Felling rules in the United States: what OSHA 1910.266 says

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. It reports the felling paragraphs of 29 CFR 1910.266, the OSHA logging standard, read on October 9, 2026. The courses that teach felling are in the guides on chainsaw tickets and certifications by country. The other countries are on the page on felling rules by country.

Where the standard sits

The scope paragraph of the standard says it sets practices for all types of logging, whatever the end use of the wood, and that hazards it does not address are covered by other sections of 29 CFR Part 1910. The definitions section defines a feller as an employee who fells trees and a lodged tree, also called a hung tree, as a tree leaning against another tree or object that stops it falling to the ground. It defines a danger tree as a standing tree that presents a hazard because of deterioration or damage to the root system, trunk, stem or limbs, or because of its direction and lean. All of this is on the OSHA 1910.266 page.

OSHA's tree care standards page says the tree care industry must comply with all the general industry standards in 29 CFR 1910, and its list of highlighted standards does not include 1910.266. That page is the OSHA tree care standards page.

OSHA's 2021 inspection guidance for tree care and tree removal says line-clearance tree trimming under 1910.269(r)(5) must meet the hand and portable powered tool rules in 1910.266(e), and gives the ban on drop starting a chain saw as one example. The same memo says many tree care hazards fall under the general industry standards in Part 1910. The memo is on the OSHA tree care memo page.

Work areas, distances and signals

Paragraph (d)(6)(ii) says work areas are assigned so that trees cannot fall into an adjacent occupied work area, and that the distance between occupied areas is at least two tree lengths of the trees being felled. It says the distance reflects slope, density of growth, tree height and soil, and is greater than two tree lengths on a slope where trees or logs could roll or slide.
Paragraph (d)(6)(iii) says each employee works within visual or audible contact with another employee.
Paragraph (h)(1)(iv) says no employee approaches a feller closer than two tree lengths until the feller has acknowledged it is safe, unless the employer shows a team is needed to fell that tree.
Paragraph (d)(7) says hand signals or audible contact such as whistles, horns or radios are used when noise, distance or restricted visibility prevent clear voice communication. It says engine noise, such as from a chain saw, is not an acceptable signal, and that only a designated person gives signals except in an emergency.
Paragraph (d)(8) says the employer notifies the power company immediately if a felled tree touches a power line, and each employee stays clear until the power company advises that there are no electrical hazards.

Weather

Paragraph (d)(5) says all work ends and each employee moves to a place of safety when conditions such as electrical storms, strong winds which may affect the fall of a tree, heavy rain or snow, extreme cold, dense fog, fires, mudslides and darkness create a hazard. Paragraph (h)(2)(ii) says the feller evaluates snow and ice accumulation, the wind, the lean of the tree, dead limbs and the location of other trees before each tree is felled. Paragraph (h)(2)(iii) says each tree is checked for snow and ice, and accumulations that may create a hazard are removed before felling starts in the area, or the area is avoided.

Danger trees, lodged trees and spring poles

Paragraph (h)(1)(vi) says each danger tree, including lodged trees and snags, is felled, removed or avoided, using mechanical or other techniques that minimize employee exposure, before work starts in the area. It says a danger tree that is not felled is marked and no work is done within two tree lengths of it unless the employer shows a shorter distance creates no hazard. Paragraph (h)(1)(vii) says each danger tree is checked for loose bark, broken branches and other damage before it is felled or removed. Paragraph (h)(2)(iv) says that when a spring pole or other tree under stress is cut, no employee other than the feller is closer than two tree lengths when the stress is released. The definition of spring pole is a tree, segment, limb or sapling under stress or tension from the pressure or weight of another object. Paragraph (h)(3)(ii) says that before bucking or limbing wind-thrown trees, precautions such as chocking or moving the tree to a stable position prevent the root wad, butt or logs from striking an employee.

Cuts and the retreat path

Paragraph (h)(2)(i) says the feller plans and clears a retreat path before felling starts, that it extends diagonally away from the expected felling line unless the employer shows another path is safer, and that after the backcut the feller moves a safe distance away on it at once.
Paragraph (h)(2)(v) says an undercut is made in each tree unless the employer shows felling without one creates no hazard, and that the undercut is of a size so the tree will not split and will fall in the intended direction.
Paragraph (h)(2)(vi) says the backcut leaves enough hinge wood to hold the tree to the stump during most of its fall, so the hinge guides the fall.
Paragraph (h)(2)(vii) says the backcut is above the level of the horizontal facecut to give a platform that prevents kickback, with an exception for tree pulling operations and a note that this does not apply to open face felling with two angled facecuts.
Paragraph (h)(1)(viii) says felling on a slope where rolling or sliding is foreseeable is done uphill from, or level with, trees already felled. Paragraph (h)(1)(ix) prohibits domino felling.

The glossary page on saws and cutting words defines the cut names.