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WASHINGTON & OREGON · TREE REMOVAL

Tree removal in Washington and Oregon

Most trees west of the Cascades come down for one of three reasons: a root or trunk defect that makes failure likely, a disease with no cure, or a conflict with a building or a power line. Which one you have decides the permit, the method and the cost.

Rules checked 2026-10-02 · Sources at the end

Leaning or crackedGet a risk assessment before you decide Dead or dyingBrittle wood changes how it is climbed Huge Douglas firOver 80 ft: sectional dismantling Tight lot, needs a craneNo drop zone, no truck access Touching a power lineCall the utility first, not a tree service Already downOn a roof, a car or a fence
Oregon labor index$35.40/hr

BLS May 2025 mean wage, tree trimmers and pruners (SOC 37-3013)

Washington labor index$32.20/hr

BLS May 2025 mean wage, same occupation

Portland permit threshold12 in DBH

Private trees, Portland City Code Title 11 (Ch. 11.40 and 11.50)

Seattle tree tiers6 / 12 / 24 in DSH

SMC 25.11; paid work needs a registered Tree Service Provider

When a tree actually needs to come out

The Pacific Northwest failure pattern is wet ground plus wind. Washington DNR’s urban forestry program wrote in January 2026 that a December atmospheric river saturated soils to the point of causing many whole-tree failures, on top of windstorms that put trees on utility lines across the state [1]. Its December 2024 note on tree risk says the same about the fall-to-winter transition: that is when windstorm potential rises [2].

The NOAA record agrees. Of the 1,493 High Wind, Strong Wind and Ice Storm reports logged in Washington and Oregon from January 2016 through June 2026, 1,185 (79%) began in November through March, and NOAA’s fatality records list 20 deaths in the two states from 1996 through mid-2026 where the victim’s location was recorded as “under tree” [38]. Fall is the time to deal with a tree you are worried about. The month-by-month case, including nesting season and Oregon’s ash window, is in the best time to cut down a tree.

Spokane’s windstorm of November 17, 2015 is the clearest example. Gusts reached 71 mph, the city lost about 1,900 managed trees, and a consulting arborist found that soil failures, not broken trunks, accounted for most of them [3]. A tree that starts leaning after a wet storm, with lifted soil on the upwind side, is a root-plate failure in progress; keep people out from under it.

Two diseases drive most planned removals. Laminated root rot attacks Douglas fir and grand fir, and WSU Extension warns that infected trees are hazardous and wind-prone before the crown shows symptoms [4]. Oregon Department of Forestry’s guidance is to remove infected trees and susceptible hosts in a 50 to 75 ft buffer, then pull the stumps or replant with resistant species; cedars are tolerant, maples and alders immune [5].

Western redcedar dieback is different. No pathogen has been identified, agencies attribute it to drought stress, and WSU documents mortality peaking in 2017 and 2018 on the coast and west side [6]. ODF’s advice is supplemental summer water and moist, shaded sites for new plantings, and the joint ODF, DNR and Forest Service alert asks people to report pockets of two or more mature trees with thinning crowns, not single trees [7].

Dead and dying trees are the simplest call and the most time-sensitive, because brittle wood changes how a climber works. Ash is the new case: emerald ash borer is confirmed in Washington, Yamhill, Marion, Clackamas and Multnomah counties in Oregon, and Washington’s first detection was confirmed near Vancouver in August 2026 [8]. Ash wood, chips and stumps cannot leave Oregon’s quarantine counties without an ODA compliance agreement [8].

A healthy tree close to the house is not, by itself, a reason to remove it; DNR’s risk note says the risk trees pose to human safety is very low [2]. Pay for an assessment by an arborist with the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification before you pay for a removal. What makes a tree a hazard, and the proof cities want before one comes down, is in hazard tree removal.

  • Defects predict failure. A Mississippi State University Extension guide reports that more than 80% of trees that fail in storms have defects such as cracks, decay, weak unions or dead tops [36].
  • Risk has three parts. The same guide rates a tree on the defect, the size and weight of the part that could fail, and whether there is a target (people, a house, a car) within reach. A defective tree with nothing under it is a low priority; a sound tree over a bedroom is not automatically a removal [36].
  • Owner checklist. The International Society of Arboriculture lists the signs that mean a tree should be looked at: large dead branches, hanging broken limbs, loose bark, cracks or splits, cavities, mushrooms at the base, recent construction or grade change, small or yellow leaves, and past topping [37].

