Do I Need a Permit to Remove a Tree in the Asheboro Area?

What Each Town's Rules Say

We read each town's published ordinances. Here is what they say about trees on private property:

• Asheboro: The zoning ordinance has no tree-removal permit for a home lot. On business sites with required landscaping, planted areas must be kept healthy, and "dead or damaged materials shall be replaced."
• Archdale: The tree preservation rules cover development that needs a zoning permit and major subdivisions. They do not apply to a lot with "a single, owner occupied, single-family dwelling" in a residential zone. A tree that threatens life or property is exempt.
• High Point: The city's tree guidelines say private owners are responsible for maintaining or removing trees on their own property. Trees on city-owned or city-controlled land, including street right-of-way, need a free Public Tree Certificate before anyone plants, prunes or removes them. A decision takes about 20 business days, and cleanup after storms or other emergencies can be waived.
• Greensboro: Tree conservation rules and the tree disturbance permit (for cutting live trees 4 inches or more across at chest height) apply to developed sites such as businesses and apartment complexes. Single-family, two-family and duplex lots are exempt, and so are multi-family sites with 8 or fewer units.
• Thomasville, Lexington and Randleman: We could not verify these towns' current tree rules online. If your property is inside one of these towns, call its planning office before a large removal or any clearing. The same goes for Randolph County outside town limits.

Trees Along a State Road

Here the law is strict. G.S. 136-93 says no tree, shrub or underbrush in the right-of-way of a state road may be planted, cut, trimmed, pruned or removed without a written permit from NCDOT. Some streets inside town limits are state roads too. Don't assume your yard starts at the edge of the pavement. Your survey or plat shows where your lot line is.

If a roadside tree looks dangerous, report it to NCDOT's county office instead of cutting it. NCDOT's roadside guidelines allow the department to cut down trees that pose a danger to people or property. For trees along a city street, ask the town first. In High Point, that means the Public Tree Certificate above.

Historic Districts and HOAs

Greensboro has three local historic districts: Dunleath, College Hill and Fisher Park. The ordinance counts significant landscape and natural features as part of a property's exterior, so a Certificate of Appropriateness may be required. City staff can approve some "minor work." Thomasville has two local districts, Salem Street and Colonial Drive School. If your home is in a historic district, talk with the preservation staff before removing a large tree.

An HOA is separate from the town. Unless the association's own documents say otherwise, North Carolina's Planned Community Act lets an association adopt rules, regulate its common areas and, after notice and a hearing, fine owners who break its rules. Read your covenants. If they call for approval to remove a tree, get it in writing first. A tree in a common area is the association's to manage, not yours to cut.

Call 811 Before Stump Grinding or Digging

Stump grinding cuts into the ground, often where buried lines run. North Carolina's 811 law defines excavation broadly, as moving earth "by use of manual or mechanized equipment." Stump grinding isn't named, so the safe approach is to treat it as digging:

• Give at least three full working days' notice. Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays don't count. Just call 811.
• Public lines are marked free. Private lines, such as the water, sewer, gas or electric line from the meter to your house, are not. For those you would need to hire a private line locator.
• Wait for every answer. Before digging, the excavator must confirm through NC 811's positive response system that every utility has responded.
• Tickets expire. A notice runs out 28 calendar days after the work start date.
• The homeowner exemption is narrow. It covers a homeowner digging on their own single-family property, and only with hand tools inside a utility's easement. It does not cover a company you hire, so ask your stump grinding contractor whether the 811 request has been placed.

Clearing Land: The One-Acre Rule

Clearing more than an acre is where state permits come in. North Carolina requires an erosion and sedimentation control plan whenever land disturbance covers more than one acre. The plan must be submitted at least 30 days before work begins and approved before any disturbance starts. For plans reviewed by NC DEQ, the fee is $119 per acre or part of an acre, as of July 1, 2025. Smaller jobs still have to control erosion.

Who reviews the plan depends on where the land is. Archdale, Greensboro, High Point and Guilford County run their own programs and set their own fees. Asheboro, Randleman, Thomasville, Lexington and Randolph County are not on NC DEQ's list of local programs, so plans there go to NC DEQ.

The "forestry exemption" covers timber harvests where trees will be replanted or allowed to grow back. The NC Forest Service says that when trees are cut as the first step of development, an approved erosion plan is needed before logging begins. Under G.S. 160D-921, a town or county can also refuse building permits or site approvals for up to 3 years (5 if the violation was willful) after a harvest removes all or nearly all of the trees its development rules protected.

Near water, take extra care. In the Randleman Lake watershed, a state rule protects a 50-foot buffer on all sides of streams, lakes and ponds. Even removing a dangerous tree there comes with conditions, such as leaving the stump in place or grinding it without further digging.

Before You Cut: A Quick Checklist

• Is the tree near a road, and is that road a state road or a city street?
• Is your home in a local historic district or an HOA?
• Is it a business or development site with an approved landscaping or tree plan?
• Is the tree within 50 feet of a stream, lake or pond?
• Will the stump be ground? Then 811 comes first.
• Are you clearing more than an acre? Allow at least 30 days for the erosion plan.

If you answered yes to any of these, call your town or county planning office first. Rules change, so confirm with them even if this page says you're exempt.

Tree Removal in Asheboro and Randolph County

We handle tree removal, stump grinding and land clearing across Randolph County. Every free estimate comes with the plan and price in writing before planned work. Call or text our main phone at (336) 523-8278 or our alternate phone at (336) 479-4339.