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Felling rules by country: what the regulators and codes say

A table of what the OSHA logging standard, WorkSafeBC, HSE, the Irish HSA, SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria and WorkSafe New Zealand say about distances around a felling, escape routes, hung trees and weather, with a page for each place that has enough of its own facts.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Every page below was read on October 9, 2026. The courses that teach felling are in the guides on chainsaw tickets and certifications by country, and the UK awards for felling are on the pages for small trees, medium trees and large trees. The cut names are defined in the guide on saws and cutting words, and the zone rules are on the page about drop zones and exclusion zones.

Credits. Wording from HSE is adapted from pages published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Wording from the SafeWork NSW Tree works code of practice is adapted under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, with changes noted: sentences shortened and reworded. Wording from the WorkSafe New Zealand code is adapted with the source and copyright status acknowledged as WorkSafe's copyright page asks. OSHA, WorkSafeBC, HSA and WorkSafe Victoria are described in our own words with links.

What each regulator's own page covers

PlaceRule or guidance readWhat it says about felling, and where it is set out here
United StatesOSHA logging standard, 29 CFR 1910.266Sets out felling paragraphs for logging: work-area spacing, danger trees, retreat paths, snow and ice, spring poles, undercuts and hinge wood. OSHA's tree care standards page lists the general industry standards for tree care and does not highlight 1910.266. Set out here: Felling rules in the United States
Canada: British ColumbiaWorkSafeBC OHS Regulation Part 26, sections 26.21 to 26.29Faller qualification and training, written safe work practices, a 2 tree-length radius, undercut and holding wood rules, dangerous and partly cut trees. Set out here: Felling rules in British Columbia
Canada: AlbertaOccupational Health and Safety Code Part 39, tree care operationsApplies to tree work done at height with the worker depending on the tree for support, and lists the contents of safe work practices. The sections read set no felling cuts or distances. Row only, in the page on British Columbia.
United KingdomHSE working with chainsaws, winches in directional felling and machine-assisted takedown pagesKey lessons on site survey, felling cuts, felling aids, control lines, escape routes and competence. Winch and machine pages cover signals and operator training. Row and table below.
IrelandHSA forestry code of practice and chainsaw guidance (leaflet 302)Site safety rules list hung-up trees and windblown trees as dangers; the leaflet gives a 3 metre move into the escape route and a distance for a hung-up tree. Row and table below.
Australia: New South WalesSafeWork NSW Tree works code of practice, March 2026Visual tree assessment, three kinds of felling, a 45 degree escape route of at least 6 metres, drop zone sizes and felling with plant. Set out here: Felling rules in New South Wales
Australia: VictoriaWorkSafe Victoria information sheet Working safely with trees, edition November 2019Says every tree is inspected before work to find the safest way to do it, and lists planning, powerlines, height, chainsaws, falling objects, chippers and emergencies. The sheet read gives no felling distance or escape route. Row only.
New ZealandWorkSafe New Zealand approved code of practice, safety and health in arboriculturePlanning list, scarf cuts, hung-up trees, back-pulling, winches and windthrow. Set out here: Felling rules in New Zealand

Side by side: clearance, escape, hung trees and weather

United States, OSHA 1910.266

  • Who stays clear. Adjacent occupied work areas at least two tree lengths apart; no employee closer than two tree lengths until the feller acknowledges.
  • Escape or retreat route. Retreat path planned and cleared, diagonally away from the expected felling line; feller moves away at once after the backcut.
  • Hung or lodged tree. A lodged tree is a danger tree: felled or removed with techniques that minimize exposure, or marked with no work within two tree lengths.
  • Weather. Work ends when electrical storms, strong winds that may affect the fall of a tree, heavy rain or snow, extreme cold and similar conditions create a hazard.

British Columbia, Part 26

  • Who stays clear. All workers clear of a 2 tree-length radius before a tree is felled.
  • Escape or retreat route. Escape route to a predetermined safe position; at least 3 m (10 ft) from the base where possible when the tree starts to fall.
  • Hung or lodged tree. A partly cut tree that cannot be felled is marked, other work in the hazard area stops, workers who could enter are alerted and the supervisor is notified.
  • Weather. Section 26.7.2: additional precautions when weather creates a hazard in a forestry operation.

