Do I need an arborist report?

Usually yes if you're removing a protected tree, or building or demolishing near one, as part of a development or building project. Often if you want to remove a single protected tree, because most municipalities can ask for a report. Rarely for routine pruning done to good practice. Past that, it comes down to your municipality and the kind of project.

Bylaw information checked November 12, 2026. Rules change. Confirm with your municipality before you act.

This guide covers the 13 municipalities of Greater Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula, the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, the City of Duncan and the Cowichan Valley. Start with the three questions below for a quick answer, then find your municipality's row in the decision table.

An arborist report is a written assessment of specific trees by a certified arborist. Municipalities use it to decide whether to issue a tree permit and what protection or replacement trees to require.

Do I need an arborist report? Answer three questions

Go through the questions in order. Every path ends in one of four answers: Likely yes, Likely no, Depends: the municipality may ask, or You may need a different professional (QEP or geotechnical engineer).

Question 1: Is the tree protected in your municipality?

Most local bylaws protect native trees such as Garry oak, arbutus, Pacific dogwood and western yew at small sizes. Many also protect any tree above a set trunk diameter, which ranges from 20 cm to 80 cm depending on the municipality. Trunk diameter (DBH) is measured at about chest height. Each area's thresholds are in our CRD tree bylaw table.

If your work comes close to your neighbour's trees or city boulevard trees, count those too.

1. No, the tree isn't protected, and it isn't in a development permit area (DPA). A DPA is a mapped zone, such as a stream bank or steep slope, where you need a development permit before you clear or build. Result: Likely no.
2. Yes, or you're not sure. Go to Question 2.
3. Your area has no tree bylaw (Sooke, the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, Cowichan Valley Regional District electoral areas, North Cowichan). Go straight to Question 3.

Question 2: What are you doing?

1. Removing one protected tree (not part of a building project). Result: Depends: the municipality may ask. Most bylaws let staff request a report. Langford's application form asks for one, so plan on it there. In Colwood, a site plan is usually enough for one to five trees a year.
2. Pruning a protected tree.
   • Light pruning to good arboricultural practice: Likely no.
   • Topping, cutting large branches, or removing a big share of the crown (often more than 25%): this usually needs a permit. Result: Depends: the municipality may ask. Oak Bay is stricter: a permit is needed to prune any live branch over 5 cm on six native species, or over 10 cm on other protected trees.
3. Building, adding on or demolishing near a protected tree. Result: Likely yes in Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt and View Royal when protected trees are on or near the site. Elsewhere: Depends: the municipality may ask. Expect a tree protection plan as well.
4. Subdividing, rezoning or applying for a development permit. Result: Likely yes in Saanich, Victoria, Esquimalt, Central Saanich and View Royal, and usually in North Saanich and Sidney. These applications often call for a full tree management plan. If the site is near water, in a sensitive ecosystem or on a steep slope: You may need a different professional (QEP or geotechnical engineer).
5. Dealing with a dead tree or an emergency hazard.
   • A tree in imminent danger of falling: many bylaws let you cut first and report by the next business day, with photos. Some ask you to leave the wood on site until staff inspect. Read your municipality's row before you act.
   • A dead or high-risk tree that isn't an emergency: Depends: the municipality may ask. Several bylaws need a written assessment from a qualified tree risk assessor (TRAQ). In View Royal and Duncan: Likely yes. See our tree risk assessments.

Question 3: Which municipality?

1. A municipality with a tree bylaw (Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Sidney, View Royal, Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, Highlands, Duncan). Find your row and your project column in the decision table. "Yes" means Likely yes, "If asked" means Depends: the municipality may ask, and "No" means Likely no.
2. An area with no tree bylaw (Sooke, Juan de Fuca, Cowichan Valley electoral areas, North Cowichan).
   • Outside a DPA: Likely no for a local permit or report. Provincial and federal wildlife rules on active nests and some nest trees still apply everywhere.
   • Inside a riparian, shoreline or sensitive-ecosystem DPA: You may need a different professional (QEP).
   • Inside a steep-slope DPA: You may need a different professional (geotechnical engineer).
   • Removing a hazard tree inside a DPA: an arborist's report or certification is often the evidence needed. See the table.

