Tree Removal Atlanta: $200 to $2,002 + City Permit Rules

Atlanta rows are Angi's local figures and the City's recompense rate; national rows are labeled. Recompense is owed to the City on top of the tree service's price.

Do this now: a tree on the house or a power line

1. Keep away from any wire the tree is on or has brought down, and treat it as live.
2. Report a downed line to Georgia Power at 888-891-0938. Georgia Power warns never to try to remove tree branches from power lines: "it can kill."
3. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, a line is down across a street, or the tree has come through the roof and the house may be unsafe.
4. Photograph everything before it is moved and call your insurer before you sign with a tree service.
5. Before the trunk is cut up, ask the City's Arborist Division about a dead, dying or hazardous tree permit (it is free). Do only what is needed to make the house safe until then.

Is it an emergency? Signs an Atlanta tree is about to fail

A tree with a new lean, a split where two trunks meet, or roots lifting the soil after heavy rain is the kind of problem that cannot wait. ISA's checklist calls codominant (split) trunks common failure points and says soil cracking or lifting can signal root movement, especially when the tree leans. HomeGuide says a lean over 15 degrees, deep trunk cracks, cavities, missing bark, and dead branches over more than half the canopy all point to removal. Angi notes the average Atlanta lot is just over 7,500 square feet, so a tall loblolly pine or an old oak is rarely far from a roof. For a dead tree that is not near anything, take the time to get the City's free hazard permit and more than one price. The full checklist is on tree removal.

Atlanta tree removal permits: 6 inches and up

Inside the City of Atlanta, any tree 6 inches or more in diameter at breast height needs a permit to come down, and pines need one at 12 inches or more, according to the Arborist Division's FAQ. The permit you get depends on the tree:

• Dead, dying or hazardous (DDH): there is no fee for the application or the permit. The Arborist Division inspects the tree and verifies its condition before removal. It must have defects "severe enough to pose present danger to people or buildings under normal conditions." No recompense is owed.
• Healthy tree: removed under a landscape, construction or silviculture permit, and recompense is owed to the City's Tree Trust Fund.
• Denied: the decision can be appealed to the Tree Conservation Commission.

What recompense costs in Atlanta in 2026

Recompense for removing a healthy tree in Atlanta is $140 per inch of trunk diameter starting January 1, 2026, under the Tree Protection Ordinance rewrite the City Council approved in June 2025. The City's release says the rate adjusts for inflation each year from January 1, 2027, and that planting replacement trees earns a credit of 1.25 times the caliper inches planted. Atlanta News First worked the math: under the old $100 plus $30 per inch, a 6-inch tree cost about $280 in recompense; at $140 per inch it is about $840. The fine for illegal removal doubled to $200,000 per acre. The rewrite also set aside $400,000 a year to help low-income seniors deal with hazardous trees, so ask the City about it if that fits your household.

Tree trimming in Atlanta: cost and topping

Tree trimming runs $400 to $900 per tree in HomeGuide's 2026 national guide, and oak trimming is $450 to $1,500; Fixr's national range is $175 to $750. We found no Atlanta-specific trimming price. A crew that tops an oak or a pine is not doing you a favor: ISA says topping strips 50% to 100% of the crown, invites decay, and grows back weak, prone-to-break shoots. Ask for crown cleaning or reduction cuts instead. More on tree trimming.

Insurance when a storm drops a tree in Atlanta

When a tree lands on the house or another insured structure, many policies cover the damage up to policy limits, even when the tree was a neighbor's, according to the Maryland Insurance Administration. A tree that hits nothing usually gets only a limited removal payment, often $500 to $1,000. Photograph first, call the insurer, and keep the damaged material until the adjuster has seen it.

Hiring a tree service in Atlanta

1. Who pulls the City permit, and is recompense included in your price or billed to me separately?
2. Is there an ISA certified arborist on the job? (Check the name with ISA's Verify a Credential tool.)
3. Can I see proof of insurance? Call the insurer to confirm it, as ISA suggests.
4. Does the price include hauling, chipping and stump grinding?
5. Be wary of anyone going door to door after a storm offering a bargain, ISA says. Get the price in writing.

Tree rules, programs and contacts for Atlanta, from official city, utility and state pages unless marked.

More Atlanta repair guides

Tree through the roof: emergency roof repair in Atlanta and roof repair in Atlanta. Water inside after the hit: water damage restoration in Atlanta. Service mast pulled off the house: electrician in Atlanta. Other cities: tree removal in Orlando and tree removal in Philadelphia. National prices: tree removal cost and stump grinding. Calls go to an independent company that serves your area and takes this kind of job (how calls work).