Street Tree Planting Permit

To plant a tree in New York City, you need a Tree Planting Permit. You also need to hire a landscape contractor.

You can find a full guide to street tree planting at the Street Tree Planting Permit Application and Street Tree Planting Standards. This guide explains the steps, planting rules and tree choices.

The landscape contractor must guarantee the trees for two years.

Trees must be planted during one of the two planting seasons:

• Spring: March 15 to May 15
• Fall: October 15 to December 15

Some tree species can only be planted in Spring.

• Before the planting season, find and hire a contractor to plant the tree(s).
• You need an official Site Plan showing where you want to plant the trees. Use the Tree Planting Standards from the Street Tree Planting Permit Application and Street Tree Planting Standards to help you.

• For one-stop planting and permitting, the New York Tree Trust will help you:

  • Pick the tree type
  • Choose the spot
  • Handle the permit and planting processes

• You can give money for this help.

• Call 212-360-TREE.

• You need an official Site Plan showing where you want to plant the trees. Use the Tree Planting Standards from the Street Tree Planting Permit Application and Street Tree Planting Standards to help you.
• Mail or fax your permit application and Site Plan to the Central Forestry Office.
• A Parks and Recreation Forester will visit the site within three weeks after the application has been received to check if your plan is acceptable. They will also decide what type of tree(s) to plant.
• You will get a Tree Planting Permit or a Tree Planting Permit Denial by mail or fax.
• After planting, staking, mulching and finishing the tree pits with granite block (if needed), mail or fax a notification to the Central Forestry Office to request a final planting inspection.
• A Parks and Recreation Forester will visit the site within three weeks to check if the right tree species was planted and if the planting was done correctly. If everything is acceptable, you will get a final sign-off. If not, you will get a list of things to fix.
• After two years, a Parks and Recreation Forester will inspect the site again. If the tree(s) did not survive, they will ask you to replace them.