Sacramento County, CA Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit for pruning protected trees
- Required in the urban unincorporated area
- Arborist required
- ISA Certified Arborist/Tree Worker for branches, limbs, or roots over 2 inches
- Dripline protection
- No trenching, grading, or fill within a protected tree's dripline without a permit
- Permit fee
- About $31.95 (as of July 2025)
- Processing time
- Typically under 10 working days
- Governing ordinance
- County Code Ch. 19.12 (Tree Preservation and Protection)
Summary
In the unincorporated urban area, pruning a protected tree (native oaks, landmark trees, and other regulated trees) generally requires a County tree permit, just like removal. Work on branches, limbs, or roots over two inches in diameter must be done by an ISA Certified Arborist or Tree Worker. Routine pruning of unprotected trees is unregulated.
4291.
(a) A person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in the state responsibility area shall at all times do all of the following:
(1) (A) Maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, but not beyond the property line, except as provided in subparagraph (B). The amount of fuel modification necessary shall consider the flammability of the structure as affected by building material, building standards, location, and type of vegetation. Fuels shall be maintained and spaced in a condition so that a wildfire would be unlikely to ignite the structure.
Full Breakdown
12) reaches more than removal: in the designated urban area of the unincorporated county, no one may trench, grade, or fill within the dripline of a protected tree, or destroy, kill, or remove it, without a tree permit, and that permit requirement extends to significant pruning of protected trees. Protected trees include native oaks (on public and private land), landmark trees, and public trees. Per County Planning and Environmental Review, when work involves branches, limbs, or roots exceeding two inches in diameter, the applicant must hire an ISA Certified Arborist or ISA Certified Tree Worker.
95 as of mid-2025) and processing typically takes under ten working days. Pruning that would harm or improperly top a protected tree can itself be a violation even without removal. Trees that are not protected species and are outside the regulated context can generally be pruned without a County permit. For encroaching branches from a neighbor's tree, California Civil Code lets you trim to the property line, but if the tree is County-protected a permit may still be needed before cutting.
Violations & Fines
Pruning, topping, or cutting within the dripline of a protected tree without a required permit, or using an unqualified worker for branches/roots over 2 inches, can be enforced under Chapter 19.12 as a misdemeanor and public nuisance, with replacement and Tree Preservation Fund penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to prune my oak tree?
Can I trim a neighbor's branches hanging over my yard?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sacramento County
California rules heatmap·Compare Sacramento County to another location·View the California landscaping rules overview
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