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Tree Service in Dover, NH
If your tree overhangs a Dover street, city code says you must keep its limbs 10 feet above the sidewalk and 12 feet above the road, and the City Arborist can order the pruning done within 10 days (Chapter 133, Trees and Vegetation). Call (978) 698-4783 or use the form. A person reads every request and replies with what happens next.
- Free for homeowners
- Insurance checked first
- Downtown to the Cochecho and the tidal shore
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Tree work in Dover
Tree jobs in an older city of rivers and tidal water
Tree Removal
Dead, dying, leaning or simply unwanted trees, including the tight ones that have to come down in sections over a roof.
Pruning & Trimming
Deadwood out, limbs lifted off the roof and the service wire, and crowns thinned so the tree stands up to wind and snow.
Stump Grinding
Grinding the stump below grade so the spot can be seeded, planted or paved, with the chips hauled off or left as mulch.
Storm Damage & Emergency Work
Trees and big limbs on the house, the car or the driveway after wind, ice or a nor'easter, once the utility has made any wires safe.
Not sure what the tree needs?
(978) 698-4783Nearly 29% of Dover's housing went up before 1940 (2015 Land Use chapter), so tell us how close the tree is to the house, the street and the wires.
Rules and permits
Who decides about trees in Dover
Dover's tree chapter puts trees in streets, parks and public places under a City Arborist appointed by the City Manager, and any work on them needs that office's permit. On private land the city leaves most cutting to the owner, but the conservation and wetland districts in the zoning code limit cutting near water, and the City Council has to consent before trees on a designated scenic road come down for road work.
- Public trees
- City Arborist permit to plant, prune or remove (Chapter 133)
- Limbs over the street
- Owners keep 10 ft over sidewalks, 12 ft over streets, 16 ft over truck routes
- Private trees
- Generally no permit; cutting limits within 100 ft of rivers, ponds and tidal water and 50 ft of streams
- Wetland buffer
- 50 ft; stump and root removal needs a Conditional Use Permit
- Curbside brush
- Not accepted; leaf bags only
The City Arborist. Chapter 133, Trees and Vegetation, was added in 2013 and amended in 2020. It gives the City Arborist power to "regulate the planting, maintenance, preservation, spraying and removal of trees and shrubs in all public places." Nobody may plant, prune, remove or otherwise disturb a tree on a street, park or public place "without first filling an application and procuring a permit from the City Arborist," who "shall issue such a permit if the proposed work is desirable." The Arborist can also order work on a private tree when public safety or the spread of disease or insects calls for it, and bill the owner. Violators pay to restore what was damaged; if they haven't within 30 days of the Arborist's written notice, the city does the work and charges them, with fines set by the City Fine Schedule (Chapter 133).
Your limbs over the street. Owners of trees along a street must keep branches 10 feet above sidewalks and 12 feet above streets, and 16 feet above truck thoroughfares. The Arborist can order pruning to be done "within 10 days after receipt of written notice" (Chapter 133). Along truck routes and busy sidewalks, that clearance is a good reason to have the street side looked at with any other pruning.
Who maintains street trees. The 2021 downtown street tree plan says "Facilities and Grounds is responsible for maintenance of Dover's street trees" (CBD Street Tree Plan), and the city's Downtown Canopy page says the Community Services Department has been pruning the declining downtown ash (Downtown Canopy). Community Services' general line is 603-516-6450.
Near rivers, ponds and tidal water. The city's Planning FAQ says "a property owner can remove trees located on their property without a permit," except within 100 feet of a river, pond or tidal water body or 50 feet of a stream or brook, where "there are limits to the number of trees that can be removed" (Planning FAQ). Those distances come from the Conservation District, §170-27, which also covers slopes over 20% across more than 2,000 contiguous square feet. Within 50 feet, the state shoreland restrictions on removing ground cover, trees and saplings in RSA 483-B:9, V(a) apply; from 50 to 100 feet, the state limits on how much vegetation can be removed under V(b) apply. Cochecho waterfront lots in the Urban Exemption Area aren't bound by the district (Dover zoning, §§170-27 and 170-28). Under the state rule, the first 50 feet is scored by trunk size and a tree can come out only if its segment keeps 25 points (RSA 483-B:9).
Wetland buffers. The Wetland Protection District, §170-28, sets a 50-foot buffer from the wetland edge. Vegetation can be removed there without a Conditional Use Permit under state rule Env-Wt 309.02(a) when the roots aren't disturbed and the ground is frozen or dry enough to avoid ruts, but stump and root removal, grubbing and regrading in a buffer require a CUP (§170-28). In practice, a tree can come down in a buffer while its stump stays put. Dover has no citywide wetlands map, so the Planning FAQ suggests working with a surveyor or wetland scientist.
