Tree Service and Tree Removal in Palm Coast, FL
Looking for tree service or tree removal in Palm Coast? Tell us which tree and where it stands, and your request goes to one independent local contractor, who can look at it and give you a written price.
- One contractor gets each request
- Palm Coast and nearby Flagler County
Which trees stay standing in a hurricane
University of Florida researchers counted which urban trees were still standing after Hurricane Ivan. For the oaks, they also treated any tree that lost half or more of its branches as lost. Laurel oak, water oak and sand pine sit near the bottom.
Figures from UF/IFAS Extension's Selecting Coastal Plain Species for Wind Resistance (FOR119), which ranks laurel oak, water oak and sand pine in its lowest wind-resistance group and warns that no tree is completely windproof. See Palm Coast trees and storms.
How it works
Describe the tree
Call or send the form with your street or section, the kind of tree if you know it, how close it is to the house or lines, and what you want done.
One contractor receives it
Your request is passed to a single independent contractor working in Palm Coast. It isn't sold to a list.
They look and price it
The contractor contacts you, looks at the tree, the drop zone and the access, and puts their own price and scope in writing.
The choice is yours
Hire them or don't. The contract, the city permit, the schedule, payment and cleanup are settled between you and the contractor.
Tree work around Palm Coast
Each guide is written for a homeowner in Palm Coast or nearby Flagler County, with rules tied to the city's own documents and prices tied to a named source and date.
Tree removal
Taking down a whole tree on a developed Palm Coast lot usually starts with a city permit, since the rule reaches any trunk 6 inches across at four and a half feet. The guide walks through the permit, how a crew takes a tree down between houses and over a pool cage, what happens to the wood, and the published national prices by trunk size.
Tree trimming
Pruning a living tree needs no city permit, but Palm Coast holds it to the ANSI A300 standard, and topping, lion-tailing or raising the canopy past a third of the tree's height is treated as removing the tree. The guide covers clearance over roofs and driveways, storm-season pruning, and what to leave for the power company.
Stump grinding
Grinding chews a stump below the lawn line and leaves the roots to rot. Sunshine 811 asks for notice before a stump grinder digs in, and a stump in the swale is worth a call to the city first. The guide covers chips, fill and settling in sandy soil, and the national grinding prices by stump diameter.
Storm and emergency removal
A tree through the roof or across the driveway after a hurricane calls for the right order of steps: people out, lines left to FPL, photos for the insurer, then the cutting. The guide lays out who removes which tree under the city's storm guidance, what the curbside limits are, and how removal coverage usually works.
Dead or leaning trees
Hollow laurel oaks, pines turning rust-brown after a dry spell or a storm, and trees that started to lean after the last blow are the calls that can't wait for spring. The guide covers the signs, beetle-killed pines, the city's grounds for approving a hazard removal, and the state law on risk documentation.
Palm removal and trimming
Palms aren't trimmed the way oaks are. UF/IFAS says to cut only completely dead fronds and calls the "hurricane cut" harmful to a palm's ability to ride out wind. The guide explains palm trimming, palm removal, and how clusters of palms count toward a lot's required trees.
Planning guides
Palm Coast tree removal permits
The city defines protected, specimen and historic trees by trunk diameter, requires replacements when a lot drops below its tree minimum, and lets the Land Use Administrator approve removing dead, dangerous or damaging trees. A 2019 state law adds a path for risky trees on homes. The guide sets it all out with the office numbers.
What tree work costs
Thumbtack's 2026 national figures put a typical removal at $450 to $1,450 (March 2026) and trimming at $402 to $1,158 (October 2026), with large trees and wide canopies well above that. This page lists every figure with its date, shows what moves a price on a Palm Coast lot, and explains why the contractor's written quote is the only local number.
Palm Coast trees and storms
Laurel oak lives 50 to 70 years by UF/IFAS's count and often hollows from decay. Live oak and sand live oak top the wind rankings. Storm-bent pines draw bark beetles in the following year. This page collects what the university and the Florida Forest Service say about the trees in Palm Coast yards.