Arborist report decision table by municipality

How to read it: "Yes" means a report is required or listed on the application. "Usually" or "Often" means the bylaw leaves it to staff, but they normally ask. "If asked" means staff can require one. "No" means the bylaw doesn't call for an arborist report (a permit may still be needed). Numbers point to the notes under the table.

Notes

1. Saanich. No permit or report is needed for pruning to good practice. A permit is needed for topping, removing more than 25% of the live crown in 12 months, root-zone cuts, and any pruning of a Significant Tree. For building, demolition and development, a report is required when protected trees are on or near the site; Saanich reviews trees as part of that application rather than through a separate tree permit. Dead trees still need a permit, and a hazardous tree must be identified in writing by a qualified tree risk assessor.
2. Victoria. A permit is needed to prune branches 10 cm or larger. Development reports (building, demolition, DP, rezoning, subdivision) must be by a TRAQ arborist, and can be waived if no protected trees are affected.
3. Oak Bay. A permit is needed to prune live branches over 5 cm (listed native species) or over 10 cm (other protected trees); a report is needed only if staff ask. The bylaw ties the mandatory report to building and demolition permits; for DP, rezoning and subdivision, ask Oak Bay. Emergency cuts need a written TRAQ report confirming the hazard.
4. Esquimalt. A permit is needed to prune branches over 10 cm. Under s. 5(1)(a) of the bylaw, a hazard tree that poses immediate danger can be cut without a permit, as long as you report it by the end of the next business day with written and photo evidence from a TRAQ or BC Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor. (The Township's web page says hazard trees need a permit; this guide follows the bylaw.)
5. Central Saanich. Protected trees always need a permit, and the District may ask for a report. For other trees of 30 cm or more, s. 5(1)(a) of the bylaw exempts removal if the lot keeps at least 50 permit trees per hectare, except for development. (The District's web page suggests a permit is always needed; this guide follows the bylaw.) Pruning branches over 10 cm needs a permit unless an ISA Certified Arborist does the work. Building and demolition permits are not "development applications" here, so a report is discretionary for them.
6. North Saanich. No permit for pruning to sound practice. Topping, lifting the crown below 50% of the tree's height, or removing more than 25% of the crown in 12 months counts as damage and needs a permit.
7. Sidney. A permit is needed for pruning over 20% of the crown in a season, or branches over 5 cm (over 2.5 cm for Garry oak, arbutus and dogwood). For building permits, staff decide; Sidney takes a security on retained trees.
8. View Royal. Removing a tree because it is in decline, hazardous or poorly sited needs a Certified Arborist's written confirmation. Pruning by a Certified Arborist is exempt from the permit.
9. Langford. The bylaw says staff "may require" a report, but the application form lists one, so plan on it. Pruning to ANSI best practice is allowed; removing over 25% of live foliage or topping is prohibited damage. A report is needed when you remove a protected tree for a building; work within 5 m of a protected trunk needs a protection barrier. Trees removed under a development permit are exempt from the tree permit, so report needs are set through the DP.
10. Colwood. For one to five protected trees a year, a site plan is enough. Over five, you need a qualified person's tree management plan. Wildlife trees need a QEP report. There is no dead-tree exemption: dead trees still need a permit. Work within 4 m of a protected tree's drip line needs a barrier before a building, demolition or fill permit is issued.
11. Metchosin. The bylaw doesn't require a report for an ordinary removal. If you apply on the grounds that a tree is dangerous, the Clerk may ask a certified arborist or forester to confirm it. Report needs for development permits and subdivision aren't stated, so ask the District. Normal pruning needs no permit, but topping or removing a limb over 10 cm counts as cutting. The bylaw has no report rule for building; an engineer may be needed on slopes. A QEP is needed in riparian areas.
12. Highlands. The bylaw itself sets no arborist report requirement; a permit is still needed for protected trees. Topping or removing limbs over 10 cm needs a permit. In steep-slope, riparian or sensitive-vegetation DPAs, an arborist or forester report may be required. Steep slopes may need a geotechnical report.
13. Sooke. No tree bylaw. Trees are covered only inside DPAs (environmental, foreshore, riparian, steep slopes over 30%). We found no pruning rules. Removing a hazard tree inside a DPA needs an ISA Certified Arborist report; in riparian or foreshore areas a QEP is also needed.
14. Juan de Fuca. No tree bylaw. Inside riparian or sensitive-ecosystem DPAs, a QEP is needed; steep slopes need a geotechnical professional. Hazard trees threatening safety are exempt. In Rural Resource Lands, a Certified Arborist determines hazard trees. In East Sooke and Shirley–Jordan River riparian DPAs, a QEP must deem the tree hazardous. Pruning that doesn't harm the tree is exempt in East Sooke and Shirley–Jordan River; other plans don't mention it.
15. Duncan. The bylaw protects any tree in an Environmental or Hazard development permit area (s. 3(e)), and OCP Bylaw No. 3226 designates the whole City as DPA 3 (Natural Hazards). So under the bylaw every tree in Duncan is protected, meaning any tree 6 cm DBH or more of a species that can reach 4.5 m, not just those over the size thresholds. Removing one needs a permit, and so does topping or removing over 25% of the crown in 12 months. Hazard trees need a Certified Tree Risk Assessor's written finding, and the DPA hazard-tree exemption needs an arborist report.
16. Cowichan Valley and North Cowichan. Neither has a tree bylaw. Inside a DPA, removing trees needs a development permit, usually with a QEP report. Pruning in existing landscaped areas is exempt. Emergency removal of trees "certified by an arborist to be hazardous" is exempt from a development permit. North Cowichan restricts cutting in DPA-3 and DPA-4.

