The kinds of outfits that do tree work
Several different kinds of businesses do tree work for homeowners, and it helps to know which one fits the job:
- Tree removal and trimming companies. Crews with climbers, a bucket truck, a chipper and often access to a crane. This is who takes a big oak off a house or lifts limbs off a pool enclosure.
- Stump grinding operators. Some do only stumps, with walk-behind or towed grinders.
- Land clearing outfits. Heavy equipment for acreage and lots, rather than single trees beside a house.
- Arborists who write risk assessments. Florida Statute 163.045 lets a single-family owner remove a risky tree without local permits when the owner holds a tree risk assessment signed by an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or by a Florida landscape architect. That paperwork is a separate service from cutting the tree.
- Utility crews. Clay Electric's vegetation crews clear its lines on a set cycle and cut danger trees at the edge of its right-of-way. The cooperative may decline to cut a tree a private tree company can remove safely, and it says it doesn't haul away wood from dead or hazardous trees (checked Nov 12, 2026).
Questions to ask about your job
Walk the lot with the contractor and ask:
- How will this tree come down: whole, in sections, from a bucket truck, or with a crane?
- Where will the truck, chipper and log pile sit, and how will you keep them off the roots of the trees I'm keeping?
- What protects the roof, the pool enclosure, the fence, the lawn and the driveway?
- Does anything need the power company first, such as a scheduled disconnect of the service wire?
- Who files the Sunshine 811 notice, and when?
- Is the stump included? How deep will it be ground, and what happens to the grindings?
- What happens to the wood: hauled away, cut to firewood length, or left where it falls?
- Does my lot need a county landscape plan, a city canopy-road permit or the Orange Park application, and who will handle it?
- What happens to the price if you find a hollow trunk or rot partway through?
- How many days will it take, and what does the yard look like when you leave?
What the written agreement should spell out
A checklist for the paper
- The trees. Each one identified by location (and species, if known), with what's being done to it: removed, trimmed, or which limbs.
- The method, in plain words, especially near the house, the enclosure or wires.
- The stump, included or not, and how deep.
- Cleanup and the wood: chipped and hauled, firewood left stacked, or chips left on site.
- Approvals: who obtains any county landscape plan, city permit or town application, and that work waits until it's approved.
- Sunshine 811: who files the notice.
- The price, what it includes, and how surprises like hidden decay will be handled.
- Dates: when the work is expected to start and finish.
- Payment: how much is paid up front, if anything, and when the rest is owed.
- The date you sign, and, if the sale started at your door, the cancellation notice described below.
For a storm job, ask for an itemized invoice that separates the tree on the house from other work, and keep it. Florida's Department of Financial Services tells homeowners to "keep all receipts" after a disaster (checked Nov 12, 2026).
Deposits and paying the balance
Agree in writing on any deposit and on when the rest is due. Paying the balance after the job is finished and the yard is cleaned up the way the agreement says gives you a natural checkpoint. Pay by a method that leaves a record, and get a receipt for every payment, which also helps with any insurance claim.
When the sale starts at your door
Florida's home solicitation sale law covers a sale over $25 where the seller personally solicits it somewhere other than its own business location and the deal is made there, typically at your home. It doesn't cover a sale that "results from a request for specific goods or services by the purchaser," so if you called a company and asked for tree work, it likely doesn't apply. If someone knocked on your door and you signed on the spot, it likely does (Fla. Stat. 501.021, checked Nov 12, 2026).
When it applies:
- You can cancel "until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase" (Fla. Stat. 501.025).
- Cancel by written notice "in person, by telegram, or by mail." Mailed notice counts when postmarked.
- The written agreement must show the date you actually signed and carry the caption "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" with a statement of how to cancel (Fla. Stat. 501.031).
- If you cancel, the statute's required notice says, "the seller may not keep all or part of any cash down payment."
Hiring after a hurricane
Storms bring a rush of tree work, and Florida law sets a limit on pricing while an emergency is declared. Under Florida Statute 501.160, after the Governor declares an emergency, charging an "unconscionable price" for goods or services needed because of the emergency is unlawful, and a price that grossly exceeds the average of the 30 days before the declaration is presumed unconscionable unless costs explain it (checked Nov 12, 2026). Report suspected gouging through the Florida Attorney General's complaint page, which has a price-gouging form, or its consumer protection line at (850) 414-3300.
A few more habits help after a storm: get the agreement in writing even when the work is urgent, take photos before and after, and don't sign over insurance payments without reading exactly what you're signing. The storm guide covers deductibles and claim deadlines.
Approvals and notices: who handles what
| Item | Who decides it | When it comes up |
|---|---|---|
| Landscape plan | Clay County zoning director, (904) 278-4705 | Removing a tree 4 inches or more across on a lot in a major subdivision created after Jan 28, 2003, unincorporated county |
| Canopy-road permit | Green Cove Springs development services, 904-297-7051 | Trees within 20 feet of the St. Johns Avenue right-of-way, Forest Street to Clay Street |
| Residential Tree Removal application | Town of Orange Park, (904) 264-2635 | Tree removal inside town limits |
| Sunshine 811 notice | Sunshine 811, call 811 | Stump grinding or any digging, two full business days ahead |
| Service disconnect | Clay Electric district office or your utility | Big limbs near the wire to the house |
| Burning | Florida DEP and Forest Service rules; local bans | Burning brush on site; not allowed in Orange Park |
All checked Nov 12, 2026. The rules guide explains each one.
What people ask before they hire
Should I be home when the work is done?
It helps to be there at the start, to walk the lot again and confirm which trees and limbs are in the job. After that, it's your choice.
Who pays if something gets damaged?
Settle that in the written agreement before the work starts, including how the roof, enclosure, fence and lawn will be protected and what happens if one is damaged.
Can I keep part of the wood?
Yes. Say how much and in what lengths before the job is priced, because it changes the hauling.
How does a request through this site work?
Your details reach a single independent contractor in Clay County, who sees the tree, writes up a price and, if you agree, does the work. The agreement is between the two of you. More on the disclosures page.
This site is a referral service: a request sent through it reaches one independent contractor who works in Clay County. The site doesn't do tree work or take part in the agreement.
Sources checked for this page
- Florida Statutes (2026): 501.021, 501.025, 501.031, 501.160 and 163.045. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- Florida Attorney General, file a complaint and consumer protection; Florida DFS, post-disaster claims guide. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- Clay Electric, vegetation management and Aug 5, 2026 notice; Sunshine 811, homeowner FAQ. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
- Clay County LDC Article VI; City of Green Cove Springs LDC Chapter 113 (city ordinance file and Zoneomics copy); Town of Orange Park forms and burning rules; Florida DEP, Open Burning. Checked Nov 12, 2026.