Tree removal: 10 critical things you need to know

Removing a tree from your yard is not a weekend project. It’s not something you figure out with a chainsaw and a YouTube video. Tree work is one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently ranks it among the top 10 most deadly jobs, with roughly 80 to 100 fatalities per year in the U.S. Every year, homeowners get hurt, get sued, or get stuck with a $10,000 bill because they skipped the homework. Here are ten things you need to know before a single branch comes down.

1. Check for heritage tree protections

Many cities and counties have heritage tree ordinances that protect trees above a certain size. In Sacramento, the city’s Tree Preservation Ordinance protects “heritage trees,” defined as any tree with a trunk circumference of 100 inches or more (that’s about 32 inches in diameter) on private property. In some Bay Area cities like Palo Alto, the threshold is lower (11.5 inches in diameter), and the rules cover specific native species regardless of size. San Jose protects all trees with a trunk circumference of 56 inches or more.

If your tree qualifies as a heritage tree, you need a permit before you touch it. Removing a protected tree without a permit can result in fines of $10,000 or more, plus mandatory replanting at your expense. Some jurisdictions calculate the fine based on the tree’s appraised value using the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) method, and a mature heritage Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) can be appraised at $30,000 to $60,000. Valley Oak is a UC Davis Arboretum All-Star and the largest North American oak, reaching 70 feet or more with a canopy spread to match. These trees need deep valley soils and can live 400-600 years, which is why they carry such high appraisal values. I’ve heard of fines exceeding $100,000 in the Bay Area for old coast live oaks removed without permits.

Call your city’s planning or public works department before you do anything. They’ll tell you if your tree is protected and what the permit process looks like. In Sacramento, the urban forestry department handles this. Budget two to four weeks for a permit in most jurisdictions, longer if a certified arborist’s report is required.

2. Identify buried utilities before digging

There are things underground you can’t see: gas lines, sewer pipes, water mains, electrical conduit, cable and telecom lines, and irrigation pipes. Stump grinding or root removal can hit any of them.

Before any digging, call 811 (the national “Call Before You Dig” hotline). It’s free. They’ll send locators from each utility company to mark buried lines on your property with spray paint within a few business days. In California, it’s the law (Government Code Section 4216). You must wait at least two working days after calling before any excavation begins.

If you skip this step and a grinding crew hits a gas line, you’re looking at an evacuation, a fire department response, and a repair bill that starts at $5,000. Hit a fiber optic telecom line and the repair costs can run $10,000 to $25,000. Not worth the risk.

One thing 811 won’t locate: your own private utilities. That includes irrigation lines, septic tanks, private sewer laterals, and low-voltage landscape lighting wire. If you have a sprinkler system, know where those lines run before the stump grinder shows up.

3. Assess proximity to your house

A tree next to your house is the most dangerous removal job there is. Branches don’t fall where you expect. Trunks don’t lean the direction you think. One wrong cut and a 2,000-pound limb goes through your roof.

I’ve seen a homeowner try to remove a tree 10 feet from his house by tying a rope to a heavy limb and having his buddy pull it away from the house while he cut. The limb twisted, the rope snapped, and the branch punched a hole in his bedroom ceiling. That’s a $15,000 repair on top of the tree removal cost.

Any tree within 20 feet of a structure needs a professional crew with a crane or bucket truck. No exceptions. This is not the time to save money. The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) recommends a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) assessment for any tree near structures. A TRAQ-qualified arborist evaluates the tree’s lean, root stability, decay pockets, and branch attachment strength before the crew ever fires up a chainsaw. Ask your removal company if they have a TRAQ assessor on staff. Many serious companies do.

If your trees took a hit from a recent storm, this matters even more. Storm-weakened trees near houses are unpredictable. A branch that looks solid might have internal fractures from wind loading that make it snap under its own weight during removal. Get a professional assessment before anyone starts cutting.

4. Talk to your neighbors

Even if the tree is on your property, branches may extend over the property line. Roots may be shared. The tree may block wind for your neighbor’s yard or provide shade they rely on.

You don’t need your neighbor’s permission to remove your own tree (unless your HOA says otherwise). But a heads-up goes a long way. It avoids surprise, it avoids anger, and in some cases your neighbor may offer to split the cost if they’re benefiting from the removal too.

If branches from the tree hang over their property and drop debris, they might be glad to see it go. If the tree provides privacy screening between your houses, they might want to discuss a replacement. Five minutes of conversation saves months of bad neighbor relations.

Here’s a legal detail worth knowing: in California, your neighbor has the right to trim branches that cross over the property line onto their property, but only up to the property line. They can’t come into your yard. And if trimming those branches kills the tree, they can be liable for the replacement cost. Mention this during the conversation if it’s relevant.

5. Verify your insurance coverage

Your homeowner’s insurance policy should include liability coverage. The standard recommendation is at least $1 million in umbrella liability coverage. $2 million is increasingly common in California given the state’s legal climate.

