Tree removal permit rules: Texas vs Washington

A cross-state summary drawn from 16 verifieds Texas cities and 23 verifieds Washington cities. For city-level detail, see the Texas ordinance hub or the Washington ordinance hub.

Side-by-side summary

Field Texas Washington
Cities with a heritage tree program 15 of 16 18 of 23
Cities with a replacement ratio 16 of 16 16 of 23 (median 1.5:1)
Cities documenting who can apply 14 of 16 12 of 23
Cities publishing processing time 15 of 16 11 of 23
Permit fee (median, where published) $273.50 (2 of 16 publish) $250 (1 of 23 publish)
Cities requiring arborist certification 15 of 16 17 of 23
Cities specifying report sections 12 of 16 16 of 23

Counts are over verified cities only — cities awaiting verification or with sparse ordinance text don't contribute to these summaries.

How the two states compare

Which state has more cities with heritage tree programs, Texas or Washington?
Washington has heritage tree programs in 18 of 23 verified cities, compared with 15 of 16 in Texas. Heritage designation typically overrides standard DBH thresholds, so even smaller heritage trees require a removal permit.
Are tree removal permit fees higher in Texas or Washington?
Across published permit fees, Texas has a median of $273.50 (across 2 of 16 verified cities) and Washington has a median of $250 (across 1 of 23). On the published median, Washington is the cheaper jurisdiction — but city-by-city variance is wide, so always check the specific city before filing.
How do tree replacement obligations compare between Texas and Washington?
Texas documents a replacement obligation in 16 of 16 verified cities; Washington in 16 of 23. Median numeric replacement ratio in Washington is 1.5:1; Texas ratios are published as text rules rather than fixed n:1 numbers. Many cities accept an in-lieu fee per tree when on-site replanting isn't feasible.

Texas verified cities

+ 8 more Texas verified cities.

Washington verified cities

+ 15 more Washington verified cities.

Filing in Texas or Washington?

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