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Tree Removal Permits in Seminole, FL
A Seminole mailing address does not mean you are in the City of Seminole - and that changes the tree rules. Here is how to tell.
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Before any rule on this page applies to you, answer one question: are you actually in the City of Seminole?
Large parts of 33772, 33776, 33777 and 33778 carry a Seminole mailing address and sit in unincorporated Pinellas County. Two neighbors on the same street can be under different rulebooks. The postal address does not tell you, and neither does the school district or the fire station.
How to check: look your parcel up on the Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s site and read the jurisdiction or taxing-district field. If it shows the City of Seminole, this page applies. If it shows unincorporated Pinellas, the county rules apply instead, and those are genuinely different, including a homesteaded-residential threshold that exists only outside city limits. Nobody in this county publishes that check, and it is the single most useful thing on this page.
Inside the city: what the code says
Seminole’s rules are Chapter 62, Article II, §§ 62-31 through 62-41, last substantively rewritten by Ord. No. 09-2014 in October 2014.
§ 62-33(a), for the typical residential lot under one acre:
On platted lots or tracts of less than one acre in area, it shall be unlawful for any person to remove or cause to be removed any protected tree, except exempt trees, with a trunk dbh of four inches or more without first having a tree removal permit.
§ 62-34 says the same thing for tracts of an acre or more. The threshold is 4-inch DBH either way, lot size only decides which subsection you are under.
Palms are not trees here. § 62-32: "Mangroves shall be considered trees and palms are not defined as trees." Palms therefore sit outside the permit requirement except where a palm appears on an approved landscape plan.
A protected tree is any tree listed as a native tree, excluding palms, by UF/IFAS or as listed in chapter 58 article V. That is a pointer to an external list rather than an enumerated one, The published code does not contain a published consolidated list of protected species for Seminole, and the City’s own form says "Contact the City for a list of protected trees."
The arborist-report tier
§ 62-35(a) adds a second trigger on top of the permit. A signed report from a certified arborist, describing the current condition of the tree and the specific reasons for removal, must accompany the application for:
| Category | Report required at |
|---|---|
| All four mangrove species (black, white, red, buttonwood) | Any size |
| Live oak (Quercus virginiana) | 4" DBH or greater |
| Laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) | 4" DBH or greater |
| Any other protected species | 20" DBH or greater |
| Many protected trees under 20" DBH | At the city manager’s discretion |
In a city built out with laurel oaks, that means the arborist report is the norm here, not the exception. The City may also require a second arborist’s report at the owner’s expense.
Hazard, storms and mitigation
Hazard is not a permit exemption in Seminole. § 62-32 defines protected tree purely by species reference, no dead, dying, hazardous or dangerous carve-out exists anywhere in the definitions, and the § 62-35 exemptions are species-based (a nuisance list) and use-based (nursery/tree farm) only.
What condition does buy you is the mitigation fee waiver, § 62-36(a):
No mitigation fee will be assessed where a report prepared by a certified arborist has determined the protected tree is diseased, dead, in a severe state of decline or poses a public safety threat. However, tree replacement may be required.
Storm relief is discretionary. § 62-38 lets the city manager or designee waive the requirements after a hurricane, windstorm, flood, freeze or other disaster, but only "upon a finding that such waiver is necessary." It does not self-execute after a named storm.
Separately, § 62-41(c) puts an affirmative duty on owners to remove dead, diseased or dangerous trees and broken or decayed limbs that menace public safety, and § 62-41(e) lets the City remove them after 60 days' certified-mail notice and lien for the cost.
Reforestation (§ 62-36) is discretionary, the city manager "may require" relocation, replacement, or a per-DBH-inch mitigation fee. The code deliberately does not fix the rate: "The city shall establish the basis for the per dbh inch mitigation fee." The published code does not contain any published rate, so we do not quote one. A tree planted as a required replacement is permanently protected regardless of size. Palms count 3:1 and accent trees 2:1 toward replacement and together may not exceed 20% of the required trees.