Here’s why it matters: if a tree removal goes wrong and someone gets hurt on your property, you’re liable. If a branch falls on your neighbor’s car, you’re liable. If the tree removal crew doesn’t carry their own insurance (more on that in a minute) and a worker gets hurt, their medical bills could land on your homeowner’s policy. A single tree worker injury claim can run $500,000 or more with surgery, rehab, and lost wages.

Call your insurance agent before scheduling the removal. Confirm your liability limits. Ask specifically if tree removal work is covered under your policy and whether there are exclusions for professional tree work performed by unlicensed contractors. It costs nothing to check and could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Also ask about tree removal coverage under your policy for storm damage. Most homeowner’s policies cover the cost to remove a tree that falls on a covered structure (your house, garage, fence), but the coverage limit is typically $500 to $1,000 per tree. If a storm blew your tree onto the house, that’s different from an elective removal, and your policy should cover at least part of it.

6. Require complete debris removal

Get this in writing before the job starts: all debris must be removed from your property. Branches chipped. Trunk sections hauled away. Sawdust and wood chips cleaned up.

Some fly-by-night operators will cut the tree down and leave you with a yard full of logs and brush. They’ll tell you the city will pick it up. In most cities, they won’t pick up tree removal debris from a private contractor’s job. Green waste bins have a weight limit (usually 65 gallons), and most cities won’t take anything over 4 inches in diameter or 4 feet long. You’ll end up paying a second company $300 to $600 to haul it away.

A legitimate tree removal company brings a chipper. They chip the branches on-site, haul the trunk sections in their truck, and leave your yard clean. That’s the standard. Anything less is a red flag. The chipper alone tells you a lot about the company. A professional outfit runs a commercial drum or disc chipper that handles branches up to 12 or 18 inches in diameter. If you want to understand the real hazards of this equipment, read about why tree trimmer safety matters so much.

If you want to keep the wood for firewood or the stump for a garden feature, tell them before they start. Otherwise, expect a clean yard when they leave.

7. Confirm the company is bonded and insured

Bonding protects you if the contractor damages your property during the job. If a crane operator drops a log on your fence, the bond covers the repair. If the crew drives their truck across your lawn and tears up the sprinklers, the bond covers it.

But bonding alone isn’t enough. You need to verify two types of insurance:

• General liability insurance: Covers damage to your property. Ask for at least $1 million per occurrence. A falling tree section can do $50,000 in damage to a house in two seconds.
• Workers’ compensation insurance: Covers injuries to the crew. This is the big one. Tree work carries the highest workers’ comp rates of almost any trade, often 25% to 40% of payroll. If a worker falls and the company doesn’t have workers’ comp, the injured worker’s attorney comes after your homeowner’s insurance.

Ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) before signing a contract. Call the insurance company listed on the certificate and verify the policy is active. Some operators carry expired certificates or forge them outright. A legitimate company will have current coverage and won’t hesitate to provide proof.

8. Verify their license and credentials

In California, tree removal requires a C-27 Landscaping Contractor’s license or a D-49 Tree Service license for jobs over $500 (including labor and materials). Every state has some form of licensing requirement. Unlicensed tree work is illegal, and if you knowingly hire an unlicensed operator, you share the legal exposure.

Here’s the thing people don’t realize: tree work carries some of the highest workers’ compensation insurance rates of any trade. That cost is baked into the price a licensed company charges you. When an unlicensed guy on Craigslist offers to remove your tree for $300, he’s cheap because he’s not carrying insurance or a license. If he falls out of your tree and breaks his back, his medical bills become your problem.

You can verify a California contractor’s license through the Contractors State License Board at cslb.ca.gov. Takes two minutes. Check for an active license, the correct classification, and any complaints or disciplinary actions.

Beyond the license, look for an ISA Certified Arborist on staff. The International Society of Arboriculture certifies arborists who pass a comprehensive exam and maintain continuing education credits. An ISA certification doesn’t replace a contractor’s license, but it tells you someone on the crew understands tree biology, not just how to run a chainsaw. You can verify ISA credentials at treesaregood.org. This matters because a certified arborist can spot structural defects, decay, and hazards that a chainsaw operator would miss entirely.

9. Make sure they have the right equipment

Professional tree removal requires specific equipment. When the crew shows up, you should see most of the following:

• Bucket truck or aerial lift for reaching high limbs safely. Nobody should be free-climbing a tree they’re removing unless they’re an ISA-trained climber with full safety rigging: climbing saddle, lanyard, helmet with face screen, and chainsaw chaps.
• Chipper for processing branches into wood chips on-site. A professional company runs a commercial chipper, not the $200/day rental from Home Depot.
• Stump grinder for removing the stump below ground level. Most homeowners want the stump gone, and grinding is the standard method. The grinder takes the stump down 6 to 12 inches below grade so you can fill the hole with soil and plant grass or a new tree. Some companies subcontract the grinding separately, which is fine, but get it included in the original scope and price.
• Crane for large trees near structures. A crane lets the crew lift cut sections straight up and away from the house instead of letting them swing or fall. Crane-assisted removals add $500 to $2,000 to the job depending on the crane size needed, but for a 60-foot tree 10 feet from your house, there’s no safe alternative.
• Rigging equipment including ropes, pulleys, slings, and lowering devices. For any tree near a structure, the crew should be lowering cut sections on ropes, not dropping them.
• Proper trucks for hauling debris. A professional crew arrives with at least a chipper truck and a flatbed or dump trailer.

