GTA Tree Permit Guide
Permit Rules for Dead Trees
Across the GTA
In most of the GTA, a dead tree still needs a permit or a City sign-off. Caledon and East Gwillimbury exempt it from the permit. Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington and Vaughan keep the permit and drop the fee. Mississauga, Newmarket and Vaughan drop the arborist report. The table lists the rule and the paperwork for all 21 municipalities we serve.
Dead trees are not exempt everywhere
"Dead" is not a single legal category across the region. Toronto exempts a tree that is 100 percent dead, but only after the City confirms it. Without that confirmation in hand before removal, cutting the tree is an unauthorized removal, unless immediate work is needed to eliminate a dangerous situation. Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Pickering, and Vaughan keep the permit requirement. Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, and Vaughan drop the application fee, and Pickering drops it when a certified arborist report comes with the application. Brampton, Caledon, and East Gwillimbury exempt a dead or hazardous tree from the permit requirement outright. Markham, Richmond Hill, and Newmarket keep the full permit process in place and instead adjust which report or evidence they'll accept.
Almost every city with an exception wants proof that the tree is dead, and declining is not enough. An arborist letter, dated photographs or a formal risk assessment gets the file approved.
Dead and Hazardous Tree Rules by Municipality
| Municipality | What the bylaw says | Documentation the city wants | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Private Tree By-law, Chapter 813 | No permit is needed for a tree that is 100 percent dead, but the exception applies only to a dead tree "certified as such by the Executive Director" (s. 813-13 A). The City's permit exception confirmation must be in hand before removal. Cutting the tree before that counts as an unauthorized removal, unless immediate work is needed to eliminate a dangerous situation. A tree that is not completely dead gets no exception, and staff offer a regular removal permit instead. A tree confirmed dead needs no replacement tree. | A permit exception request with the tree's size, species, condition, photos, and location, sent to the local Tree Protection and Plan Review district office. An arborist report is recommended but not required, because City staff can inspect the tree. Keep the confirmation on site during removal. On a ravine (RNFP) lot, the request goes to the RNFP team instead. RNFP confirms an exception in writing for a dead or imminently hazardous tree, and that tree has to come down within three calendar days of the confirmation, with no extension. Send RNFP photos once it is gone. | Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 813 → |
| Mississauga Private Tree By-law 0021-2022 | A permit is still required for a dead or dying tree, but the city charges no application fee for one. | Standard application. The bylaw requires an arborist report with every application unless the tree is dead or dying (s. 14(4)), so a dead tree needs no report. | Mississauga permit guide → |
| Markham Tree Preservation By-law 2023-164 | A permit is still required for a dead, dying, or hazardous tree. Classifying a tree in one of those categories removes the replacement-planting and cash-in-lieu conditions that would otherwise apply. | A Tree Risk Assessment Report from a TRAQ-qualified arborist for the expedited high-risk path. Photographs and supporting documents if the tree has already failed. | Markham permit guide → |
| Vaughan Tree Protection By-law 177-2025 | No dead-tree exemption. A dead tree of 20 cm or more needs a permit (s. 4.0(2)). The City's Dead, Hazardous or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Tree Permit has no fee and no replacement planting. The issuance criteria in s. 6.0(2) include that the tree is not a Significant Tree (80 cm or more) and not a Heritage Tree, with no exception for a dead tree. | The application and a plan of the lot showing the tree (s. 6.0(1)). This permit type needs no arborist report, unlike every other Vaughan permit type. | Vaughan permit guide → |
| Brampton Tree Preservation By-law 317-2012 | No dead-tree exemption. A dead tree of 30 cm or more needs a permit unless it qualifies as hazardous. Trees under 30 cm, trees within 2 m of an occupied building and woodland trees are exempt on other grounds. | Documentation that the tree is hazardous, if you rely on the hazardous exemption. | Brampton permit guide → |
