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Urban forests have a critical role in providing a wide array of ecosystem services that significantly contribute to enhancing the quality of life for urban residents. To ensure the sustainable management of urban forests, citizens’ participation is a crucial component of management. Payment for ecosystem services of urban forests is a mechanism for financial participation of citizens. Identifying the influencing factors on individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) is a crucial step in planning for this endeavor. In determining these factors, there has been limited attention to psychological factors. Therefore, this study employed an extended model of the theory of planned behavior, incorporating two new variables including perceived trustworthiness in the payment mechanism (PTPM) and environmental knowledge (EK). It examined the factors influencing individuals' WTP for ecosystem services provided by urban forests. The study results demonstrated that the extended model improved the explanatory power for the variance in individuals' WTP compared to the original model. The results revealed that PTPM, EK, perceived behavioral control, attitudes, and subjective norms had the greatest impact on individuals' WTP, respectively. These findings provide recommendations for policymaking and planning regarding payment for ecosystem services in urban forests.