There is no single DFW rule — it's local

Texas has no statewide tree-removal permit, so the rules are set city by city, and they vary a lot across the Metroplex. Some cities regulate only “protected” or “heritage” trees above a certain trunk size; others require a permit to remove almost any tree over a few inches in diameter on residential property; and many regulate trees on commercial and undeveloped land far more strictly than on an existing single-family lot. The only reliable answer comes from your specific city's tree ordinance — and, separately, your HOA.

Protected and heritage trees

Most DFW ordinances that regulate removal do so by trunk diameter measured at 4.5 feet (DBH) and often by species. “Protected” trees commonly start around 6–8 inches DBH; “heritage” or “specimen” trees — large oaks, pecans, elms, and bald cypress above a bigger threshold — get the strongest protection and the highest replacement requirements. Some ordinances exempt clearly dead, diseased, or hazardous trees, but you usually still need documentation (often an arborist's letter) to claim that exemption. Don't assume “it's my yard, my tree.”

Mitigation: the cost most people miss

Where removal of a protected tree is allowed, many DFW cities require mitigation — replanting a certain number of caliper-inches of new trees, or paying into a tree fund based on the inches removed. On a large protected oak, mitigation can run into thousands of dollars, completely separate from the cost of the removal itself. This is the number that surprises homeowners, and it is exactly why you check before scheduling, not after.

Your HOA is a separate permit

Even when the city does not require a permit, your HOA very likely has its own rules — architectural-review approval to remove a front-yard or common-area-adjacent tree, approved-species lists, and replacement requirements. HOA violations carry their own fines and can hold up a home sale. If you are in a deed-restricted DFW community, treat HOA approval as a second, independent permit you need before any saw runs.

How we handle it for you

On every removal we quote in a regulated DFW city, we check the local ordinance, tell you up front whether a permit and mitigation are likely required, and provide the written arborist assessment cities accept for hazardous- or dead-tree exemptions and for permit applications. We can document the tree's condition with photos and measurements, justify the removal, and help you avoid the fine that comes from cutting first and asking later — which in some DFW cities is assessed per inch of trunk removed.