What does an arborist report include?

A permit report identifies each tree and gives its species, trunk diameter and condition. It says why the tree should be kept or removed, then sets out protection and replacement measures. Building and development applications often need more: a tree survey, a tree protection plan showing fencing and root zones, and sometimes a full tree management plan.

Some municipalities spell out what a report must contain. Saanich, Victoria, North Saanich and View Royal, for example, want the arborist's ISA certification number in development reports.

We've written a section-by-section walkthrough: how to read an arborist report. What Oakstead prepares is on our arborist reports page.

How much does an arborist report cost, and how long is it valid?

Oakstead's tree permit arborist reports start at $450 for one tree and $750 for two to five trees. Tree protection plans for a single lot start at $1,450. All prices are plus GST. Full rates are on our pricing page.

Book the report early. On development projects the tree review is often tied to the main application, so it can hold things up. Saanich issues the tree permit only after the development permit is approved, and Central Saanich won't approve a development application until the tree permit is issued, unless the Director waives this.

Reports also expire:

Oakstead is consulting-only. We assess the trees, write the report and handle the permit. If a tree is approved for removal or pruning, a separate tree service does the cutting. We can refer you to vetted local partners, and we take no referral fees.

When do you need someone other than an arborist?

An arborist assesses trees. Streams, habitat and slope stability are outside that, and an arborist can't sign off on them. When a site raises those questions, the municipality asks for a different professional, sometimes on top of the arborist.

Qualified environmental professional (QEP). This is a registered professional, often a biologist, who looks at streams, shorelines and habitat. You'll likely need one for:

• riparian (streamside) and sensitive-ecosystem DPAs in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area and the Cowichan Valley electoral areas;
• removing a hazard tree in a riparian DPA in East Sooke or Shirley–Jordan River, where a QEP must deem the tree hazardous;
• removing a hazard tree in a riparian or foreshore DPA in Sooke (OCP Bylaw No. 800);
• riparian areas in Metchosin (Tree Management Bylaw No. 287);
• wildlife trees in Colwood (Urban Forest Bylaw No. 1735).

Geotechnical engineer. They assess slope stability and erosion. Expect to need one for:

• steep-slope DPAs in the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area;
• steep slopes over 30% in Sooke and the Highlands (Tree Management Bylaw No. 10);
• steep-slope tree removals in View Royal (Tree Protection Bylaw No. 1069);
• slope and shoreland stability questions in Metchosin.

If your site has both protected trees and a stream or steep slope, you may need an arborist report and a QEP or geotechnical report. Before you commission any of them, ask your municipality which reports it will accept.

Not sure which applies to your property?

Send us your address and what you're planning. We'll tell you which permits and reports apply, and write the report if you need one. Request a consultation or call (250) 888-9222.