GTA Tree Permit Guide
Do You Need a Permit
for a Dead Tree?
A dead tree does not mean a free pass in most of the GTA. Some cities exempt it from the permit entirely, some waive only the application fee, and some just drop the arborist report. This guide compares the dead and hazardous tree exception in all 21 municipalities we serve, with the documentation each one actually wants.
The Short Answer
"Dead" is not a single legal category across the region. Toronto has no dead-tree-specific exemption at all: only an immediate hazard skips the permit process, and even then documentation follows after removal. Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, and Pickering keep the permit requirement but drop the application fee. 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.
The one constant: almost every city that offers any kind of exception wants proof the tree is actually dead, not just declining. A stump-level guess is not documentation. An arborist letter, a set of dated photographs, or a formal risk assessment is what moves a file from "pending" to "approved."
Dead and Hazardous Tree Rules by Municipality
What each bylaw says about a dead or hazardous tree, and what the city wants to see before it agrees.
| Municipality | What the bylaw says | Documentation the city wants | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Private Tree By-law, Chapter 813 | No dead-tree-specific exemption. A standard permit and arborist report are required for a dead but non-hazardous tree. Only an immediate hazard to persons or property is exempt from the permit requirement, and that exemption still needs documentation after the fact. | The same arborist report required for any removal application. For an immediate hazard, documentation of the emergency after removal. | Toronto permit guide → |
| 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's arborist report requirement applies to all applications, dead trees included. | 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 | Dead or hazardous trees are exempt from the permit requirement, provided the condition is documented. | Documentation supporting the dead or hazardous condition. The arborist report Vaughan otherwise requires for every application does not apply to an exempt tree. | Vaughan permit guide → |
| Brampton Tree Preservation By-law 317-2012 | Dead or hazardous trees are exempt from the permit requirement. | The city recommends documentation to support the exemption, though the guide does not describe it as mandatory. | 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. This is a different application, not a permit-free pass. | 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 | Rules vary by former municipality: Ancaster protects trees 45 cm and larger, Dundas 15 cm, Stoney Creek regulates woodlots only, and most of the former City of Hamilton has no private tree bylaw at all, regardless of a tree's condition. | Not specified in the bylaw; confirm with the municipality for the areas that do regulate trees. | 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. | Not specified in the bylaw; confirm with the Town. | East Gwillimbury permit guide → |
| Pickering By-law 8073/24 | A permit is still required, but the standard fee is waived for a dead or dangerous tree. | A certified arborist report documenting the dead or hazardous condition. | Pickering area guide → |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville By-law 2023-060-RE | No dead-tree-specific provision found. 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. | Not specified in the bylaw; confirm with the Town. | Whitchurch-Stouffville area guide → |
| York Region Forest Conservation By-law | No dead-tree-specific carve-out found. The regional forestry permit applies to qualifying woodlands and woodlots regardless of an individual tree's condition. A tree outside a qualifying woodland needs no regional permit, dead or alive. | Not specified for woodland removals; confirm with York Region. | York Region area guide → |
| Whitby By-law 4640-00 | No dead-tree-specific provision found. 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. | Not specified in the bylaw; contact the Town for zone-specific requirements. | Whitby permit guide → |
| Ajax By-law 137-2006 | No dead-tree-specific provision found. 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. | Not specified in the bylaw; contact the Town for zone-specific requirements. | Ajax permit guide → |
| Clarington Woodlot Preservation By-law 97-35 | No dead-tree-specific provision found. 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. | Not specified in the bylaw; contact the Municipality for zone-specific requirements. | Clarington permit guide → |
| King Township No private tree bylaw | No permit is needed to remove a single tree outside a qualifying woodland, dead or alive. Inside a qualifying woodland (0.2 hectares or more), York Region's Forest Conservation By-law applies regardless of the tree's 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 → |
Sourced from each municipality's own bylaw text, permit guide, or official website, cross-checked against our municipal bylaw comparison. Where a bylaw does not publish a dead-tree-specific rule, this table says so rather than guessing. Verified as of July 2026.
No Bylaw at All, Dead or Alive
King Township, Milton, and Oshawa sit outside this comparison in a different way: none of the three has a private tree bylaw covering 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.
The exception in all three is a regional one, not a municipal one. 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 carves out an exception for dead trees within a qualifying woodland; the permit process applies to the removal regardless of condition. If your property backs onto a treed block rather than a single yard tree, confirm whether that block meets the regional size threshold before assuming the no-bylaw answer applies. See our municipal bylaw comparison for the full no-bylaw and conditional-permit picture across the wider region.
Storm Damage and Emergency Removals
A tree that fails or comes down in a storm is a different situation from a slow decline you can plan around, and most cities treat it that way. Toronto allows removal of an immediate hazard before a permit is issued, provided the emergency is documented afterward. 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. None of this replaces judgment on-site. 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. If you're not sure whether a declining tree has crossed that line, our self-triage guide for assessing tree risk walks through the warning signs.
Why the Documentation Is the Actual Requirement
Look across the table above and a pattern shows up: almost none of these cities take a homeowner's word that a tree is dead. Toronto requires the same arborist report as any removal application unless the tree is an immediate hazard. 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 that documentation to the standard each municipality expects, whether that means a straightforward condition letter or a full TRAQ-based 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?+
For diameter thresholds, timelines, and penalties across all 21 municipalities, see the full GTA tree permit requirements comparison.
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