What tree removal costs in Oregon and Washington

The ranges below start from the BLS May 2025 mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners, $35.40 an hour in Oregon and $32.20 in Washington [9], multiplied for payroll burden, overhead and equipment to a crew-hour rate of about $225 in Oregon and $210 in Washington. Modeled estimate, not quotes (method).

Tree heightCrew-hoursOregonWashington
Under 25 ft2–4$450–$900$400–$850
25–50 ft4–8$900–$1,800$850–$1,700
50–80 ft8–16$1,800–$3,600$1,700–$3,400
Over 80 ft14–30$3,150–$6,750$2,950–$6,300

Those figures include chipping and haul-away and exclude the stump. Three things move them: a trunk within 10 ft of a structure (×1.25), no truck or chipper access so wood is carried out by hand (×1.3), and a crane day, which adds $1,500 to $3,500 for the operator and mobilization. Stump grinding is a separate line, modeled at $4 to $6 per inch of diameter with a $150 minimum.

Worked example: a 70-ft Douglas fir in Beaverton, 8 ft from the house, with driveway access, is 8 to 16 crew-hours at $225, or $1,800 to $3,600, and the structure multiplier takes it to $2,250 to $4,500. Modeled estimate, not quotes (method). The tree removal cost page works through the carry-out and crane cases too.

Do you need a permit? Ten cities compared

Rules run from “no permit for private trees” (Spokane) to a permit for most trees from about 6 in up (Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Happy Valley). Ten of the largest cases are below; the full tables, including Vancouver, Beaverton and Hillsboro, are in tree removal permits in Oregon and tree removal permits in Washington. DBH and DSH both mean trunk diameter 4.5 ft above the ground.

CityRule for a tree on private residential landThresholdCode
Portland, ORPermit required. Type A (no notice) for dead, dying or dangerous trees, trunks within 10 ft of a structure, and up to 4 healthy trees under 20 in per year; Type B with public notice for healthy trees 20 in and up. No fee since July 1, 202512 in DBHPCC 11.40 [10]
Salem, ORPermit only for “significant” trees: 30 in and up, Oregon white oak 20 in and up, rare species, riparian corridors30 in DBHSRC 808 [11]
Eugene, ORPermit only to fell more than 5 trees in 12 months on a parcel of 20,000 sq ft or more; smaller lots with a house are exempt. $152.07 for 1–10 trees8 in DBH countsEC 6.305 [12]
Gresham, ORFree exemption for up to 3 regulated trees per 12 months on lots of 35,000 sq ft or less; beyond that a Type II permit8 in DBH (6 in in overlays)DC 9.1000 [13]
Bend, ORNo permit on a lot of one acre or less with an existing dwellingNone on exempt lotsBC 16.40.020 [14]
Seattle, WADeveloped lot, no construction: most residential zones may remove at most 2 Tier 4 trees per 3 years; hazard trees with replacement; paid work only by an SDCI-registered provider, with 6 business days’ online noticeTier 4 = 6–<12 in, Tier 3 = 12–<24 in, Tier 2 = 24 in+ DSHSMC 25.11 [15]
Spokane, WANo permit for private trees; permits apply to street and park treesNoneSMC 12.02.960 [16]
Tacoma, WANo general private-tree permit; one may be required in or near critical areas (wetlands, streams, steep slopes)None outside critical areasTMC 13.11 [17]
Bellevue, WA“Tree Removal Only” clearing permit for any significant or landmark tree; lots up to 10,000 sq ft may remove 1 landmark or 2 significant trees a year without replacement; a tree a TRAQ-qualified tree professional rates hazardous still needs the permit but falls outside the annual limit and replanting (BCC 23.76.060.G)6 in DBH significant, 24 in landmarkBCC 23.76.035 [18]
Kirkland, WANotification only within the allowance (2 trees a year on lots up to 10,000 sq ft); permit beyond that, $600 plus a 3.5% surcharge; landmark trees $3006 in DBH regulated, 26 in landmarkKZC 95 [19]

Street trees are a separate question everywhere. In Portland, any work on a street tree needs a Type A permit regardless of size [20]; in Seattle, an SDOT permit is required to prune or remove any tree in the right-of-way [15]. Cutting a tree on a neighbor’s side of the line is the expensive mistake: both states award treble damages for timber trespass, under ORS 105.810 in Oregon and RCW 64.12.030 in Washington [21][22].

