A search for tree service in Tampa returns companies from all over the bay area. This page is about the City of Tampa itself: about 385,000 people, a canopy the city measures every five years, a tree code with real teeth, and pickup and utility rules that decide who does what when a limb comes down.
Tree Service Tampa FL does no tree work. It is a free phone line. Call (689) 407-5379, give the automated assistant your neighborhood or ZIP and describe the tree, and the call is transferred to an independent, locally owned tree service company that serves your side of town. That company sees the tree, sets its own price and does the job.
A city that counts its trees
Tampa has been designated a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation since 1981, and its tree ordinance calls for a canopy and urban forest study every five years. The 2021 study, carried out by the University of South Florida, was the fourth. It found tree canopy over 30 percent of the city's land, the lowest level in 26 years and 2.3 percent less than in 2016. The city answered with a plan to plant 30,000 trees by 2030.
The same work counted 259 tree and shrub species. The city's own urban forest reports list live oak, laurel oak and cabbage palm among Tampa's ten most common trees, and cabbage palms make up 75 percent of all the palms in the city. Those three account for most of the calls a Tampa homeowner is likely to make: a live oak spreading over a roof, a laurel oak with a hollow trunk, or a cabbage palm that needs dead fronds cleared.
Neighborhoods inside city limits
Tampa runs from the shore of Hillsborough Bay up to New Tampa in the far north, and the tree work changes from one end to the other. A few places callers name often:
- Seminole Heights. A historic district of bungalows built roughly between 1912 and 1928, with old oaks over narrow lots. Limbs over porches and roofs, and tight side yards for trucks and chippers, are the usual story here.
- Tampa Heights and Ybor City. Ybor City grew up around cigar factories in the 1880s and Tampa Heights sits just north of downtown. Both are older parts of town where historic preservation rules can apply, so ask the city before planning work on a big tree near a landmark building.
- East Tampa. Older single-family streets where the city's redevelopment agency has run a trimming grant for storm safety, covered in the FAQ below.
- Westshore. Mainly a business district, with homes on the streets around it. Commercial property owners there follow the same city tree code.
- New Tampa. Annexed by the city in 1988, it takes in communities such as Tampa Palms, Hunters Green, K-Bar Ranch and Cory Lake Isles. Newer homes, younger trees and HOA rules make tree trimming in New Tampa a different job from trimming in the old core. Check your HOA's rules as well as the city's before anything is cut.
- South Tampa. Hyde Park, Palma Ceia, Davis Islands and the rest of the peninsula have their own page: tree service in South Tampa.
One caution: a Tampa mailing address is not always a City of Tampa address. Carrollwood, for example, is an unincorporated community, so Hillsborough County rules apply there, and the county generally requires a permit for trees 12 inches or more in diameter on developed residential lots rather than the city's 5 inch line. If you are searching for tree removal near Tampa, FL, outside the city, confirm which government covers your lot first. Carrollwood has its own page: tree service in Carrollwood.
Who handles which tree problem in Tampa
Whose tree is it, and whose wire does it touch? Sort that out first and the rest of the job gets simpler.
| Situation | Who handles it | How to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| A tree on your own lot needs trimming or removal | You, through a company you hire, with a city permit for most removals | Call the free line to be put through to a local company |
| Permit questions | City of Tampa Natural Resources | (813) 274-3100 or treequestions@tampagov.net |
| A tree in the right of way, a median or a city alley, or a tree blocking a street | City Parks and Recreation, Forestry | (813) 274-5744 |
| Limbs on Tampa Electric lines between poles | Tampa Electric | Report it online through Tampa Electric's tree limb form |
| Branches around the service line to your house | The owner | Tampa Electric can disconnect it for trimming: 813-635-1500, two weeks ahead |
| A line is down, sparking or lying in a tree | Emergency services and the utility | 911, then Tampa Electric at 877-588-1010 |
The city permit, in short
The City of Tampa reads its tree code broadly. Removing any tree with a trunk 5 inches or more across, measured 4.5 feet above the ground, needs a permit unless the tree is an invasive species. A Natural Resources forester reviews each request before the permit is released, or the owner can hire one of the city's self-certified private arborists to inspect the tree and file a report. Most removals carry mitigation, meaning replacement trees, or a payment into the city's tree fund when there is no room to plant.
