Tree removal on both sides of the Ohio–Michigan line

What should you ask any crew that crosses the line?

Ask which requirements apply to the actual scope: removal, pesticide treatment or work in a public right-of-way. Neither state has a universal tree-removal license that replaces these separate requirements. The City of Toledo's registered-contractor categories cover signs, home remodeling, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, hydronics, fire protection, refrigeration and lead abatement — there is no tree or landscape category. What does exist, and can be checked, is narrower: pesticide licensing, insurance and a public record.

In Ohio, a company hired to apply pesticides to someone else's trees — injecting an ash against emerald ash borer, for instance — must hold an Ohio Department of Agriculture commercial applicator license in Category 6a, General Ornamental Pest Control; check the current license for the treatment proposed. A crew that only cuts and removes trees needs no ODA license. In Michigan, the equivalent is MDARD commercial applicator certification plus the applicable pesticide application business license, per MDARD's licensing page, and again only if the crew applies anything.

What every crew on either side should be able to produce is a certificate of insurance naming general liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto, a physical address, and a public record such as a BBB profile. The partner crew for this site is licensed in both Ohio and Michigan. See the about page for the crew and its public record.

Who owns the tree between the sidewalk and the curb?

In every municipality in the corridor, the tree in the tree lawn belongs to whoever owns the road right-of-way — the city inside city limits, the Monroe County Road Commission along county roads in Michigan townships — and a private crew cannot remove it without that owner's permit. The chapter numbers differ; the rule does not.

On the Ohio side, Toledo manages more than 90,000 public trees under Toledo Municipal Code Chapter 917: 917.01 requires a permit from the Commissioner of Parks, Forestry and Open Space Planning to plant, treat or remove a public tree, 917.02 allows conditional permits with replacement planting, and 917.05 bars excavation or driveway work within five feet of a public tree without a permit. The city's Street Trees FAQ says pruning permits are free, that unauthorized removal violates the chapter, and that concerns go to Engage Toledo at 419-936-2020. Sylvania (Chapter 951), Maumee (Chapter 966) and Perrysburg (Chapters 278 and 1024) have their own street-tree chapters, summarized on the Sylvania, Maumee and Perrysburg pages.

On the Michigan side, the City of Monroe adopted Chapter 22, Article XIV in November 2021, creating a Tree Advisory Commission and setting right-of-way rules in section 22-76 for species, spacing and utility notification; it requires no permit for a private tree. The townships — Bedford, Erie, Whiteford — regulate trees through zoning and land-division ordinances for new development rather than private-tree permits. Along the county roads that run through those townships — Lewis, Sterns, Smith, Summerfield, Dean — the right-of-way and its trees are the Monroe County Road Commission's, and the MCRC states that any work in its right-of-way requires a permit; permits are at 734-240-5132 or Permits@mcrc-mi.org.

Who trims trees near the wires — Toledo Edison or DTE?

Each utility prunes for its own primary lines on its own schedule, and neither handles the service drop or the wood. Toledo Edison, a FirstEnergy company, serves the Ohio side; DTE Electric serves parts of Monroe County; Consumers Energy also serves southern Monroe County, and Bowling Green has its own municipal electric utility. Check the property bill. The rules are similar in substance but the numbers and the details differ, and the first call for any tree touching a wire is the utility, not a tree crew.

FirstEnergy's homeowner rights and responsibilities page states that it prunes under its easement and right-of-way rights, and that storm debris and large wood left at the base of a pruned tree are the property owner's responsibility. Its distribution vegetation-management brochure (February 2026) sets the clearances it maintains. The Ohio Consumers' Counsel's fact sheet on utility line clearing summarizes a customer's rights in Ohio. Toledo Edison's outage and downed-wire line is 888-544-4877.

DTE's published guidance, Your questions on DTE tree trimming answered, says the utility trims only pole-to-pole lines; the service drop from the pole to the house is the homeowner's responsibility, and DTE will disconnect it on request so a private crew can work. Wood is left for the owner. The emergency and downed-wire line is 800-477-4747. In November 2021 the Michigan Public Service Commission approved $70 million of additional DTE tree trimming to reduce outages, which is why Monroe County saw so much utility pruning in 2022 and 2023.

Check the electric supplier on the property bill before arranging line clearance. Consumers Energy lists Bedford Township in its electric service territory; do not assume that a Monroe County address is supplied by DTE. Consumers Energy’s tree-maintenance policy covers vegetation around its lines, including branches rubbing on service conductors. Utility line clearance is separate from a complete private-tree removal and haul-away estimate.

For a downed line, keep clear, call 911 and contact the electric utility: Consumers Energy 800-477-5050, or DTE 800-477-4747 where DTE supplies the property. DTE’s published trimming guidance distinguishes pole-to-pole lines from the customer’s service drop. Arrange any disconnection with the utility; do not have a private crew cut around an energized wire.

Which permit covers a crane parked in the road?

In Toledo, a right-of-way permit from the Division of Transportation; along a Monroe County road, an MCRC permit; on a state trunkline such as US-23, M-125 or Telegraph Road, an MDOT permit; on a city street in Monroe, the city's public works department. The crew, not the homeowner, applies, and the permit is a line item on the estimate.

Toledo's current form is the right-of-way opening permit application (revised September 25, 2025). The suburbs each have their own process, noted on the location pages. On the Michigan side, the MCRC's rule is the simplest in the corridor — any work in its right-of-way needs its permit — and MDOT publishes a separate process for vegetation removal and trimming in the state right-of-way. The permit section of the crane guide covers what the permit is actually for: the outriggers, the closure and the city's own trees.

