---
title: DBH: How Trees Are Measured and Why It Sets Permits
url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/dbh/
business: Battle Born Tree Service
address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701
phone: 775.232.8243
hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service
credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured
type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood)
---

- [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/)
- [Arborist glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/)
- DBH (diameter at breast height)

# What is DBH?

DBH stands for diameter at breast height: the width of a tree's trunk measured 4.5 feet above the ground, on the uphill side if the tree is on a slope. Arborists, foresters and permit offices use it as the standard way to size a tree.

## How it is measured

In the field, people usually wrap a tape around the trunk at 4.5 feet to get the circumference, then divide by 3.14 to get the diameter. A 44-inch circumference gives a DBH of about 14 inches. Swelling, forks and burls near that height are handled by measuring at a point where the trunk is normal, and a tree that forks below 4.5 feet may be treated as more than one stem. An arborist knows the conventions.

Do not measure with a wrap that rides up on bark ridges or a branch stub. Keep the tape level around the trunk.

## Why it matters in Northern Nevada

In the Tahoe Basin, DBH is the legal yardstick. [TRPA](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/trpa/) requires a permit to remove a live tree over 14 inches DBH, and over 6 inches DBH between the house and the lake on lakeshore lots. A dead tree that could fall on a house does not need one. The agency decides. Our [Tahoe permit and DBH guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/tahoe-tree-removal-permits-dbh/) has the diameter checker.

Outside the Basin, DBH has no permit meaning in Reno, Sparks or Carson City on private land, but it is still how an arborist describes a tree. Size drives the equipment: a big trunk can mean a crane, rigging and more time. See [large tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/large-tree-removal/).

## How Battle Born uses it

On a Tahoe job the certified arborist measures DBH on site and tells you which side of the line the tree falls on before anything else is discussed. Everywhere else it is part of the shorthand in the estimate. If a figure on your estimate is unclear, ask the office to explain it.

### Sources

- [Tahoe Regional Planning Agency: Trees and defensible space](https://www.trpa.gov/trees-and-defensible-space/) (read October 17, 2026)

### Talk to the office

[775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243)

| Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered |

Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service.

[Free estimate](#quote)

### Keep reading

- [Arborist glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/)
- [Tahoe tree removal permits: the 14-inch rule and how to measure DBH](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/tahoe-tree-removal-permits-dbh/)
- [Lake Tahoe tree work questions](https://battleborntreeservice.com/faq/lake-tahoe/)
- [Large tree removal](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/large-tree-removal/)

## See also

[TRPA (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency)](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/trpa/) [Critical root zone](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/critical-root-zone/) [Arborist](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/arborist/)

## This term in our guides and answers

[Can I prune a Tahoe tree without a permit?](https://battleborntreeservice.com/faq/lake-tahoe/can-i-prune-a-tahoe-tree-without-a-permit/) [Incense cedar](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/incense-cedar/) [Ladder fuels and limbing up](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/ladder-fuels-limbing-up/)