- 5 inchesTrunk diameter that triggers a city removal permit
- 32 inchesSize of a grand tree, which needs special circumstances to remove
- $120City fee for a protected tree removal evaluation, per property
- $620City fee for a grand tree removal evaluation when the tree is not hazardous
Grand trees are where the code bites hardest. Removing a healthy one can require a decision by the Variance Review Board or City Council, and the council has turned down a developer's appeal to remove grand oaks. Florida Statute 163.045 offers a separate path for single-family homes: with documentation from an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect that a tree poses an unacceptable risk, the city cannot require a permit, fee or replanting. The city asks owners to send it that documentation so the removal is not cited as a violation. Applications go through the city's online permitting portal, and the permit guide covers each step.
Milton and what it taught Tampa yards
Hurricane Milton made landfall south of Tampa Bay on the night of October 9, 2024, as a Category 3 storm. Tampa International Airport recorded a peak gust of 93 mph. Tampa Electric reported nearly 600,000 customers out at the peak, about 70 percent of the customers it serves, mostly because uprooted trees and debris brought down lines and poles. More than 6,000 line workers, tree trimmers and support staff worked the restoration.
The cleanup that followed was huge. City crews collected vegetative storm debris from the curb and asked residents to keep it separate from other debris and 3 feet clear of cars and other obstructions. The city opened vegetative drop-off sites at 22nd Street Park and Gadsden Park and waived disposal fees for residents at McKay Bay. Hillsborough County reported collecting more than 4.8 million cubic yards of storm debris by the end of January 2025.
The lesson for the next season, which runs June 1 to November 30, is to get a big tree near the house looked at while the weather is calm. A company you hire can tell you whether a laurel oak is hollow, whether a limb over the roof should come off, and whether the work needs a permit, long before a storm watch is posted. The trimming schedule guide covers timing.
Getting rid of the wood
City of Tampa homes get yard waste collection once a week. Up to 4 cubic yards can go out each time, in reusable containers of 32 gallons or less, in paper yard waste bags, or in bundles tied with natural fiber jute twine, with brush cut to 4 foot lengths and no item heavier than 50 pounds. Plastic bags stopped being accepted for yard waste on February 1, 2024, and the city now turns what it collects into mulch.
Curbside collection is meant for waste a resident makes, though. The city says landscaping companies must dispose of what they generate at a job, including at homes. When you compare quotes, ask whether hauling the wood away is included or whether you will be left with a pile. The removal cost guide explains what a complete quote should cover.
Hiring for a job inside the city
- Find out whose tree it isA tree near the curb may stand in the right of way even if you mow under it. The city's Forestry office can tell you.
- Ask about the permitAsk the company whether the tree is over 5 inches, whether it could be a grand tree, and who files the permit. Get the answer in writing.
- Check the wiresPole to pole lines are Tampa Electric's to clear. The line to the house is yours, and only a qualified crew should work near it.
- Get the whole job in the quoteRemoval, cleanup, hauling, stump grinding and any permit fees should each be spelled out, because the city will not take a company's debris at the curb.
Florida does not license tree trimmers or tree removal companies, so the paperwork you ask for is your main protection.
Check the company yourself. Florida has no statewide license for tree trimming or tree removal, so a truck and a business card prove very little. Ask the company for a certificate of general liability insurance sent by its insurance agent, proof of workers' compensation coverage, and the ISA certification number of its arborist. A company that sprays or treats trees for hire needs a pesticide license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. You can confirm an ISA certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Not sure what the tree needs? Call and describe it. The company you are put through to looks at the tree and tells you the price before any work starts.
Tree work Tampa homes call about
Tree Removal
Taking down a dead, leaning, storm-damaged or unwanted tree near a Tampa Bay home, from laurel oaks and pines to big live oaks, and what a complete quote covers.
Tree Trimming
Getting limbs off the roof and away from lines, raising canopies, thinning oaks the right way before hurricane season and keeping palms tidy without over-cutting.
Stump Grinding
Grinding old stumps below the lawn after a removal or a storm, what happens to the chips and roots, and what a stump quote should cover.
Palm Tree Trimming
Removing dead fronds, seed stalks and loose boots from sabal, queen, date and Washingtonia palms without over-cutting the green crown.
How a Tampa call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Tampa FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Tampa Bay area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Tampa FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.
Guides for Tampa homeowners
- Tampa Tree Removal Permit Guide
- Can You Get a Tree Removed for Free in Tampa?
- Tree Removal Cost in Tampa
- Tree Trimming Cost in Tampa
- How Often to Trim Trees in Tampa
Other parts of the Tampa Bay area
Suburbs and nearby cities set their own tree rules, and many have a different power company or trash pickup. Each has its own page, and some have pages for a single job: tree removal in Brandon, Plant City, Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg, Palm Harbor and Dunedin, and tree trimming in Plant City, Wesley Chapel, St. Petersburg and Palm Harbor.