How removal is done: felling, climb-and-rig, or crane

Felling is a single cut at the base and a controlled fall. It needs a clear lay as long as the tree is tall, which rules it out on most city lots and makes it the method for acreage around Estacada, Sultan or Roseburg. OSHA’s tree-care hazard bulletin also keeps ground workers at least twice the tree’s height away from a felling, or one and a half times its height when the tree is pulled over with a rope [39], so a 100-ft fir needs far more open ground than its own length.

Climb-and-rig is the default in Portland, Seattle and every suburb between. A climber goes up on rope or in a bucket, takes the crown apart in pieces, and lowers each piece on rigging lines to a ground crew feeding the chipper. Crew-hours scale with height and with how little room there is under the tree. The 80 ft and up class, mostly Douglas fir and western redcedar, is covered in large tree removal.

A crane replaces the rigging. The operator lifts whole sections over the house and sets them in the street, which is faster and safer where there is no drop zone, no truck access, or a trunk too decayed to climb. It adds a modeled $1,500 to $3,500 for the crane day and usually a street-use permit; crane tree removal covers when it pays for itself.

A climber in a helmet and harness standing on a large horizontal limb high above a shingled roof, with the tree canopy overhead
A climber working on a large limb above a roofline. Photo: Zack Masters / Unsplash

Trees near power lines

Both states draw the same line. Oregon OSHA’s tree-service rules require anyone who is not a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer to stay at least 10 ft from lines energized at 50 kV or less, with more distance at higher voltages (OAR 437-002-0306) [23]. Washington’s rule is WAC 296-24-960(6): unqualified people and anything they hold stay at least 10 ft from unguarded overhead lines up to 50 kV, and only line-clearance tree trimmers work inside that zone [24]. Oregon adds a liability rule: anyone working within 10 ft of a line over 600 volts must notify the utility in advance, and a contractor who skips the notice is liable to the utility for all accident costs (ORS 757.805) [25].

A regular tree crew is not a line-clearance crew. If a branch is touching a conductor, or the tree is inside 10 ft of one, the first call is to the utility. A line on the ground is a 911 call, then the outage line.

Who trims what depends on which wire it is. Portland General Electric keeps at least 10 ft of clearance around its primary lines and trims the service wire to your house only when branches strain or abrade it [26]. Puget Sound Energy does not trim service lines; it will do a safety disconnection, with at least 5 business days’ notice, so your own arborist can work near the drop [27]. Seattle City Light prunes service lines only for the first 10 ft from the distribution connection [28], and Avista calls the pole-to-house wire the homeowner’s responsibility, with a free disconnect on 3 business days’ notice [29]. The table for Pacific Power, Tacoma Power, Snohomish PUD and Clark Public Utilities is on tree removal near power lines.

If you replant near the wires, ISA’s planting zones keep the new tree off the utility’s list: within 15 ft of distribution lines choose a species 20 ft or shorter at maturity, 15 to 50 ft away 40 ft or shorter, and save tall species such as Douglas fir for 50 ft and beyond [40].

What to expect on the day

A residential removal under 80 ft with access is usually one working day. The crew sets a drop zone, moves vehicles and patio furniture, and may ask you to keep pets and kids inside. Brush goes through the chipper as it comes down; trunk wood is bucked into rounds and hauled, or left stacked if the quote says firewood stays.

The stump is not part of removal unless the quote says so. Portland’s code treats a tree as completely removed once it is cut to a stump no taller than 4.5 ft, and for street trees the city can direct that the stump be ground out up to 18 in below grade [30]. Grinding is a separate machine and usually a separate visit, modeled at $150 to $450 by diameter on stump grinding.

