Sign inList your business
Menu

Tree removal in Maryland: licences and permits

Anyone paid to cut, trim or remove trees in Maryland needs a state Tree Expert licence. Trees by the road and near tidal water need permission too. Here's what to check before the work starts.

Last reviewed 29 September 2026 · Every rule links to its official source

Who needs a licence

Maryland’s Tree Expert Law has required it since 1945. Anyone who treats, cares for or removes trees for pay needs a licence from the DNR Forest Service, whatever they call themselves: arborist, tree surgeon or tree service.1

The licence is renewed every two years, and every licensee must carry liability and property damage insurance.2 Working without a licence, or advertising as a tree expert without one, is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500 for a first offence.2

The law covers work done for pay. Cutting your own trees yourself doesn’t need a licence.

How to check a licence

  • Ask for the licence number before any work starts.
  • Look it up on the DNR Licensed Tree Expert search, by company, county or last name.1
  • Get a written contract. A licensed tree expert has to give you one with their name, licence number, business name, the work, the dates and the price.2

Trees by the road need a permit

A tree growing in the public road right-of-way is a roadside tree. Any work on it, including pruning, removal or planting a new one, needs a Roadside Tree Permit from the DNR Forest Service first.3 The property owner in front of the tree signs the application, and the work must be done by a Licensed Tree Expert or Roadside Tree Care Expert.2

You can act without a permit only in an emergency: the tree is uprooted or broken and touching a power line, or its branches are an immediate danger to people or property.2

Montgomery County issues its own roadside tree permit. Call the county Permits Office on (240) 777-6335.3

Near the Bay or tidal water

Land within 1,000 feet of tidal waters and tidal wetlands is the Critical Area. The first 100 feet from the water is the Buffer.4

  • In the Critical Area, outside the Buffer: you can remove trees with approval from your county, as long as you plant new ones.
  • In the Buffer: trees can come down only if they’re dead, dying, diseased or a hazard, and only with a Buffer Management Plan approved by your county. They usually have to be replaced.4

Your neighbour's tree

Maryland follows the “self-help” rule. You can cut back a neighbour’s branches or roots that cross onto your property, but only to the property line, and you can’t cut the tree down or damage it so badly it dies. Anyone who removes trees on someone else’s land without permission can owe three times the value of the trees.2

Sources

  1. Licensed Tree Experts, Maryland DNR Forest Service. Checked 29 Sep 2026.
  2. Licensed Tree Expert exam study guide: Tree Laws (v5.1), Maryland DNR. Checked 29 Sep 2026.
  3. Roadside Tree Program, Maryland DNR. Checked 29 Sep 2026.
  4. Critical Area FAQs, Critical Area Commission. Checked 29 Sep 2026.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the source or your county before work starts.