Becoming a consulting arborist: the credentials by country

A consulting arborist gives advice and writes reports on trees instead of, or as well as, working on them. No single national licence covers that in the five countries below. What exists is a set of credentials and memberships from professional bodies. This page describes what each body says about its own credential. It does not say that any of them leads to work, and it does not rank them.

United States

ISA Board Certified Master Arborist

The International Society of Arboriculture sets the rules in its Board Certified Master Arborist application guide. It says the ISA Credentialing Council requires a candidate to be an ISA Certified Arborist in good standing and to have obtained a total of eight points. The guide has a points table. In that table, holding the American Society of Consulting Arborists Registered Consulting Arborist credential is worth 3 points.

ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist

The ISA guide above names the American Society of Consulting Arborists Registered Consulting Arborist credential.

ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification

ISA calls TRAQ a voluntary qualification program, on its TRAQ credential page. The full program is a two-day course followed by a half-day of written and performance-based assessments. ISA credential holders, including Certified Arborists, Board Certified Master Arborists and Certified Tree Climbers, are listed as readily eligible. Other paths named on the page are a degree in arboriculture, urban forestry, forestry or horticulture, a national certification in arboriculture, or an approved state or province licence or certification. The credential is valid for seven years, after which holders must retrain and retest, as the TRAQ application guide states.

Canada

No separate national consulting credential for Canada appears on the pages linked here. TRAQ eligibility on the ISA page includes an approved certification granted by a province.

United Kingdom

Arboricultural Association Registered Consultant

The Arboricultural Association says on its Registered Consultant page that the scheme is recognised as representing the highest level of attainment for a professional arboricultural consultant. Applicants must first reach the prerequisite level in qualifications, study and experience. The application is a portfolio of reports and supporting information, then an interview with the assessors if the portfolio succeeds. The page gives two annual submission dates, March 1 and September 1. Registered Consultants pay an annual subscription, which the page gave as £630 plus VAT for Fellows and £666 plus VAT for Professional members, and they are subject to an on-going quality assurance process.

Association membership grades

The Association's qualification requirements page says some grades need a qualification at a set level. Technician needs level 3 or higher. Fellow and Professional Member need level 5 or higher. The Professional Diploma in Arboriculture is among the level 5 examples it lists.

Institute of Chartered Foresters

The Institute says on its get chartered page that only Professional Membership confers Chartered Forester or Chartered Arboriculturist status, with the post-nominals MICFor. There are two routes, Professional Membership Entry and Assessed Professional Competence. For the first, applicants need ten qualifying points before they can present, and the assessment includes a written critical analysis of 3,000 to 3,500 words on professional conduct in a challenging situation at work.

Australia

Arboriculture Australia

The association's join page describes arboriculture as an unregulated industry. It says Registered Memberships identify a qualified professional and have prerequisites and need approval by the association. Registered Consulting Arborist is one of the registered categories. The prerequisites sit in a membership brochure.

Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturists

The Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturists says it was formed as an incorporated association in 2003 and is the peak body for consulting arboriculturists. It says its Accredited Members are AQF Level 5 or equivalent qualified consulting arborists with no involvement in tree removal or pruning. Membership is not available to anyone engaged in pruning or removal, or who manages or owns such a business. The Institute says this avoids real or perceived conflict of interest. It says members renew each year and that insurance, professional development and commitment to its standards are checked at renewal.

AQF Level 5 is the benchmark IACA names. The training qualifications at that level are in certifications by country.

New Zealand

No consulting-specific credential appears on the pages linked here. NZ Arb says on its TRAQ page that it presents the ISA TRAQ training course in association with ISA. Its Registered Master Arborist programme is a different thing: the association's master arborists page describes it as increasingly a prerequisite for local authorities and commercial organisations, and the page frames it around company quality assurance and business systems, not consulting.

At a glance

Country	Credential or body	What the body says
United States	ASCA RCA, ISA BCMA, TRAQ	BCMA needs 8 points; TRAQ renews every 7 years
Canada	ISA credentials	No separate national credential found
United Kingdom	AA Registered Consultant, ICF	Portfolio and interview; chartered routes
Australia	Arb Australia, IACA	IACA names AQF Level 5 or equivalent
New Zealand	ISA TRAQ via NZ Arb	No consulting credential found

Related guides are associations and reading and pesticide licences by country.