First: city or county?
The rule that applies is set by the government of the land the tree stands on, and in metro Atlanta that is often a city, not the county named in your address. DeKalb County’s guide says this outright: it processes applications only for unincorporated DeKalb, and lists Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Stonecrest, Stone Mountain and Tucker as places with their own. All of Fulton County lies inside one city or another. Your property tax bill shows which government you are under.
City of Atlanta
From the city’s ATL311 guidance:
| Tree | Rule |
|---|---|
| Hardwood 6 inches across or more | Permit needed |
| Pine 12 inches across or more | Permit needed |
| Dead, dying or hazardous | Inspection by the city arborist before removal; no charge |
| Appears to be falling now, as after a storm | Photograph it and call the Arborist Division; a permit can be issued afterward |
| Already fallen | No permit |
Diameter is measured 4.5 feet above the ground. Since June 25, 2025, anyone whose project may affect trees meets with the city’s arborist plan reviewers before applying. Trees on city land and in the right-of-way belong to Parks and Recreation. Arborist Division: 404-330-6874.
Unincorporated DeKalb County
- Up to five healthy trees a calendar year from a single-family lot, without a notice, as long as none is a specimen tree.
- More than five, or any specimen tree: a Notice of Tree Removal to the County Arborist, with a health and risk assessment by an ISA Certified Arborist, a registered consulting arborist or a forester, before removal. Review takes up to five working days.
- Dead, diseased or hazardous trees: any time, documented by such a professional.
- Specimen: a healthy large tree such as an oak, poplar or pine 30 inches across or more; a dogwood or redbud 10 inches or more.
- Ten or more trees may count as land disturbance. Nothing disturbed in the 75-foot stream buffer without a county variance.
County Arborist: (404) 371-2949.
Unincorporated Gwinnett County
On a developed home lot with a certificate of occupancy, no permit for live trees, except trees in a zoning or stream buffer, conservation or open space, within 2,000 feet of the Chattahoochee River, in a tree save area, or street trees. Those areas are marked on your subdivision’s final plat. Keep at least two live trees on the lot. Planning and Development: 678.518.6000.
Unincorporated Cobb County
Cobb’s Site Plan Review section issues land disturbance and clearing permits. Its published pages do not address removing a tree from an existing home lot, so ask before removing a healthy tree, and always for a tree in a stream or zoning buffer: 770.528.2147.
Every other city and county
Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Decatur, Marietta and the rest of the metro’s cities have their own ordinances, and several are stricter than the counties around them. We have not stated their thresholds here because we could not confirm them from the cities’ own publications. Call the city’s planning or arborist office before removing a healthy tree, and check your homeowners association’s covenants, which can require approval even where the city does not.
Checked against the sources below on 2026-10-11.