New South Wales, Tree works code

  • Who stays clear. Clear felling is used with a minimum of two tree lengths of open space; drop zone for sectional felling at least 1.5 times the section length.
  • Escape or retreat route. Minimum 45 degree route extending at least 6 metres from the stump.
  • Hung or lodged tree. Hung trees are named as a hazard that leads to controlled directional felling; partly cut or hanging trees or branches are not left unsecured.
  • Weather. Section 3.3: in strong winds, lightning activity, extreme heat or torrential rain work should stop and be rescheduled.

New Zealand, arboriculture code

  • Who stays clear. People not helping stay at least two tree-lengths from the tree.
  • Escape or retreat route. Planned and kept clear; names 45 degrees on either side of the line opposite the fall.
  • Hung or lodged tree. Brought to the ground as soon as possible; not left standing; no person within two tree-lengths of its intended direction of fall.
  • Weather. Operations suspended when high winds, wet weather or poor visibility make them dangerous.

United Kingdom, HSE

  • Who stays clear. Not published on the HSE pages read October 9, 2026.
  • Escape or retreat route. HSE's chainsaw page says escape routes are planned in advance and clear of obstructions.
  • Hung or lodged tree. HSE's machine-assisted takedown page names hung-up and leaning trees; its winches page covers winches as a felling aid. See the page on hung and lodged trees.
  • Weather. Not published on the HSE pages read October 9, 2026.

Ireland, HSA

  • Who stays clear. Leaflet 302 says no other person within twice the length of a hung-up tree, or directly below it on steep slopes.
  • Escape or retreat route. Leaflet 302 says to move at least 3 metres into the escape route once the tree begins to fall, where site conditions permit.
  • Hung or lodged tree. Leaflet 302 says to assess the situation as soon as the tree is lodged and to tape off the danger area if it cannot be dealt with at once.
  • Weather. No stop rule in the pages read; the HSA's 2019 and 2024 storm releases urge caution with windblown trees.

Victoria, WorkSafe Victoria

  • Who stays clear. No felling distance in the sheet read.
  • Escape or retreat route. No escape route in the sheet read.
  • Hung or lodged tree. No hung tree rule in the sheet read.
  • Weather. The sheet names wind loading in the visual assessment of a tree.

The United Kingdom

HSE's page on working with chainsaws says that by law chainsaw operators must have adequate training for the work they do, and lists key lessons from felling injuries and deaths. It lists an initial site survey, a risk assessment and emergency plan that account for the site, task and tree, and work planned, agreed and understood by the whole team. It says effective control of a felling comes from an appropriate combination of the directional or sink cut, the hinge and the main felling or back cut, matched to the tree's size and form. It says felling aids such as breaker bars and wedges are identified in advance, and escape routes are planned in advance and clear of obstructions. On control lines it describes three problems: free-hand pulling that rocks the tree, over-tensioned lines that can sever the hinge early or split the tree, and a back cut made while a workmate puts tension on the line. The Great Britain awards for this work are on the page for assisted felling. HSE's pages on winches in directional felling and machine-assisted takedown are set out on the page about hung and lodged trees.

Ireland

The Health and Safety Authority's forestry code of practice page says the code came into operation on May 1, 2023, replaced the 2009 code, and that the HSA developed ten guides that the code references. The code's text lists hung-up trees, hazardous terrain, overhead power lines and windblown trees among the specific dangers site safety rules should cover, and says chainsaw operators engaged on a site have knowledge of safe practice for taking down hung-up trees and the right felling aids. It also says a tree harvester can be used instead of a chainsaw operator to clear windblown trees where suitable. The HSA's guidance on safe use of chainsaws includes the Irish Forestry Safety Guide leaflets, among them number 302 on basic chainsaw felling and manual takedown, published in October 2018.

Victoria

WorkSafe Victoria's January 2020 release on controlling the risks of working with trees says the Coroners Prevention Unit found 31 people died in Victoria from tree felling or related activity between January 2012 and September 2018, and that 13 of those deaths happened at work. The information sheet it announces is Working safely with trees.

Felling rules, one page per place

Sources