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.
Applying
Community Development, 9199 113th Street N, (727) 398-3108, permits@myseminole.com. In person or by signed email. The permit fee is $25.00. Required: a plot plan or survey showing existing buildings, driveways, accessory structures and power lines, plus the species, size and condition of the trees to be removed with dimensions; trees marked with ribbon or paint for inspection; the arborist report where the tier above applies. Where the property is in a homeowner, condominium or mobile home park association, an approval letter from the association is required. No turnaround time is published.
Penalties: the tree article sets none of its own beyond § 62-41(h), which points to the general penalty at § 1-15, up to $500 and/or 60 days, with each act and each day a separate violation. A topped or improperly pruned tree does not count toward landscape or replacement requirements and is itself subject to replacement (§ 62-41(i)).
The City’s own notice on state law, and its two problems
Seminole publishes a formal notice on House Bill 1159, and it goes further than any other city here. In the City’s words: the law "precludes local governments from requiring tree removal permits on residential property," but the City’s position is that residential property subject to a Development Agreement or Development Order does require a permit and may face replacement. The notice names seven single-family developments that fall into that carve-out: Seminole Groves, Arabella, Pine Crest Villas, Artisan Estates, Artisan Preserve, Enclave, and The Cove at Bay Pines. Multi-family is reviewed case by case.
Two currency problems you should know about:
- The notice quotes the 2019 statute, not the current one. It reproduces the original "presents a danger" language. Chapter 2022-121 replaced that with a defined "unacceptable risk" standard, removal must be the only practical way to bring the tree’s risk below moderate under the ISA Tree Risk Assessment BMP, 2nd Edition. A generic letter calling a tree a hazard does not satisfy the statute as it stands. The published code does not contain any updated Seminole notice.
- The permit application predates the statute entirely, it is dated July 2018, a year before HB 1159 took effect, and still states flatly that a permit is required for any tree 4" DBH or greater. The form and the notice conflict; the notice is the City’s later, statute-aware position.
The subdivision list is also undated, "Artisan Estates (under construction)" suggests it was written some years ago, so The published code does not confirm it is current or complete. Verify with the City at (727) 398-3108 for a specific address.
Frequently asked questions
My address says Seminole. Am I in the city? Maybe not. Check the parcel on the Pinellas County Property Appraiser site. Large unincorporated areas carry Seminole addresses, and the rules there are the county’s, not the city’s.
Do I need a permit for a laurel oak in the City of Seminole? Under the code as written, yes at 4" DBH, and a live oak or laurel oak also triggers the certified-arborist report requirement at that same 4 inches. The City’s published notice takes a different position for most single-family residential property, which is why we always call before we quote.
What about my queen palms? Seminole’s code says palms are not trees, so they sit outside the permit requirement, unless the palm is shown on an approved landscape plan for your property.
Is the county’s 24-inch homesteaded threshold relevant to me? Only if your parcel turns out to be unincorporated. Inside city limits, Seminole’s 4-inch rule is the stricter one and it is what has to be satisfied.
Verified against the City of Seminole Code Ch. 62 Art. II (Supp. No. 8), the City’s Tree Removal Permit Application and its published HB 1159 notice, as of July 2026. Ordinances change, if a detail matters to your decision, confirm the current text with the city first.
Call (727) 365-1803 and we will run the parcel lookup for you before anything else happens. See also tree service in Seminole and tree removal in Seminole.
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Reviews · Tree Removal Permits in Seminole, FL
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“Fast quote and when we decided it was time to remove our Oak, they were there on time and ready to get to work. They have all the equipment necessary for this huge job and work very efficiently.”
“Steven was great, him and his crew got out early and was here all day taking out my four laurel oaks for me. Start to finish it was a pleasure working with happy tree service. The speed and efficiency of the work was fantastic.”
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