Tree trimming in Portland, Oregon
In Portland, pruning a street tree needs a city permit for anything beyond sucker shoots under half an inch, and that permit has been free since 2025.
3–8 crew-hours; not a quote.
For lines they own; the service drop is yours.
Plan pruning around the wet season.
Pruning rules and permits in Portland
Street trees carry the strictest pruning rule in the city code. Portland requires a permit to prune a street tree, with the only exception being sucker shoots under 1/2 inch, and removing one of any size always takes a permit plus replacement. Since 2025 those street-tree permits have been free.
Yard trees are regulated mainly at removal, from 12 inches DBH. Heavy pruning that kills a tree can be treated as removal, so cuts on large private trees deserve the same care. Urban Forestry answers questions at 503-823-8733 or Trees@PortlandOregon.gov.
Permit required for trees 12 in DBH and up
Threshold: Private trees 12 in DBH and larger regulated (PCC 11.40.020); smaller trees may need a permit in environmental overlay zones/plan districts (Table 40-1)
Allowances and tiers: Type A (no notice): dead/dying/dangerous, nuisance species, trunk within 10 ft of structure, up to 4 healthy trees under 20 in/yr; Type B (notice): 20 in+
Fee: Removal and Replanting permit: no charge on/after July 1, 2025; Replanting Waiver $50 (was $100); fee in lieu $472 per DBH inch or $712 per tree; hourly $160
Replacement: yes
Street trees: Permit always required to remove a street tree of any size; pruning permit except sucker shoots under 1/2 in; replacement required (11.40.040); free since 2025
Issued by: Portland Parks & Recreation Urban Forestry, within Portland Permitting & Development (Trees@PortlandOregon.gov, 503-823-8733)
Portland City Code Title 11 (Trees): 11.40.020, 11.40.030, 11.40.050 (Table 40-3), 11.40.060, 11.50.040, 11.20.060, 11.60 · Official page · Checked 2026-10-02
Power lines and utilities in Portland
Portland’s electric utility and its clearance rules aren’t mapped on this site yet, so check the utilities page for updates. In general the utility handles primary lines while the line from the pole to your house is a shared or owner question, and only line-qualified crews should work near energized wires.
The local reason to care is ice. FEMA’s National Risk Index scores Multnomah County 91.8 for ice storm risk, and ice-loaded limbs over service drops are a common cause of outages. More on tree trimming.
| Utility | Outage line | Tree trimming requests |
|---|---|---|
| Portland General Electric | 503-464-7777 or 800-544-1795 (24 h) | request page |
Split: Pacific Power serves most of NE Portland, part of N Portland and three downtown pockets; PGE serves SE, SW, NW and most of N
Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; OAR 437-002-0306 (OR-OSHA). Checked 2026-10-02.
What trimming costs in Portland
Access, height and proximity to wires set most of the price. Ice-damaged limbs hanging over a roof or line take careful rigging, which adds time.
BLS reports about 1,160 tree workers in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro area at a mean of $35.04 an hour, a larger labor pool than many Oregon metros. That is pay, not a price; the modeled range below shows the result, explained on the methodology page.
| Tree size | Crew-hours | Oregon modeled range |
|---|---|---|
| Small ornamental | 1–3 | $200–$700 |
| Medium tree | 3–8 | $700–$1,800 |
| Large or mature tree | 8–16 | $1,800–$3,600 |
Modeled estimate, not quotes (method): crew-hours × $225 per crew-hour, rounded to $50.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013. Checked 2026-10-02.
When to trim in Portland
Summer is Portland’s dry window: the airport station averages 0.51 inches of rain in July and 0.54 in August, against 5.77 in December. Pruning then reduces limb weight before the December-to-February peak in storm reports.
Ash is the exception to plan around. With emerald ash borer under quarantine here, cover any load of ash prunings moved during the April 1 to September 30 flight period and keep raw ash wood inside the quarantine area.
Month-by-month guide: best time to trim trees in the Pacific Northwest. Types of pruning: crown thinning and reduction.
What to do next
Find out whether the tree is a street tree before anything else; if it is, get the free pruning permit. Then check for overhead lines and verify the company through the Oregon license lookup.
Back to tree service in Portland · Tree trimming across WA and OR · Tree trimming in Oregon · cost guide.
Sources
- Portland tree code (Portland City Code Title 11 (Trees): 11.40.020, 11.40.030, 11.40.050 (Table 40-3), 11.40.060, 11.50.040, 11.20.060, 11.60), checked 2026-10-02.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013, checked 2026-10-02.
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026, checked 2026-10-02.
- NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions), checked 2026-10-02.
- Portland General Electric vegetation management, checked 2026-10-02.
Comparing quotes? Check these eight things first.
Two quotes for the same tree can differ by thousands. The gap is usually in what's included, not the cutting.
We don't vet or license anyone. These are the official lookups; each takes about a minute.
| What | Where | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon CCB license | CCB license search | Active status, bond, insurance on file, complaints |
| Oregon LCB license | LCB verify a license | Landscape contracting license, which covers tree work |
| Washington contractor registration | L&I Verify | Registration, bond, workers' comp, lawsuits, violations |
| ISA Certified Arborist | ISA directory | Current certification and credential number |
How to read them: Oregon guide · Washington guide
Westcoast-Tree.org is an independent information site. If you call a number on this site, the call goes to a tree service that covers your area and we may be paid a referral fee by that company. We don't perform tree work and we don't vet, license or insure anyone. Cost figures are modeled estimates, not quotes (method). Not affiliated with the former Westcoast Tree Care Inc of Tumwater, WA.