Tree Removal Orlando: $203 to $2,028 + $25 Permit (2026)

Orlando rows are Angi's local figures and the City's fee; national rows are labeled.

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

1. Stay clear of any line the tree touches or has dropped, and treat every wire as energized.
2. Report it to OUC on its 24-hour line, (407) 423-9018, if you are in the City of Orlando. Call 911 if a line is down in the street.
3. Call 911 as well if anyone is hurt or the tree has broken through the roof and the house may not be safe.
4. Photograph the tree and the damage before anything is moved, then call your insurer before you hire anyone.
5. Do not climb or saw a trunk that is bent or pinned: ISA warns that limbs under tension can move without warning when cut.

Is it an emergency? Signs an Orlando tree needs help today

A tree that shifted in a storm, a trunk with a new crack, or sandy soil heaving up on one side of the root plate needs a crew today, not next month. HomeGuide lists a lean that suddenly changed or exceeds 15 degrees, deep cracks and cavities in the trunk, and root decay or fungus as signs a tree needs to come down. ISA adds that a tree that leans with cracked or lifting soil at its base may be moving at the roots. Hurricane season raises the stakes: on the morning after Hurricane Milton, the Florida PSC counted 52,777 of OUC's 222,092 accounts, about 24%, without power. A dead tree well away from the house can wait for a regular appointment, which costs less than same-day work. Warning signs in detail: tree removal.

Orlando tree removal permits and the arborist exemption

A City of Orlando homeowner does not need a tree removal permit if they get a report from an ISA TRAQ-qualified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect confirming the tree poses a danger, the City says. That matches Florida law: s. 163.045 bars local governments from requiring a permit, fee or replanting to remove a tree on residential property when the owner has that documentation. Without the report, you apply for a permit:

• Fee: $25 for residential property ($50 per acre for commercial, where a permit is always required).
• Replanting: if the permit requires replacement trees, plant them within 60 days and notify the City.
• Questions: City of Orlando trees, 407-246-2283 or [email protected].
• Outside city limits (unincorporated Orange County or another city), different rules apply; check your address first.

Keep the arborist report even after the tree is gone. It is your proof that no permit was needed if a neighbor or code officer asks.

What drives the price in Orlando

Trees near power lines or buildings can cost up to 50% more in Orlando, Angi says, and its Orlando guide lists permits and licenses at $60 to $150. Palms are their own category at $1,100 to $1,500 in Angi's Orlando figures. Nationally, HomeGuide says trunks wider than 24 inches cost significantly more and that same-day or next-day work often runs 2 to 3 times the standard rate, which is why prices spike in the days after a storm.

Tree trimming in Orlando before hurricane season

Tree trimming costs $400 to $900 per tree in HomeGuide's 2026 national guide, and palm trimming runs $100 to $900; Fixr puts most trimming at $175 to $750. We found no Orlando-specific trimming price. Under Florida s. 163.045, the same arborist documentation that exempts a dangerous tree from a removal permit also covers pruning and trimming it. Do not let anyone top a live oak: ISA says topping removes 50% to 100% of the leaf-bearing crown and the regrowth breaks easily in wind. Branches near OUC lines are a job for the utility or a line-clearance crew, not a homeowner with a pole saw. More on tree trimming.

Insurance after a storm tree in Orlando

Many policies cover a tree that falls on the house or another insured structure, even a neighbor's tree, up to policy limits, the Maryland Insurance Administration says; a tree that hits nothing usually gets only a limited removal payment, often $500 to $1,000. Photograph first, call the insurer, and do not sign over your claim to a tree service or any contractor.

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

More Orlando repair guides

Tree on the roof: emergency roof repair in Orlando. Water inside: water damage restoration in Orlando. Service line or mast torn off: electrician in Orlando. Other cities: tree removal in Miami and tree removal in Atlanta. 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).