Whether you need a permit to clear land in Florida depends on three separate layers of rules, and most property owners only find out about the second and third after they have started. This page sets out what actually triggers a permit, what is usually exempt, and what eighteen specific counties require, taken from each county’s own published material.
We do forestry mulching and underbrushing. We are not lawyers and nothing here is legal advice. Rules change, and the office that covers your parcel is always the final word. Use this to know what to ask before you call them.
The three layers that decide whether you need a permit
1. State and regional
If any part of your parcel is wetland or touches surface water, jurisdiction can sit with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or your water management district, regardless of what the county says. This is the layer people miss most often, and it is the one with the largest penalties. Hendry County, for example, requires an FDEP wetlands determination as a submittal item on its own land clearing permit. Bona fide agricultural and silvicultural operations have protections under state law that can override local rules, but the definitions are narrower than most owners assume.
2. County
Almost every Florida county regulates tree removal, vegetation removal or land clearing in some form. The thresholds are wildly inconsistent. Charlotte County starts at 4 inches of caliper. Orange County starts at 8 inches DBH. St. Lucie County protects all native vegetation and makes you file paperwork even when your work is exempt. Three of the eighteen counties below appear to have no clearing permit at all.
3. City
This is the layer that catches people out. Florida county tree and clearing codes almost always apply only to the unincorporated county. Orange County’s ordinance says so in as many words: it applies to property lying within the unincorporated areas of the county. So if your lot is inside Orlando city limits, the Orange County rule is not the rule that governs you. The same is true in Palm Coast, Punta Gorda, Monticello, Fort Pierce and most other incorporated cities. Before you read any county rule, work out which side of the city line your parcel is on.
What is commonly exempt
These recur across counties, but every one of them has conditions attached and none of them are universal. Check yours.
- Bona fide agriculture and silviculture. Nearly universal, but usually requires an existing agricultural classification from the property appraiser, and several counties claw the exemption back if the land is rezoned or developed within a set number of years.
- Small occupied residential lots. Orange County exempts occupied single family lots of 2 acres or less. Alachua County uses a 1 acre line. St. Lucie uses 1 acre and only for native vegetation under 24 inches. Citrus County exempts residential lots that already contain a habitable dwelling.
- Invasive and exotic species. Brazilian pepper, melaleuca, Australian pine and others are often exempt or excluded from the protected definition. Sarasota and Citrus both confirm this. Miami-Dade does not publish its list in a readable form.
- Dead, diseased or hazardous trees. Usually allowed, but several counties want an arborist report first, and some exclude specimen and heritage trees from the exemption entirely.
- Utility and right of way work. Consistently exempt, and consistently not something a private owner can rely on.
Permit requirements by county
Every entry below comes from that county’s own website, ordinance or permit form. County names link to the page an owner should actually read. Where we could not verify a rule from an official source, we say so and give you the number to call rather than guess.
| County | Permit needed | What it is called | What triggers it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua | Yes | Tree Removal Permit | Unincorporated only. Single family on 1 acre or less: native trees over 20 inches, laurel and water oak over 30 inches. Over 1 acre and all commercial: everything 8 inches or greater. |
| Charlotte | Yes | Tree removal authorization | Any tree 4 inches caliper or greater, or a palm with 6 feet of clear trunk. No speculative clearing: you need a building permit or site plan approval first. Heritage trees are cypress, oak and pine at 30 inches. |
| Citrus | Only with development | No standalone clearing permit | The county issues no land clearing permits. Protected trees are 4 inches DBH or greater and can only come out under a development permit for a principal use. Specimen trees are over 24 inches. |
| Clay | Yes | Landscape plan or tree preservation plan | Two overlapping rules. The land development code regulates at 4 inches caliper; Chapter 18.5 protects non-pine trees at 6, 8 or 12 inches depending on where they sit. Pines are exempt under Chapter 18.5. |
| Flagler | Yes | Tree Removal Application | County index trees are 6 inches caliper or greater. Palm Coast runs its own rule at the same 6 inch caliper, or 4 inches if the tree was surveyed for credit, and most of the county population lives there. |
| Hamilton | None found | not applicable | No clearing, tree or vegetation permit appears in the Building Department’s 17 published permit types or in the land development regulations. Confirm with Land Use on 386-792-0507. |
| Hendry | Yes | Land Clearing Permit | Filed with the building permit application under Sec. 1-58-6(a)(5). Exempt: bona fide agriculture, house pads, and development already approved through a site plan or subdivision plat. No contractor licence is required for the permit itself. |
| Highlands | Unclear | not applicable | The land development code has a section titled Land clearing at 12.12.620, inside the Environmental Clearance division, but the county does not publish the text in a readable form. Call Planning and Zoning on 863-402-6650 before you clear anything. |
| Jefferson | Yes | Tree removal permit | Protected tree thresholds depend on location: 18 inches in a perimeter setback, 24 inches in the site interior, 30 inches in a road right of way, 36 inches anywhere. Pine, camphor and pecan are excluded. Bona fide agriculture and silviculture are exempt. |
| Lee | Yes | Vegetation Removal Permit | Single family triggers at 5 acres or more, but only 2 acres on Pine Island, and all coastal islands are covered. No permit for removing five trees or fewer a year from a lot that already has a house, except on the listed coastal islands. |
| Levy | None found | not applicable | No clearing or tree permit among the 23 planning application types or the building permit list, and Chapter 50 has no tree protection article. Confirm with the Development Department on 352-486-5198. |