| Oakville Private Tree Protection By-law | A dead tree is exempt from the permit application fee, but an application is still required. | Confirmation of the dead condition by the town or a certified arborist. | Oakville permit guide → |
| Richmond Hill Tree Preservation By-law 19-25 | Dead, dying, and hazardous trees go through a separate Exemption Permit rather than the standard Tree Permit process. It is a separate application. | Photographs to support a dead-tree claim, an Arborist Report for a dying tree, or a TRAQ tree risk assessment for a hazardous tree, depending on the category claimed. | Richmond Hill permit guide → |
| Burlington Private Tree By-law 40-2022, s.7.4 | Dead, terminal-condition, or high-risk trees are not permit-exempt: a permit is still required, but the application fee is waived. Emergency tree work is a separate, full exemption from the permit requirement. Significant trees (75 cm DBH or larger) face extra scrutiny unless dead, dying, or a clear safety hazard. | Supporting documentation for the condition claim. | Burlington permit guide → |
| Caledon Tree Preservation By-law 2025-101 | Trees with no living tissue or 70 percent or more dead crown are exempt from the permit requirement, along with hazardous trees and trees removed as emergency work. Separately, dead, dying, or poor-condition trees are exempt only from the replanting compensation requirement, not from the permit itself, except within residential lot environmental easements. | The Town may require an arborist certificate to support a 70 percent or greater dead-crown claim. | Caledon permit guide → |
| Hamilton No unified private tree bylaw | Hamilton has no single dead-tree answer. First identify the former municipality, then check woodland status, tree ownership, enacted schedule sheets, conservation regulation, and development approvals. A tree's condition does not replace those tests. | Ancaster: certification from a Qualified Tree Expert, the City's Officer or the Director of Operations. Dundas: a written application to Planning and Building naming the trees, how they are affected and the reason. Stoney Creek: no form is named. | Hamilton permit guide → |
| Newmarket Private Tree Protection By-law 2022-10 | A permit is still required for a dead or dying tree, but no arborist report is needed. A tree claimed as hazardous needs an arborist report but is fee-free with no replacement trees required. | None for a dead or dying tree. An arborist report for a hazardous-tree claim. | Newmarket permit guide → |
| East Gwillimbury Private Tree By-law 2024-077 | Dead, dying, or hazardous trees are exempt from the permit requirement outright. | The bylaw asks for none. | East Gwillimbury permit guide → |
| Pickering By-law 8073/24 | A permit is still required inside a Tree Protection Area. For a dead, diseased or injured tree there is no fee with a certified arborist report. If the City's arborist has to inspect it, the fee is $52 (Permit for a dead, diseased or injured tree requiring a City arborist inspection). | A certified arborist report documenting the dead or hazardous condition. | Pickering area guide → |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville By-law 2023-060-RE | The bylaw has no dead-tree rule. The bylaw's Mature Tree rules only apply within the town's Secondary Plan settlement areas in the first place, regardless of a tree's condition. | The bylaw asks for none. | Whitchurch-Stouffville area guide → |
| York Region Forest Conservation By-law | The bylaw has no dead or diseased tree exemption. Its only exemption tied to a tree's condition covers a tree in a hazardous condition (s. 3.1(o)). The regional permit applies to woodlands of 1 hectare or more, and to woodlots of 0.2 to 1 hectare only in towns that delegated woodlots to the Region (s. 2.1). Vaughan took its woodlots back. A tree outside a qualifying woodland or woodlot needs no regional permit, dead or alive. | A silvicultural prescription from a Registered Professional Forester. The Region's application asks for no separate dead-tree documents. | York Region area guide → |
| Whitby By-law 4640-00 | The bylaw has no dead-tree rule. The permit requirement applies only within specific zones and lot categories, such as Environmental Protection, Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine, mature woodlands, large residential lots, and heritage districts, not city-wide by diameter. A tree's condition doesn't change whether a zone triggers the requirement. | The bylaw asks for none. | Whitby permit guide → |
| Ajax By-law 137-2006 | The bylaw has no dead-tree rule. The permit requirement applies only to trees in parks, on Greenbelt or Environmental Protection land, or in certain open-space zones, not city-wide by diameter. A tree's condition doesn't change whether a zone triggers the requirement. | The bylaw asks for none. | Ajax permit guide → |