Hiring a tree service
Most of what decides how a tree job goes, from where the pieces land to who files the permit, is settled before anyone starts a saw. The guide covers who does tree work locally, the questions worth asking about the job, what the written contract should show, and the warnings Florida officials repeat after every storm.
What drives the price
Thumbtack's national guide (updated March 24, 2026) puts the usual cost to cut down one tree at $450 to $1,450, and $884 to $1,627 with the stump removed too. It prices by trunk diameter and canopy width, not height: a 24- to 36-inch trunk with a canopy over 30 feet across runs $1,562 to $4,117. No Palm Coast contractor's price was collected for this site, so your number is the written quote for your tree.
A tree left standing has a price as well. The Insurance Information Institute said in 2010 that a standard policy covers a tree that a covered storm drops on the house, with removal coverage generally around $500 to $1,000, while a tree that falls in the yard without hitting a structure usually isn't covered.
| What changes | Why it moves the price |
|---|---|
| Trunk and canopy | Thumbtack's tiers (March 2026) run from $226 for a small, narrow tree to $4,117 for a large, wide one |
| What's underneath | A roof, pool cage, fence or lines below means pieces are lowered, not dropped |
| Access | Fenced backyards and canal-side lots limit where a truck or loader can go |
| Hauling | The city's yard-waste notice says tree trimmers must haul away what they cut |
| Stump | Grinding runs $267 to $494 by stump size in Thumbtack's table (March 2026) |
| Permit | A city permit for most trees; Building Services can quote the current fee |
| Urgency | A tree on the house after a storm is a different job from a planned removal |
The city permit, in short
The city's help center puts it plainly. Removing a tree, or damaging or destroying it by pruning, takes a permit once its trunk reaches 6 inches in diameter at 4½ feet above grade, and a tree surveyed for credit is covered from 4 inches. In 2026, homeowners themselves were the applicants on most of the city's tree removal permits, by our November 6 count of the city's permit search. The permit guide covers replacements, hazard trees and the state law.
Building Services
Permits and fees, City Hall at 160 Lake Avenue: (386) 986-3780.
Tree questions
Building Services also takes questions about tree rules and inspections: (386) 986-3780.
Customer Service
Storm trees from city land, debris and other tickets: (386) 986-2360 or PalmCoast.gov/Connect.
Areas served
This site takes requests for homes in and around Palm Coast, Florida. The tree rules on these pages are the City of Palm Coast's. Outside the city limits, a different office writes the rules, so call it before a tree comes down.
City of Palm Coast
Every section of the city, canal-front lots and wooded lots alike. The city's tree permit rules and its pruning standard apply.
Flagler Beach and Bunnell
Each city has its own office: Flagler Beach Planning and Building, (386) 517-2000, then press 3 for the Building Department; Bunnell Community Development, (386) 437-7516.
Unincorporated Flagler County
Homes outside any city limits fall under Flagler County Growth Management, (386) 313-4003.
Common questions
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Palm Coast?
For most trees, yes. The line is a trunk diameter of 6 inches measured 4½ feet up, dropping to 4 inches for trees that were surveyed for credit. Exceptions include listed invasive species and trees a utility has already cut back severely. See the permit guide.
Does trimming need a permit?
No, but the city requires ANSI A300 pruning and treats topping, lion-tailing and over-raising the canopy as an "effective removal," handled like cutting the tree down. See tree trimming.
A tree from the swale fell on my house. Who removes it?
The city's storm guidance after Hurricane Ian said to open a ticket at PalmCoast.gov/Connect so the city can inspect a tree that came from city property and set the removal process. A tree from your own lot is yours to remove. See storm and emergency removal.
Will the city pick up the branches?
Ordinary curbside pickup has limits, and the city's yard-waste notice says lawn services and tree trimmers must haul away what they create. Ask that hauling be written into the quote.
Who does the actual work?
One independent local contractor. This site passes your request along and does no tree work itself. The price, contract, permit and cleanup are yours to settle with the contractor.
Have a tree that needs to come down or be cut back?
Call or send the short form. Your request goes to one independent local contractor, who looks at the tree and puts their own price in writing.