Unincorporated Pinellas: the code changed in January 2026.
If your parcel says UNINCORPORATED at the property appraiser, these are your rules — rewritten effective January 23, 2026, with a homestead carve-out I end up explaining to almost every homeowner I meet.
Pinellas County replaced its tree rules wholesale — Ordinance 26-3, effective January 23, 2026 — now codified as Chapter 58, Article XIX (“Tree Protection,” §§58-807–58-814). Most of what the internet says about county tree permits predates it. The county also processes tree permits for Belleair Bluffs and Belleair Shore.
What’s protected
Any tree 4 inches DBH or larger (measured 4.5 feet up), every palm 6 feet or taller, and every mangrove or buttonwood at any size. “Effective removal” — topping, defoliating, excessive root cutting — is regulated exactly like removal; routine pruning to ANSI A300 standards is not. The headline exception: on homesteaded property with an actively-occupied single-family detached home, only trees over 24 inches DBH are protected. That carve-out follows the homestead exemption, not the zoning — vacant, rented, or under-demolition properties don’t qualify.
Grades, replants, and the friendly permits
County staff (or your qualified professional) grade each tree 0–3. Grade 0 — dead, dying, invasive, under 40% condition — permits with zero replanting. Healthy trees carry replant duties that scale with size and grade (up to 12 replacement trees for the largest, best specimens), payable alternatively into the county Tree Bank. The county’s undesirable-species list (Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, punk, carrotwood, Chinese tallow and company) gets a no-fee permit — required, but free, and removing invasives can even earn replant credits.
Process and penalties
Apply through the county’s Accela portal (“Tree Removal/Habitat Permit”) with the application and a site plan; trees must be marked for the county’s site inspection; permits run 90 days. The department is Building and Development Review Services — (727) 464-3888, treepermits@pinellas.gov. The permit fee is set by the county commission (confirm the current amount when you apply — we don’t publish numbers we can’t verify). The penalty for skipping it is very verifiable: per DBH inch into the Tree Bank, replanting still owed, with liability that’s joint and several — it can follow a property through a sale.
Verified 2026-07-14 against the current municipal code and official city materials; ordinances change — confirm current rules with the city before cutting. This is plain-language guidance from a tree service, not legal advice. Weave's handles permit questions as part of every removal quote.
Questions Cody hears every week.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree on my homesteaded property?
Under the January 2026 code: on property with a homestead exemption and an actively-occupied single-family detached home, only trees LARGER than 24 inches DBH are protected — smaller trees need no county permit. No homestead (vacant, rented, being demolished): the trigger drops to 4 inches DBH, and all palms 6 feet and taller are protected.
What about dead trees and invasives?
Both still involve a permit — but a friendlier one. Dead/dying trees permit with no replanting required; listed invasives (Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, punk and the rest of the county’s undesirable list) get a NO-FEE permit. The permit-shaped paperwork exists so the county can confirm the tree is what you say it is.
What happens if I just remove it?
The 2026 code sets the penalty at $150 per DBH inch paid into the county Tree Bank — a 20-inch tree is a $3,000 mistake — plus the replanting requirement still applies, and liability is joint and several (it can follow prior owners). The permit is dramatically cheaper.
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.