| Miami-Dade | Yes | Tree Removal or Relocation Permit | A tree is anything 3 inches DBH or 12 feet tall. Permit needed for any size tree on commercial, multifamily, agricultural and swale land; on single family yards only for specimen trees, which start at 18 inches DBH. Natural Forest Communities need a separate permit. |
| Nassau | Amelia Island only | Tree Removal Permit | The county tree ordinance applies only to unincorporated Amelia Island. Protected trees there are 5 inches DBH or greater. No mainland county requirement was found in official sources. |
| Okeechobee | None found | not applicable | No clearing, tree or vegetation permit in the planning application list, the building forms or the fee schedule effective July 2025. Confirm with Planning on 863-763-5548 extension 3073. |
| Orange | Yes | Tree Removal Permit and Land Clearing Permit | Regulated trees are 8 inches DBH or greater on the county stock list. Occupied single family lots of 2 acres or less are exempt. Specimen trees are live oak and magnolia at 24 inches; heritage live oak at 40 inches. Applies to unincorporated county only, so Orlando is governed by city code. |
| Putnam | None found | Site Work Permit may apply | No county tree or vegetation removal permit was found. A Site Work Permit covers paving, drainage, dredging and fill, and its form asks whether you are clearing trees and stumps. Clearing more than 25 feet or 25 percent of a shoreline has separate rules. Confirm on 386-329-0316. |
| St. Lucie | Yes | Notice of Vegetation Removal | The broadest rule in the state that we have looked at. All native vegetation in the unincorporated county is protected, and even exempt work has to be filed. Native vegetation 24 inches DBH or greater always needs a permit. Clearing before the permit issues triggers 4 to 1 mitigation. |
| Sarasota | Yes | Tree Permit | The county asks you to speak to an Environmental Specialist before removing any native tree over 4 inches trunk diameter or any palm with more than 8 feet of clear trunk. Grand Tree status is set by a points system rather than a single diameter. Exotic species removal is exempt. |
Researched August 2026 from official county sources. Counties amend these codes, so treat this as the starting point for your call, not the last word. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Where forestry mulching sits in all this
Mulching is not a licensing category in Florida. The state does not issue a contractor licence for forestry mulching, so there is no mulching licence for any contractor to hold. What matters is insurance, and you should ask every contractor for the certificate before they start.
Mulching does not change your permit position. If a tree is protected at 8 inches in your county, it is protected whether it comes out with a mulcher, a chainsaw or a dozer. What mulching does change is the disposal question: because the material is ground and spread on site in one pass, there is nothing to haul and nothing to burn, so no burn authorisation and no debris disposal receipts. Hendry County, for instance, requires either disposal receipts or a Florida Forest Service open burn authorisation with its land clearing permit. Mulching removes that step.
What it costs to get this wrong
St. Lucie County requires mitigation at four replacement trees for every one removed without a permit, and two to one for sabal palms. Charlotte County prohibits speculative clearing outright: you cannot clear in advance of a building permit or approved site plan. Several counties can require you to restore the land to its prior condition. The permit is almost always cheaper than the remedy.
Florida land clearing permit questions
Do you need a permit to clear land in Florida?
Usually yes, but it depends on three things: whether any part of the parcel is wetland, which county it is in, and whether it sits inside city limits. Most Florida counties regulate tree or vegetation removal above a diameter threshold, and those thresholds range from 3 inches in Miami-Dade to 8 inches in Orange County. Three of the eighteen counties we researched appear to have no clearing permit at all.
Do I need a permit to clear my own land?
Owning the land does not exempt you. County tree and vegetation ordinances apply to private property, and several counties specifically regulate what an owner can remove from their own lot. Small occupied residential lots are the most common exemption, typically at one or two acres with a house already on them.
Does the county rule apply if I am inside city limits?
Usually not. Florida county tree and clearing codes almost always apply only to the unincorporated county. Orange County states this directly in its ordinance, which means Orlando is governed by city code instead. Palm Coast, Punta Gorda, Fort Pierce and Monticello all run their own separate rules. Work out which side of the city line your parcel is on before reading any county rule.
Do I need a permit to clear brush in wetlands?
Wetlands are a separate layer of jurisdiction that sits above the county. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection or your water management district may have authority regardless of local rules, and the penalties at that level are the largest. Get a wetlands determination before clearing anything you are unsure about.
Is agricultural land exempt from land clearing permits?
Bona fide agricultural and silvicultural operations are exempt in nearly every county, but the definition is narrower than most owners expect. Orange County requires the land to be classified as agricultural by the property appraiser, and claws the exemption back with replanting obligations if the use changes within eight years. Lee County requires a Notice of Clearing to be filed even for agricultural work.
Do you need a licence for forestry mulching in Florida?
No. Florida does not issue a contractor licence for forestry mulching, so there is no mulching licence for any contractor to hold. Insurance is what actually protects you, and the certificate is the document worth asking every contractor for before work starts.
Does forestry mulching avoid the permit requirement?
No. If a tree is protected at a given diameter in your county, it is protected whether it comes out with a mulcher, a chainsaw or a dozer. What mulching does change is disposal: the material is ground and spread on site in one pass, so there is nothing to haul and no burn authorisation to obtain.
What happens if you clear land without a permit in Florida?
It varies by county and it can be expensive. St. Lucie County requires mitigation at four replacement trees for every one removed without a permit, and two to one for sabal palms. Charlotte County prohibits clearing in advance of a building permit outright. Several counties can require the land to be restored to its prior condition.
