Madison has more tree rules than most cities, and most of them are sensible once somebody explains them. These tree guides do that in plain English, with the ordinance numbers, the phone numbers and the dates, checked against the City’s and the State’s own pages.
Four guides, each built around the question homeowners actually ask. Every one has a quick tool that gives you the answer for your situation, and a list of the official sources it was checked against.
Most yard trees in Madison need no permit. Oaks do, for half the year, and trees on the terrace are not yours to cut at all. This guide sorts out which rule applies to your tree, with a quick tool that gives you the answer for your situation.
The tree between your sidewalk and the street belongs to the City, even though you mow around it. This guide explains who prunes it, who removes it, what you may and may not do yourself, and exactly who to call when something goes wrong.
Oak wilt kills red oaks in a single summer and spreads from tree to tree through their roots. This guide explains how it moves, when oaks can safely be cut, how Madison’s oak work permit works on private property, and what to do when a storm breaks an oak in June.
Emerald ash borer reached Madison in 2013 and has since been found in every county in Wisconsin. This guide shows how to tell whether your tree is an ash, how to read the signs of infestation, when treatment still works, and why a dead ash should not be left standing.
Pick the question closest to yours.
If you take a single fact away from these tree guides, make it this one.
Between April 1 and October 15, any work on an oak inside the City of Madison needs a free permit from Urban Forestry, and that includes oaks in private back yards. The rule exists because fresh cuts on oaks attract the beetles that carry oak wilt, a disease that kills red oaks in a single summer and then spreads to their neighbors through the roots. The safe season for oak pruning is October 16 to March 31. The details are in the guide to oak wilt and the oak work permit.
The first call is not always a tree service. These are the desks that handle the things we can’t.
| Situation | Who to call | Why them |
|---|---|---|
| Someone is hurt, or wires are sparking | 911 | Always first. |
| A terrace, park or greenway tree | City Urban Forestry 608-266-4816 | Public trees are the City’s to prune and remove. After hours: 608-255-2345. |
| The oak work permit | City Urban Forestry 608-266-4816 | Required for any oak work from April 1 to October 15. |
| A line down, or a tree on a line | MGE 608-252-7000 | No tree crew may touch it until the line is made safe. |
| Branches growing into power lines | MGE 608-252-1111 | The utility clears its own primary lines. |
| A neighbor’s dangerous tree | City Building Inspection 608-266-4551 | Forestry does not inspect private trees. Building Inspection can order an owner to act. |
| Before any digging or stump grinding | Diggers Hotline 811 | Wisconsin law: three working days’ notice. It marks public lines only. |
| A tree in your own yard | Tree Service Madison (608) 571-1326 | Removal, pruning, stumps and storm damage on private property. |
The words that turn up in quotes, ordinances and conversations with an arborist.
We are a tree service, not a law firm. Each guide sets out what the City of Madison and the State of Wisconsin publish, in the order a homeowner needs it, and links to the official page so you can check it yourself. Ordinances and phone numbers change, and when they do the official page wins. Where we are describing our own practice and not a rule, we say so. None of the guides put a number on any job; that depends on the tree, and a written estimate after a free visit is the only honest answer.
Outside Madison the rules differ from one community to the next. Our service areas page covers Fitchburg, Verona, Middleton, Monona, McFarland and Sun Prairie.
Usually not, if the tree is in your own yard. The exceptions are any oak between April 1 and October 15, which needs a free City permit, and trees on the terrace, which belong to the City and are not yours to remove at all.
The City of Madison. Terrace trees are public property. Urban Forestry prunes, removes and replants them, and nobody else may work on them without a City permit. Report a problem at 608-266-4816.
From October 16 through March 31 without a permit. From April 1 to October 15 the City requires a free permit for any oak work, and the Wisconsin DNR advises against pruning oaks from April through July because of oak wilt.
If the crown is still full, treatment by a certified applicator can protect it. If about half the crown is gone, plan the removal now. If the tree is dead, do not wait: dead ash becomes brittle quickly and is far harder to take down safely.
No. Wisconsin has no state license for tree work. What you can check is proof of insurance, and for diagnosis or treatment an ISA Certified Arborist credential, which can be verified at treesaregood.org. Pesticide applicators must be certified by the state.
Tell us what you’re looking at and we’ll call to set a time to walk the yard. If a tree is down or hanging, call instead.
