Stump grinding in Seattle, Washington
Grinding a Seattle stump is digging, so the first step is a free 811 utility locate a few business days before the grinder arrives.
$150 minimum; not a quote.
Washington locate notice before grinding near lines.
Rules for burning the debris.
Before the grinder arrives in Seattle
Washington’s dig law treats stump grinding as excavation, so call 811 and let the marks go down before any grinding starts. Seattle’s dense lots put gas, water and side sewer lines close to trunks, and a grinder wheel can reach well below grade.
The SDCI tier rules attach to removing the tree, not to the stump that remains. If the tree came out under those rules, Seattle requires a replacement tree, so plan the grind around the replanting spot. A stump in the planting strip is a right-of-way tree, and SDOT’s permit covers its removal.
Permit required for trees 6 in DSH and up
Threshold: Regulated from 6" DSH: Tier 2 = 24"+ DSH (plus groves, Director's Rule species); Tier 3 = 12"-<24"; Tier 4 = 6"-<12"; under 6" unregulated; Tier 1 = heritage
Allowances and tiers: No-development lots: NR/RSL/LR/MR/NC/C/SM zones max 2 Tier 4 trees per 3 yrs; other zones max 3 Tier 3-4 per yr; hazard trees with replacement
Fee: No fee for dead-tree or ADA/elderly-access removals; hazard/emergency/pest = 0.5 x Land Use hourly rate; restoration = 1 x rate (rate in SDCI Fee Subtitle)
Replacement: yes
Street trees: SDOT permit to prune/remove any ROW tree (SMC 15.43; Ord. 124166); major pruning (2"+ branches or 15%+ foliage) and removal must use a registered provider
Issued by: Seattle Dept. of Construction & Inspections (SDCI)
Provider: registered or licensed provider required for paid tree work
SMC Chapter 25.11 (Tree Protection), as amended by CB 120534 eff. 7/30/2023 and Ord. 127300 (2026) · Official page · Checked 2026-10-02
What stump grinding costs in Seattle
Stump diameter and access drive the price. A wide conifer stump with surface roots takes more passes, and a backyard reachable only by stairs may need a smaller machine.
Crew time still prices at local wages: BLS puts the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue mean at $33.85 an hour. The modeled range below shows how those factors combine; see stump grinding for how jobs are scoped.
| Stump diameter | Modeled range |
|---|---|
| Under 12 in | $150 minimum |
| 12 to 24 in | $150 |
| 24 to 36 in | $150–$200 |
| 36 to 48 in | $150–$300 |
Modeled at $4 to $6 per inch of diameter with a $150 minimum, rounded to $50. Modeled estimate, not quotes (method).
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 37-3013. Checked 2026-10-02.
Grindings, wood and quarantines
The grindings are a mix of wood chips and soil. You can keep them as mulch, or have the crew haul them; the hole usually needs topsoil before replanting.
Open burning of stumps or debris falls under the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, so check its rules and the Washington burning guide before lighting anything. Spongy moth is confirmed locally without a quarantine, so local disposal is not restricted, but inspect any wood arriving from infested states.
Burning the debris
Full rules, seasons and alternatives: yard debris burning rules in Washington.
Source: Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Outdoor Burning · Upcoming Rulemaking for Residential Yard Waste Burning. Checked 2026-10-02.
Replanting the spot
Grind when the ground is dry enough for the machine to cross the lawn without rutting; July averages just 0.6 inches of rain at Sea-Tac. Replant once the fall rains return, as November brings 6.31 inches on average. Hardiness zone 9a leaves a wide choice of replacement trees.
Hardiness zone 9a. Grinding vs full removal: which one you need.
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data). Checked 2026-10-02.
What to do next
Call 811, confirm whether the stump sits on the right-of-way, and decide what happens to the grindings before you book. Check the contractor’s license with the Washington license lookup.
Back to tree service in Seattle · Stump grinding across WA and OR · Stump grinding in Washington · cost guide.
Sources
- Seattle tree code (SMC Chapter 25.11 (Tree Protection), as amended by CB 120534 eff. 7/30/2023 and Ord. 127300 (2026)), 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.
- Seattle City Light vegetation management, checked 2026-10-02.
- Washington 811 locate rules, checked 2026-10-02.
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (OSU PRISM ZIP data), checked 2026-10-02.
- Outdoor Burning, Regulation I Article 8 (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, 2026), checked 2026-10-02.
- Upcoming Rulemaking for Residential Yard Waste Burning (Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, 2026), 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.