What does Ottawa's tree-removal by-law cover?
The City's Tree Protection By-law: which trees need a permit before removal, by ownership, size and lot.
Sources checked October 16, 2026
The rule in Ottawa
30 cm across: the trunk size the rule names
Ottawa by-law 2020-340: in the urban area, a City permit is needed to remove a private tree 30 cm or more in diameter at breast height on a lot of 1 hectare or less (larger lots are handled by the City's planning foresters); no private-tree permit is required in the rural area.
From Ottawa by-law 2020-340, checked 6 Oct 2026
- The recordTree removal
- Where to read itTree Protection By-law: general information
- The free check reads itPick “Tree and ravine limits”
What the record shows
The by-law protects City-owned trees everywhere in Ottawa and certain privately owned trees in the urban area. On a private urban lot of one hectare or less, a tree with a trunk 30 centimetres or more across at breast height is a distinctive tree and is generally protected by the by-law, subject to its exemptions; larger lots and development sites have their own thresholds.
The City's general information page sets out the categories, the exemptions and the maps that define the urban area. A rule summary says what the by-law covers; it doesn't say who owns a given tree or how wide its trunk is.
Where to read it yourself
- Tree Protection By-law: general information: the City's summary of protected trees, exemptions and permits
What OfferDue covers in Ottawa
Tree and ravine limits is in the free check as a summary of the City's rule, from our hand-kept table, with a link to the City's page. It is a rule for the city, not a survey of the trees on a lot.
Free check: pick “Tree and ravine limits” See the sample report
Public-record information, not legal, financial, insurance or inspection advice. Records change and can be incomplete, and this page describes the records, not any particular home. What we cover, city by city.