Aerial view of a green wood chipper on pavement with a worker in a hi-vis vest feeding branches into it
A worker feeding branches into a wood chipper, seen from above. Photo: Daniel Miksha / Unsplash

Replanting and replacement rules

Several Oregon cities tie the permit to a replacement tree. Portland requires “tree for tree” replacement for removals under 20 in DBH and “up to inch for inch” for 20 in and larger, with a fund payment allowed instead at $472 per DBH inch or $712 per on-site tree (FY2025-26) [10]. Lake Oswego requires one 1.5 in caliper deciduous tree or a 6 ft evergreen per tree removed, 2:1 for a significant tree removed for development, and waives it for dead, hazard and Type I removals [31]. Milwaukie scales Type B replacement by size: one tree for a 6 to 12 in removal, two for 12 to 24 in, three for 24 to 36 in and four for 36 in and up, plus a Tree Fund fee [32].

Gresham requires 1-for-1 replacement under 24 in and one caliper inch per 4 in removed above that [13]. In Washington, Seattle requires replacement for hazard-tree removals in Tiers 1 to 3 [15]. Before you choose the species, reread the laminated root rot note above; replanting Douglas fir on an infected site repeats the problem.

How to check a crew before they start

Oregon defines a contractor to include anyone hired to remove or prune trees or remove limbs or stumps, so a tree service needs a Construction Contractors Board or Landscape Contractors Board license; there is no tree-service exemption (ORS 701.005, ORS 671.525) [33]. Look the business up at the CCB license search or the LCB verify page; the walkthrough is in how to look up an Oregon tree service license.

Washington’s contractor statute expressly includes “performing tree removal services,” which means L&I registration with a bond and insurance (RCW 18.27.010) [34]. The L&I Verify tool shows registration, workers’ comp status, bond lawsuits and safety violations. Seattle goes further: paid work on any Tier 1 to 4 tree must be done by an SDCI-registered Tree Service Provider carrying $1 million in general liability with the City as additional insured and an ISA Certified Arborist on staff or retainer [15]. See how to look up a Washington tree service license.

  • Ask for the license or registration number and check it yourself the same day.
  • Ask for a certificate of insurance that names you, and confirm workers’ comp covers the climber.
  • Get the scope in writing: tree, height, stump yes or no, wood hauled or left, and who pulls the permit.
  • For a risk call rather than a quote, ask for an arborist with the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification; the ISA directory verifies credentials [35].

Tools: can this tree reach the house? · tree risk checklist · permit checker.

Tree removal by area

Statewide rules, costs and storm seasons: Tree removal in Washington · Tree removal in Oregon.