Does homeowners insurance work differently across the line?

The mechanics are the same on both sides: a standard policy pays to remove a tree that a covered peril drops onto a covered structure, subject to debris caps, and does not pay for preventive removal. What differs is the regulator and its guidance. Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services publishes a Homeowners Insurance Guide that lists tree removal as optional coverage with a standard limit of $500, trees and shrubs at $500 per item, and a consumer line at 877-999-6442. Ohio's Department of Insurance runs a consumer services division for the same questions. Typical standard-policy caps of $500 per tree and $1,000 per occurrence for debris removal, and the rule that a neighbor's tree on your house is your claim, are summarized in GEICO's consumer explainer. The storm and insurance guide works through the claim sequence.

Whose tree is it when the trunk is on the line?

In both states, the general principles are the same: a tree whose trunk straddles the boundary is owned by both neighbors, each neighbor may trim overhanging limbs and roots back to the line at their own expense without damaging the tree, and a tree owner who knows a tree is dead or dangerous and does nothing can be liable when it falls. This is general information, not legal advice; boundary disputes turn on facts and on each state's case law.

What that means in practice: get the neighbor's written agreement before removing a boundary tree; photograph and date a neighbor's dead tree and send written notice if it threatens your property; and treat a neighbor's healthy tree that falls on your house in a storm as your own insurance claim. The planning guide covers permissions and easements.

What should you check before hiring a crew across the state line?

Not because of a license — there is none — but because their insurance certificates, workers' compensation policies and permit knowledge are written for one state. A workers' compensation policy lists the states in which it covers employees; a crew whose policy names only Ohio has a coverage question the moment its climber is hurt in Temperance. A crew that applies anything needs the MDARD business license as well as the ODA one. And a crew that has never pulled a Monroe County Road Commission permit does not know that the road commission's rule covers a crane on the shoulder of Lewis Avenue.

Travel and permit coordination can affect a contractor’s coverage, even where the metro runs continuously from Sylvania to Lambertville. Tree work for this site on both sides of the line is performed by the partner crew of Metamora, Ohio — six miles from the Michigan line — a BBB-accredited A+ partner crew in business since 2010 whose public record lists general liability, workers' compensation and commercial vehicle insurance and which is licensed in both Ohio and Michigan. Whoever you hire, ask the questions in the table.

Which corridor towns does this site cover?

Seventeen Ohio municipalities in Lucas, Wood and Fulton counties and nine in Monroe County, Michigan. The table gives the county, the electric utility, the street-tree authority and the page, where one exists.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in my yard in Bedford Township?

For a tree on your own property, no township permit is required for removal in Bedford Township as far as the township's published ordinances show; the township regulates trees mainly through zoning and land-division rules for new development. A tree in the road right-of-way along a county road is the Monroe County Road Commission's, and any work in that right-of-way needs an MCRC permit. Confirm with the township office before a large job.

Can an Ohio company legally work in Michigan?

Yes. Ask any crew crossing the line whether its insurance covers the job location, which permits the work requires, and whether it has the applicable Michigan pesticide credentials if treatment is part of the job. The partner crew for this site is licensed in both Ohio and Michigan.

Who do I call for a tree on a wire in Temperance?

Keep clear, call 911 for a downed line, and contact the electric utility shown on the property bill. Consumers Energy lists Bedford Township, which includes Temperance, in its electric territory: 800-477-5050. DTE is 800-477-4747 where it supplies the address. Arrange clearance or disconnection with the utility before a private crew works.

Is a "certified arborist" a license?

No. ISA Certified Arborist is a voluntary professional credential held by an individual, verifiable in the ISA directory. It is not issued or required by either state and does not certify a company. It answers a different question than insurance or a pesticide license.

Does Toledo require a permit for a private tree?

No. A tree on private property in Toledo can be removed without a city permit. A tree in the tree lawn between the sidewalk and the curb is a public tree under Toledo Municipal Code 917.01 and cannot be removed without a permit from the city. A crane sitting in the street needs a right-of-way permit regardless of whose tree it is.

Will DTE or Toledo Edison cut down my tree for free?

Only if it threatens their line, and then only the part that threatens the line. Both utilities prune for clearance on their own schedule and under their own easement rights. Neither removes a private tree because a homeowner asks, and both leave the large wood for the owner to deal with.

Is homeowners insurance different in Michigan?

The policy mechanics are the same on both sides — a covered peril must drop the tree onto a covered structure — and Michigan's insurance regulator, DIFS, publishes a guide that lists tree removal as optional coverage with a standard $500 limit. The storm and insurance guide on this site has the full comparison.

Sources

• City of Toledo, Registered contractors; Street trees; Street Trees FAQ; ROW opening permit application.
• Toledo Municipal Code 917.01, 917.02, 917.05.
• Ohio Department of Agriculture, Commercial applicator licensing; MDARD, Pesticide applicator certification.
• City of Monroe Code, Chapter 22, Article XIV; Monroe County Road Commission, Residential permits; MDOT, Vegetation removal and trimming.
• FirstEnergy, Homeowner rights and responsibilities and Distribution vegetation management brochure; Ohio Consumers' Counsel, Utility line clearing and tree trimming.
• DTE, Your questions on DTE tree trimming answered; MPSC, $70M tree trimming approval (Nov. 4, 2021).
• Michigan DIFS, Homeowners Insurance Guide; GEICO, Does homeowners insurance cover tree removal?
• Partner record and public sources: About Tree Service Toledo.