Tree service in Seattle, Washington

Tree removal permits in Seattle

The city code sets the line at 6 inches measured at standard height, which Seattle calls DSH. Below that a tree is unregulated. From 6 to under 12 inches it is a Tier 4 tree, 12 to under 24 inches is Tier 3, and 24 inches and up is Tier 2, a class that also takes in groves and the species named in the Director’s Rules; Tier 1 is heritage trees. On a lot with no development underway, the NR, RSL, LR, MR, NC, C and SM zones allow 2 Tier 4 removals in any 3 years, and other zones allow 3 Tier 3 or Tier 4 trees a year. Anything past those allowances, and every Tier 2 tree, goes through the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) under SMC Chapter 25.11, as amended by CB 120534 in July 2023 and Ordinance 127300 in 2026, and replacement planting is required.

Dead and hazardous trees run on their own track. SDCI charges no fee for a dead-tree removal or for an ADA or elderly-access removal; a hazard, emergency or pest removal is billed at half the Land Use hourly rate, and restoration at the full rate, both set in the SDCI Fee Subtitle. Hazard removals still carry a replacement requirement. Who does the cutting matters as much as the paperwork: Seattle keeps a tree-service provider registry, and listing requires $1 million in commercial general liability cover, an ISA certified arborist, TRAQ qualification for hazard work and a posted notice of 3 or 6 days. Street trees are a separate permit from SDOT under SMC 15.43 for any pruning or removal in the right-of-way, and major pruning (branches of 2 inches or more, or 15 percent or more of the foliage) must be done by a registered provider. The Washington permit guide shows how Seattle compares with its neighbors.

Every city compared: tree removal permits in Washington.

Source: Seattle Dept. of Construction & Inspections (SDCI), SMC Chapter 25.11 (Tree Protection), as amended by CB 120534 eff. 7/30/2023 and Ord. 127300 (2026). Checked 2026-10-02.

Storm records for King County (covers Seattle)

Storm work in Seattle is a winter trade. NOAA logged 133 storm reports for King County, and 84 percent of them fall in November through February, with February, December and January the three busiest months. Heavy snow leads the list at 68 reports, followed by high wind at 23, winter weather at 13 and ice storms at 11; wildfire shows up once.

That calendar should shape your booking. Crews are hardest to reach in the weeks after a snow or wind event, so a leaning or dead tree spotted in October is quicker to schedule before the first November system than after it. King County sits 16th of Washington’s 39 counties by report count, and its last three years produced 32 reports against 54 in the three before. FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025 version) rates the county Relatively High for ice and winter weather, Very Low for wind and Very High overall. If a tree is already down, start with emergency tree service; if it is standing, plan a removal for the dry months.

NWS forecast zones covering the county: Cascades of Snohomish and Northern King Counties; Cascades of Southern King County; City of Seattle; Eastside; Foothills and Valleys of Central King County; Foothills and Valleys of Pierce and Southern King Counties.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 2016 to June 2026 · NWS zone-county correlation files (2019 to 2026 versions). Checked 2026-10-02. NOAA Storm Events 2016-2026; zone-based events assigned to every county the NWS zone covers using the zone-county correlation file in force on the event date (2019-04-02 file used for 2016-2018).

Power lines and utilities in Seattle

Seattle City Light trims around its distribution and transmission lines, poles, transformers and vaults. Its clearance targets are 10 feet for slow-growing and 14 feet for fast-growing trees at distribution lines, 15 feet of overhang, 3 or 5 feet at service lines, 10 feet at transformers and 3 feet at poles. The service line to your house is pruned by City Light only for the first 10 feet from the distribution connection; beyond that point the work is yours, which is where a crew that does work near power lines comes in. Report an outage at (206) 684-3000 and a downed line to 911.

Source: utility vegetation-management pages linked above; WAC 296-24-960 (WA L&I). Checked 2026-10-02.

Pests and quarantines

Spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth)

Spongy moth, the insect formerly called gypsy moth, is confirmed in the Seattle area, with no quarantine in place here. Report a sighting through the WA Invasives app, inspect firewood, outdoor furniture and RVs before moving them in from infested states, and host a trap if the state asks you to. The pests page covers what to watch for.

• Spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth): Report sightings (OR Invasive Species Hotline / WA Invasives app); inspect wood, outdoor furniture, RVs before moving from infested states; host a trap if asked

Source: Spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth). Checked 2026-10-02.

Rain, snow and the growing season in Seattle

NOAA’s normals for Sea-Tac put Seattle at 39.34 inches of precipitation a year and 6.3 inches of snow, with November the wettest month at 6.31 inches and July the driest at 0.6. The city sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a, which gives a wide replanting list, but a replacement tree planted after a removal needs watering through the 0.6 to 0.97 inch months of July and August to make it through its first summer.

Seattle Tacoma Intl Ap, Wa Us: 39.3 in of precipitation a year, wettest in November, 6.3 in of snow. USDA hardiness zone 9a.

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020 · USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.

Labor index for Seattle

BLS puts the mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro at $33.85 an hour, with a median of $32.75 and 310 people employed in the occupation. That figure is a wage, not a price: a crew with a chipper, a bucket truck, insurance and disposal fees bills well above it, and the modeled range on the tree removal cost page is built on those loaded costs.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $33.85 per hour mean wage for tree trimmers and pruners (BLS, May 2025). This is a labor index, not a price; the modeled crew-hour cost used on this site is $210 (method).

843 landscaping-services establishments were counted in King County in 2023 (Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 561730).

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013 · U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS 561730. Checked 2026-10-02.

ZIP codes and nearby cities

This page covers Seattle ZIP codes including 98115, 98118, 98108, 98125, 98106, 98103, 98199 and 98117. Nearby cities with their own pages and their own tree rules: Mercer Island and Bainbridge Island at 7 miles, Kirkland and Bellevue at 9 miles, and Shoreline and Burien at 10 miles. County-level storm, hazard and burn rules are on the King County page.

ZIP codes with the most land inside Seattle: 9811598118981089812598106981039819998117

• Mercer Island7 miles
• Bainbridge Island7 miles
• Kirkland9 miles
• Bellevue9 miles
• Shoreline10 miles
• Burien10 miles

County page: King County.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZCTA to place and county relationship files. Checked 2026-10-02.

Tree services in Seattle

Pick the page that matches the job: tree removal for a whole tree, with large-tree and crane removal pages for Tier 2 trees on tight lots; tree trimming for pruning and clearance; stump grinding once the trunk is gone; and emergency tree service when a tree is on a roof or a line. An arborist risk assessment is where a hazard-tree claim starts, and Seattle’s registry requires TRAQ qualification for that work. The registry rules, the ISA Basic Tree Risk Assessment form and how to look up a provider are on arborists and tree service providers in Seattle.

• Tree removal in Seattle
• Tree trimming in Seattle
• Stump grinding in Seattle
• Emergency tree service in Seattle
• Arborists and tree service providers in Seattle
• Arborists and tree health
• Check a license in Washington

What to do next

Start by having the tree assessed, especially if you intend to call it a hazard. Measure the trunk at standard height, match it to the tier above and read SDCI’s tree-removal page before you book. When you call a company, ask whether it is on Seattle’s provider registry and confirm its state registration with the Washington license lookup guide. For a tree that is already down, the storm damage and insurance guide lists what to photograph before the crew arrives.