| Clarington Woodlot Preservation By-law 97-35 | The bylaw has no dead-tree rule. The permit requirement applies only to woodlots of 0.2 hectares or more, Environmental Protection-designated land, and trees within 120 metres of a mapped wetland, not to an ordinary tree on a standard lot. A tree's condition doesn't change whether one of those triggers applies. | The bylaw asks for none. | Clarington permit guide → |
| King Township No private tree bylaw | No permit is needed to remove a single tree outside a qualifying woodland or woodlot, dead or alive. Inside a woodland of 1 hectare or more, or a woodlot of 0.2 to 1 hectare, York Region's Forest Conservation By-law applies to a dead tree too. Its only condition-based exemption covers a tree in a hazardous condition. | Not applicable outside a woodland. Woodland removals go through York Region's forestry permit process. | King Township area guide → |
| Milton No private tree bylaw | No permit is needed to remove an individual tree, dead or alive. Halton Region's Tree By-law 121-05 still applies to qualifying woodlots (0.5 hectares or more) regardless of tree condition. | Not applicable outside a qualifying woodlot. | Milton area guide → |
No Bylaw at All, Dead or Alive
King Township, Milton and Oshawa have no private tree bylaw that covers an individual tree on an ordinary lot, so a tree's condition never comes up. A dead maple and a healthy one get the same answer, no permit required. Oshawa's By-law 78-2008 exists, but it protects only city-owned trees, not anything on private property.
In all three, the exception comes from the region. Once a treed area qualifies as a woodland or woodlot, King Township falls under York Region's Forest Conservation By-law, Milton falls under Halton Region's Tree By-law 121-05, and Oshawa falls under Durham Region's Woodland By-law 30-2020. None of the three regional bylaws exempts a dead tree in a qualifying woodland. The permit process applies whatever the tree's condition. York Region's only condition-based exemption covers a tree in a hazardous condition. The regional permit applies once a treed block reaches 0.2 hectares in King Township (a York Region woodlot, with qualifying tree density), 0.5 hectares in Milton (Halton Region) or 1 hectare in Oshawa (Durham Region). See our municipal bylaw comparison for the full no-bylaw and conditional-permit picture across the wider region.
Storm Damage and Emergency Removals
Toronto, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Burlington and Caledon treat a tree that fails in a storm differently from a slow decline. Toronto lets immediate work go ahead to eliminate a dangerous situation without waiting for its exception confirmation. Richmond Hill requires a retrospective permit supported by an Arborist Report and pre-removal photographs, so the paperwork still has to happen, just after the work instead of before it. Newmarket accepts an email notification with photos sent to the Town once the emergency has passed.
Burlington and Caledon go further and exempt emergency tree work from the permit requirement outright, rather than just deferring the paperwork. A tree actively endangering people or a structure should come down regardless of which way a city's paperwork runs, with documentation handled as soon as it's safe to do so. Our self-triage guide for assessing tree risk walks through the warning signs.
Why the Documentation Is the Actual Requirement
Almost none of these cities take a homeowner's word that a tree is dead. Toronto wants photos and tree details with its exception request, and City staff can inspect the tree before they confirm it is dead. Oakville accepts confirmation from the town or a certified arborist. Pickering and Newmarket's hazardous-tree category both want a certified arborist report. Richmond Hill's Exemption Permit is graded evidence: photographs for dead, a full Arborist Report for dying, a TRAQ risk assessment for hazardous.
An arborist letter or report doing that job costs less and moves faster than an application stuck in review because a city reviewer isn't convinced the tree qualifies. We prepare the documentation the city asks for, a condition letter or a formal risk assessment. See how our tree removal reports work.
Common Questions
Do I need a permit to remove a dead tree in the GTA?+
Which GTA cities let you remove a dead tree without a permit at all?+
What documentation do cities want before approving a dead tree removal?+
Can I remove a hazardous tree immediately in an emergency without waiting for a permit?+
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