If a crew shows up with a pickup truck, a chainsaw, and nothing else, send them home. If you want to understand when trimming alone might solve your problem instead of full removal, read our timing guide first.

10. Hire someone you can trust

This is the most subjective item on the list, but it might be the most important. A trustworthy tree removal company has:

• A physical business address. Not a P.O. box. Not “we’ll come to you.”
• A website with photos of their work, crew bios, and contact information.
• An ISA Certified Arborist on staff or as the owner. This person should be the one who does your estimate, not a salesperson.
• Written contracts that spell out the scope of work, the price, the timeline, cleanup responsibilities, and what happens if something goes wrong.
• Reviews on Angi, Yelp, Google, and the Better Business Bureau. Read the negative reviews. Every company gets a bad review now and then. What matters is how they respond.
• References they’re willing to provide. Call them. Ask if the job was done on time, on budget, and to satisfaction.
• No high-pressure tactics. A good company gives you a written estimate and lets you think about it. They don’t knock on your door and push you to sign today.

Avoid the guys who knock on your door after a storm and offer to “take care of that tree for you.” Storm chasers are a real problem in this industry. They blow into town after every major weather event, collect deposits, do shoddy work (or no work at all), and move on. If a hurricane or major storm prompted this decision, read up on what you need to know about hurricanes and your home before signing anything. Avoid Craigslist ads with no company name. Avoid anyone who wants cash only and won’t give you a written estimate.

When should you remove a tree instead of saving it?

Not every problem tree needs to come down. Sometimes pruning, cabling, or treatment can save it. But removal is the right call when:

• More than 50% of the canopy is dead. A tree with that much dieback is unlikely to recover and becomes a falling hazard.
• The trunk has significant decay. Mushrooms or conks growing on the trunk or at the base indicate internal rot. A tree can look fine on the outside and be hollow inside. A certified arborist can use a resistograph or sonic tomography tool to measure internal decay without cutting the tree open.
• Major root damage. Construction, grading, or root cutting that removed more than 30% of the root zone on one side can destabilize the tree permanently.
• The tree leans suddenly. A tree that’s always leaned is usually fine (the wood grain has adapted). A tree that develops a new lean after a storm or heavy rain has root failure and needs to come down fast.
• It’s the wrong species for your property. Some trees just don’t belong in residential yards. A Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum) 15 feet from your foundation will crack it. Silver Maple grows fast (2-3 feet per year), reaches 50-80 feet tall, and has aggressive surface roots that buckle sidewalks, invade sewer lines, and crack foundations. It also drops large limbs in moderate wind. A Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’) will send root suckers across your entire yard. Sometimes removal is the kindest thing you can do for your property and your wallet.

If you’re on the fence, pay for an arborist consultation. In Northern California, an ISA Certified Arborist’s site visit and written assessment runs $150 to $350. That’s cheap insurance against removing a tree you could have saved, or worse, keeping one that falls on your house.

What tree removal actually costs

For a straight answer: most residential tree removals in Northern California run $500 to $3,500 in 2025 dollars. Here’s the breakdown by tree size:

• Small tree (under 25 feet) in an open area with easy access: $500 to $900
• Medium tree (25 to 50 feet) with moderate access: $900 to $2,000
• Large tree (50 to 80 feet) near a house with limited access: $2,000 to $5,000
• Very large tree (80+ feet) requiring crane-assisted removal: $5,000 to $15,000 or more

Stump grinding usually adds $150 to $500 depending on the stump diameter. A 24-inch stump runs about $200. A 48-inch stump runs $400 or more. Some companies include stump grinding in the removal price; others list it separately. Ask before you sign.

Factors that drive the price up: proximity to power lines (the utility company may need to disconnect first), steep slopes, narrow access (no room for a truck), multiple trunks, and dead or brittle wood that makes climbing dangerous.

Get three quotes. Compare scope of work, not just price. The cheapest bid often means the least insurance, the least experience, and the most risk to you. For help vetting companies, this guide to choosing a tree care service covers the questions to ask and red flags to watch for.

After the tree is gone

Once the tree is out and the stump is ground, you’ll have a hole filled with wood chips and sawdust. Don’t plant a new tree in that spot immediately. The decomposing wood chips will rob nitrogen from the soil for 6 to 12 months. Rake out the chips, fill the hole with topsoil, and wait at least one growing season before planting.

If you’re thinking about what to plant next, take your time. Pick something that fits the space, your soil, and your zone. A replacement tree is a 50-year commitment. Plan your replacement carefully so the next one is exactly what your yard needs. Don’t make the same mistake twice.