a detail matters to your decision, confirm the current text with the city first.
Call (727) 365-1803. See also tree service in Oldsmar and tree removal in Oldsmar.
Google reviews
Rated 4.9 by 462 of your neighbors.
Reviews · Tree Removal Permits in Oldsmar, FL
4.9
462 reviews on Google, the count on our public Google listing
“This was the second time I'd hired Happy's to take down some dead trees and I couldn't be happier with the job they did. First off they gave me a great price for the amount of work I needed done.”
“We were looking for a tree service with a certified arborist. We got just what we needed with Happy Tree Service. Steve gave an estimate and knowledgeable advice. They arrived on time did an excellent job and cleaned up all debris. We recommend them and will use them again.”
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