Sources

  1. Making Urban Forests Stronger, Part 1 – Before the Storm, Washington DNR Urban and Community Forestry (Jan 14, 2026), checked 2026-10-02.
  2. Assessing Trees for Risk and TRAQ Qualified Arborists, Washington DNR (Dec 9, 2024), checked 2026-10-02.
  3. 2015 Spokane Windstorm: Aftermath and Next Steps, Washington DNR (Jan 8, 2016), checked 2026-10-02.
  4. Douglas-fir: Laminated root rot, WSU Hortsense, checked 2026-10-02.
  5. Laminated Root Rot, Oregon Department of Forestry, checked 2026-10-02.
  6. Western Redcedar Mortality, WSU Meddens Lab, checked 2026-10-02.
  7. Tree Declines: Western Redcedar fact sheet, Oregon Department of Forestry and Western Redcedar Dieback handout, WA DNR / ODF / USFS (Sept 2022), checked 2026-10-02.
  8. Emerald Ash Borer, Washington Invasive Species Council and Emerald Ash Borer, Oregon Department of Agriculture (OAR 603-052-1075), checked 2026-10-02.
  9. Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025: 37-3013 Tree Trimmers and Pruners, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, checked 2026-10-02.
  10. Tree Removal and Replanting Permits, Portland Permitting & Development and Portland City Code Chapter 11.40, checked 2026-10-02.
  11. Tree Removal on Your Property, City of Salem (SRC 808), checked 2026-10-02.
  12. Eugene Code 6.305 and Tree Removal Permits handout, City of Eugene, checked 2026-10-02.
  13. Trees, City of Gresham (Development Code 9.1000), checked 2026-10-02.
  14. Bend Code 16.40.020, checked 2026-10-02.
  15. Tree Removal, Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SMC 25.11) and Street Tree Permits, SDOT, checked 2026-10-02.
  16. Urban Forestry Permits, City of Spokane, checked 2026-10-02.
  17. Street Tree Removal and Replacement tip sheet, Tacoma Permits, checked 2026-10-02.
  18. Tree Removal, City of Bellevue (BCC 23.76.035), checked 2026-10-02.
  19. Trees, City of Kirkland (KZC 95), checked 2026-10-02.
  20. Portland City Code 11.60.060 Tree Maintenance Specifications and Responsibilities, checked 2026-10-02.
  21. ORS 105.810 Treble damages for injury to or removal of produce, trees or shrubs, checked 2026-10-02.
  22. RCW 64.12.030 Injury to or removing trees, etc.—Damages, checked 2026-10-02.
  23. Oregon OSHA Division 2/R, Rules for Tree and Shrub Services (OAR 437-002-0301 to -0311), checked 2026-10-02.
  24. WAC 296-24-960 Working on or near exposed energized parts and WAC 296-45-035 Definitions (line-clearance tree trimmer), checked 2026-10-02.
  25. ORS 757.805 Work in proximity to high voltage overhead lines, checked 2026-10-02.
  26. Tree Maintenance, Portland General Electric, checked 2026-10-02.
  27. Tree Trimming, Puget Sound Energy, checked 2026-10-02.
  28. Vegetation Management, Seattle City Light, checked 2026-10-02.
  29. Tree Trimming, Avista, checked 2026-10-02.
  30. Portland City Code 11.60.050 Tree Removal Specifications, checked 2026-10-02.
  31. Lake Oswego Code Article 55.02 Tree Removal, checked 2026-10-02.
  32. Milwaukie Municipal Code Chapter 16.32 Tree Code, checked 2026-10-02.
  33. ORS Chapter 701 Construction Contractors and Oregon Landscape Contractors Board, checked 2026-10-02.
  34. RCW 18.27.010 Definitions (contractor) and Register as a Contractor, Washington L&I, checked 2026-10-02.
  35. Find an ISA-Credentialed Arborist, International Society of Arboriculture, checked 2026-10-02.
  36. Tree Health Assessment and Risk Management, Publication 3717, Mississippi State University Extension (2025), cited for method only, checked 2026-10-02.
  37. Recognizing Tree Risk, International Society of Arboriculture (2021), checked 2026-10-02.
  38. NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: Washington and Oregon event details 2016–2026 and fatality records 1996–2026 (fatality location “Under Tree”), our counts, checked 2026-10-02.
  39. Tree Care Work: Falls and Falling Object Hazards, OSHA Hazard Bulletin HB 3731 (2014), checked 2026-10-02.
  40. Avoiding Tree and Utility Conflicts, International Society of Arboriculture (2021), 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.

01A current certificate of liability insurance, sent by the insurer
02A state license you looked up yourself: Oregon CCB or LCB, Washington L&I
03Who is on site: an ISA Certified Arborist, or a crew lead with years on the job
04Haul-away, chipping and cleanup written in, not assumed
05The stump: ground, left, or priced as a separate line
06Who pulls the city permit, and whether the fee is in the price
07What happens if a fence, roof or lawn gets damaged
08Your written approval before any extra work is added
Check any company yourself

We don't vet or license anyone. These are the official lookups; each takes about a minute.

WhatWhereWhat it shows
Oregon CCB licenseCCB license searchActive status, bond, insurance on file, complaints
Oregon LCB licenseLCB verify a licenseLandscape contracting license, which covers tree work
Washington contractor registrationL&I VerifyRegistration, bond, workers' comp, lawsuits, violations
ISA Certified ArboristISA directoryCurrent certification and credential number

How to read them: Oregon guide · Washington guide

Check any company yourself

We don't vet or license anyone. These are the official lookups; each takes about a minute.

WhatWhereWhat it shows
Oregon CCB licenseCCB license searchActive status, bond, insurance on file, complaints
Oregon LCB licenseLCB verify a licenseLandscape contracting license, which covers tree work
Washington contractor registrationL&I VerifyRegistration, bond, workers' comp, lawsuits, violations
ISA Certified ArboristISA directoryCurrent 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.

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