Florida’s tree law: narrower than the rumor.
Every year somebody cuts first and reads §163.045 second. The statute is real and useful — and it is not “you can remove any tree now.” Here’s what it actually requires, quoted straight from the law, the way I explain it in driveways.
Florida Statute §163.045 stops your city from requiring a permit for one narrow situation: a tree on single-family detached residential property that a qualified professional has documented, in a signed onsite assessment, as posing an “unacceptable risk.” The statute defines that bar precisely: removal must be “the only means of practically mitigating its risk below moderate” under the ISA’s Best Management Practices — Tree Risk Assessment (2nd Edition, 2017). Hold that documentation and the local government “may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation” — and can’t make you replant.
Who can write the documentation
Since the 2022 amendment (SB 518), only two credentials count: an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), or a Florida licensed landscape architect — and the assessment must be an onsite evaluation, performed to the ISA’s published risk-assessment method, and signed. A landscaper’s opinion, a tree service’s estimate sheet, or a photo diagnosis doesn’t qualify. Straight talk about us: Weave’s does not claim ISA certification — when a tree of yours honestly warrants the §163.045 route, we coordinate the qualifying assessment with a certified professional, then do the removal correctly. No winked paperwork; enforcement letters aren’t worth it, for you or us.
What it does NOT cover
The 2022 amendment tightened “residential property” to mean a single-family, detached building on a lot actively used for single-family residential purposes. So the statute does not cover: duplexes and multifamily, condos and HOA common areas, commercial property, vacant lots, or rental parcels that fail the “actively used” test — and it expressly does not touch mangroves, which have their own state act. Everything outside the statute falls back to your local ordinance, which is why our city-by-city permit guides exist.
The rumors, corrected
“Florida abolished tree permits.” No — it created one documented-hazard exception for single-family homes. “Any arborist letter works.” No — ISA-certified or FL-licensed landscape architect, onsite, signed, to the 2017 BMP standard. “My tree looks dangerous, that’s enough.” No — the standard is objective: risk not practically reducible below moderate by anything short of removal. Pruning, cabling or clearance work that would fix the risk defeats the exemption. “It covers my waterfront mangroves.” Expressly not.
Mangroves and the dune line, briefly
Two other state regimes matter for waterfront Pinellas owners. The Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act works in height tiers: mangroves 10 feet or shorter may be owner-trimmed (never below 6 feet); over 10 feet requires a professional mangrove trimmer; 16 feet and up must be staged (no more than 25% of foliage per year); removal or cutting below 6 feet is permit territory — and several Pinellas cities require their own mangrove permits on top. On the beaches, dune vegetation seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line — sea grapes and sea oats by name — is protected under F.S. 161.053 and 161.242; see our sea grape guide before anyone cuts for a view.
Sources: F.S. §163.045 (2024-25 compilation, flsenate.gov); ch. 2019-155; ch. 2022-121; F.S. §§403.9321–403.9333; F.S. §161.053, §161.242; FDEP Dune Plant Maintenance Guidelines (2022). Verified 2026-07-14. This page is plain-language guidance from a tree service, not legal advice — for edge cases, a Florida land-use attorney is the right call, and we’ll say so when yours is one.
Questions Cody hears every week.
So when does §163.045 let me skip the city permit?
When ALL of these are true: it’s a single-family detached home you actively live in as such; you hold a SIGNED onsite assessment from an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect; and that assessment concludes, using the ISA’s 2017 risk-assessment method, that removal is the only practical way to get the tree’s risk below ‘moderate.’ Then the city can’t require a permit, fee, or replanting for that tree.
Can Weave's write me that documentation?
We’ll tell you straight: the statute requires an ISA-certified arborist’s or licensed landscape architect’s signed assessment, and we don’t claim credentials we don’t hold. What we do is coordinate — help you get the qualifying assessment when a tree honestly warrants it, then do the removal correctly. No winks, no shortcuts that blow up in an enforcement letter.
Does the law cover my duplex / rental / vacant lot / mangroves?
No, no, no, and expressly no. The 2022 amendment defines ‘residential property’ as a single-family detached home in active single-family use. Mangroves are carved out entirely — they have their own state act with height tiers and professional-trimmer rules. Everything the law doesn’t cover falls back to your city or county ordinance — which is what our city permit guides are for.
Tell Cody about your tree.
Three fields. He answers his own phone — you’ll hear back fast.
Faster: text a photo of the tree to (727) 761-8618.