Scenic roads. Under Chapter 117, the City Council may designate any city road except Class I and II highways as scenic. On those roads, repair, maintenance, reconstruction or paving can't "involve or include the cutting or removal of trees or the tearing down or destruction of stone walls" without "the prior written consent of the City Council," given after a public hearing advertised in a local paper with the last notice at least seven days ahead. Each day of a violation is a separate offense, and the violator must restore the tree or wall (Chapter 117). The chapter itself doesn't list the designated roads; ask the city whether yours is one.
Digging out roots. New Hampshire counts "tree and root removal" as excavation (RSA 374:48), with Dig Safe notice at least 72 hours ahead, weekends and holidays excluded, and the area white-marked; 811 is free (Dig Safe). Ask the tree company whether your job needs a ticket.
Last verified November 2026. Fees, restrictions and deadlines on this page are due for re-checking by December 2026. New England Tree Service is a referral service. We don't cut trees, pull permits or appear before city boards.
Brush, burning and ash trees
What happens to the wood in Dover
Leaves at the curb, brush elsewhere. Dover's fall 2026 curbside leaf collection runs the weeks of November 2–6, 9–13, 16–20 and 23–27, November 30–December 4 and December 7–11, 2026, in biodegradable paper leaf bags on trash day, and "Brush will not be accepted." The Recycling Center takes "grass clippings, leaves, brush and yard waste" during regular hours, with bags emptied (Brush and Yard Waste). It's at 265 Mast Road, and the city lists Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for its composting drop-off. (Recycling Center). The city doesn't post size limits or say whether logs and stumps are taken, so ask Community Services at 603-516-6450 before hauling trunk wood, or leave it to the tree company.
Burning brush. State law requires a written permit from the forest fire warden of the town where you burn (RSA 227-L:17). Dover Fire & Rescue's FAQ, last updated in 2014, tells residents to "stop by at any Dover fire station" to burn brush on their own property, says non-owners need the owner's written permission, and allows burning from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m., while it's actively raining or with snow on the ground (Fire & Rescue FAQ). A 2020 city news item called the state's online site, nhfirepermit.com, "the easiest way to obtain a burn permit," with a $3 processing fee at the time, and limited fires to "clean wood obtained in one's yard" (2020 city news). Both are older pages, so check with Dover Fire & Rescue for today's process.
Downtown's ash. Dover's downtown canopy is "primarily made up of ash trees," and emerald ash borer, "an invasive insect that has spread across New Hampshire since 2013," has many of them in visible decline; the city expects most will need removal within one to two years and plans a more diverse mix in their place (Downtown Canopy). The 2021 street tree plan inventoried 378 downtown sites in 2020 and found green ash, red oak and Amur maple with more than half rated fair or worse. It recommends dropping ash from planting lists and having an arborist decide which ash to keep and treat with a systemic insecticide every one to three years. It puts canopy cover at about 14.7% citywide and 2.9% downtown, and found 37% of inventoried downtown street trees under overhead wires (CBD Street Tree Plan). If you have an ash on your lot, mention it in your request; the treat-or-remove question is the same one the city faced.
Power lines
Dover trees and Eversource lines
Dover's electric utility is Eversource (NHES community profile). Eversource trims to keep limbs 8 feet to the side, 10 feet below and 15 feet above its wires, on a four-to-five-year cycle; anything more over the house or driveway is for the homeowner's contractor. It will temporarily take down the pole-to-house wires so that contractor can work safely, may remove limbs rubbing the service wires at no charge, and leaves the wood with the owner (Eversource NH tree FAQ). Stay at least 10 feet from any line and assume it's energized (NH Department of Energy).
FAQ
Dover tree questions
Do I need a permit to take down a tree on my own property?
Generally not. Dover's Planning FAQ says owners can remove trees on their own property without a permit, except within 100 feet of a river, pond or tidal water, or 50 feet of a stream or brook, where there are limits on how many trees can come out. Ask the Planning Department if you're close to water.
Can I have the stump ground near a wetland?
Not without a Conditional Use Permit. In Dover's 50-foot wetland buffer, cutting is allowed when the roots stay undisturbed and the ground is frozen or dry, but stump and root removal, grubbing and regrading need a CUP.
Can my tree company prune the city tree in front of my house?
Only with a permit from the City Arborist. Chapter 133 bars anyone from planting, pruning, removing or otherwise disturbing a tree on a street, park or public place without one, and the permit is issued if the proposed work is desirable.
Will the city pick up brush from the curb?
No. Dover's fall 2026 curbside collection takes leaves in paper bags only, and the city says brush will not be accepted. Brush and yard waste can go to the Recycling Center; questions go to Community Services at 603-516-6450.
What does it cost me to use New England Tree Service?
Nothing. The request and the referral are free; the tree company prices the work.
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