Tree Removal Permit Office Directory for Snohomish County and King County

What should you check before calling a permit office?

Have your address, tree size, tree location, photos, and reason for removal ready. This helps the permit technician answer faster and keeps the call focused.

• Confirm the property is inside city limits or in unincorporated county land.
• Measure the trunk diameter at about 4.5 feet above the ground if it is safe to do from the ground.
• Note if the tree is near a street, sidewalk, alley, utility line, stream, wetland, steep slope, shoreline, or drainage area.
• Take clear ground-level photos of the whole tree, the trunk, the base, nearby structures, and any visible damage.
• Do not climb the tree, cut branches near energized lines, or remove a storm-damaged tree that is under tension.

If your concern involves power lines, review our guide to tree trimming near power lines in Snohomish County before arranging private tree work. Utility clearance and private tree pruning are not the same task.

Common questions this page answers

Most permit questions start with city limits, tree size, and site constraints. These are the long-tail questions this guide is built to answer.

• Who do I call before removing a tree in Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, or Edmonds?
• Do I need a permit to remove a significant tree in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, or Kirkland?
• What if the tree is dead, hazardous, storm damaged, or close to a house?
• What if the tree is in a wetland buffer, steep slope, shoreline area, or native growth protection area?
• Who handles street trees, right-of-way trees, and trees near sidewalks?
• When should a homeowner call a tree service after talking with the city?

Why do city limits matter for tree removal?

Tree rules are local. Two homes on opposite sides of one street can have different permit offices and different requirements. In the Puget Sound area, rules often depend on city code, county critical area rules, shoreline rules, development permits, and right-of-way control.

This matters across Snohomish County and King County because many properties sit near salmon-bearing streams, wetlands, steep slopes, drainage corridors, mature Douglas-fir and western red cedar stands, and urban street-tree corridors. A permit office may treat a normal yard tree differently from a tree in a native growth protection area, critical area buffer, approved landscape plan, or public right-of-way.

Snohomish County tree removal permit offices

For Snohomish County properties, first decide whether the property is inside a city or in unincorporated Snohomish County. The table below lists the larger local jurisdictions and the official permit contact starting point. Source pages were checked on May 27, 2026.

King County tree removal permit offices

For King County properties, the permit office can be the city, unincorporated King County, or a separate public right-of-way office. Use the official contact below as the starting point. Source pages were checked on May 27, 2026.

What requirements show up most often?

Most local tree rules focus on protected trees, sensitive land, street trees, and replacement planting. The exact words change by city, but the same themes appear across western Washington.

• Significant or landmark trees: Many cities use trunk diameter to decide whether a tree is regulated.
• Critical areas: Wetlands, streams, steep slopes, shorelines, flood areas, and erosion hazard areas often trigger extra review.
• Street trees and right-of-way trees: Trees near sidewalks, planting strips, alleys, and public streets may need city public works or transportation review.
• Hazardous trees: A dangerous tree may still require photos, an arborist report, city notice, or an after-the-fact permit.
• Required landscaping: Trees planted as part of an approved site plan, subdivision, commercial project, or mitigation plan are often protected.
• Replacement planting: Some cities require replacement trees or mitigation when a regulated tree is removed.
• Wildlife and nesting concerns: If you suspect an active nest or protected wildlife issue, pause and contact the permit office or the appropriate wildlife agency before removal.

For tree health questions before removal, read our guide to pruning and trimming for healthy Pacific Northwest tree growth. A tree that looks crowded, mossy, or overgrown is not always a removal candidate.

When should you call 911, the utility, the permit office, or a tree service?

Call the right contact based on the immediate risk. A permit question is important, but safety comes first when a tree is actively failing or touching utility lines.

• Call 911: If a tree has injured someone, blocked a road with immediate danger, caused a fire, or created a life-safety emergency.
• Call the utility: If a tree or branch is touching, leaning on, or hanging over an energized power line.
• Call the permit office: Before removing a tree that may be significant, protected, in a critical area, in the right-of-way, or tied to a development permit.
• Call a tree service: After the permit path is clear, or when you need a ground-level inspection, pruning plan, hazard documentation, storm cleanup, or removal estimate.

If the tree may be unsafe but you are not sure whether removal is the right step, our article on how to spot hazardous tree risks before removal explains why site checks, visible defects, and documentation matter.

What should a homeowner document from the ground?

Document enough for the permit office to understand the tree, but do not put yourself in danger. Stay on the ground and keep away from broken limbs, leaning trunks, and power lines.

• Property address and nearest cross street.
• Tree species if known, such as Douglas-fir, western red cedar, bigleaf maple, red alder, black cottonwood, shore pine, or western hemlock.
• Approximate trunk diameter and tree height if safe to estimate.
• Photos of the trunk, crown, roots, nearby buildings, sidewalks, utilities, slope, water, and visible defects.
• Reason for removal, such as storm damage, dead top, root lift, decay, disease, construction conflict, or safety concern.
• Any known permit history, HOA rules, landscape plan, mitigation plan, or previous city notice.

How can Comprehensive Tree Services help after the permit question is clear?

A local tree service can help plan safe next steps once the city or county has explained the permit path. Comprehensive Tree Services should not be listed as the permit authority, and no permit outcome should be promised. The practical role is to help the property owner understand tree condition, removal access, pruning options, storm cleanup needs, and documentation the owner may need for review.

For local help, ask Comprehensive Tree Services a tree removal permit planning question before scheduling removal. Bring the permit office response, photos, and any arborist report request so the next step is based on the correct local rule.