Keeping certified: renewals and continuing education by country

Some credentials expire and some do not. Some renew by points, some by hours, some by retraining. This page lists what each awarding body's own page states. Fees and rules change.

United States

ISA certifications

Every ISA certification runs on a three-year cycle. ISA's page for credential holders says credential holders must watch their own CEU status, and that units do not roll over from one cycle to the next. Each program guide gives two ways to renew: retake and pass the exam, or earn continuing education units, called CEUs, and pay a fee.

Credential	CEUs per cycle	Renewal fee
Certified Arborist	30	US$220
Certified Tree Climber	15, plus proof of CPR, first aid and aerial rescue training	US$220 base
Utility Specialist	6, and a current Certified Arborist	US$95
Urban Forest Professional	30	US$220 base
Board Certified Master Arborist	60, at least 10 each in science, practice and management	US$320

The Climber and Urban Forest Professional guides call US$220 the base price and say holders of several ISA credentials get a discount, without giving the amount. The 2020 Aerial Lift Specialist guide asks for 15 units and the same training proof, and gives a different fee schedule from today's. The details are in the Aerial Lift guide itself. The Tree Risk Assessment Qualification is different. It is valid for seven years and is reinstated only by retraining and retesting, according to the TRAQ application guide. ISA says qualifications have no continuing education route.

How ISA CEUs are earned

The full rules are in ISA's continuing education policy. Version 5 says an event must match the exam areas and have structured, measurable learning objectives. ISA's continuing education page lists workshops, conferences, webinars, e-learning, podcasts and quizzes, and safety training and meetings as examples. The policy sets these awards:

One hour of seminar or training is 1 CEU. Nothing is awarded for under 30 minutes of learning, and after that units come in steps of 0.25.
Online or self-paced learning needs a graded quiz with a score of 80 percent or more. A quiz of 20 questions is worth 1 CEU.
A First Aid or CPR course is worth 4 CEUs per cycle.
An arboriculture article the holder wrote and had published is worth 3 CEUs.
Each credit hour of a college or apprenticeship course on arboriculture, passed, is worth 12 CEUs.
Safety meeting topics and aerial rescue training count only once per year.
Units earned for the Master Arborist, Utility, Climber, Aerial Lift or Urban Forest credentials also count toward Certified Arborist.

A holder reports a unit through ISA's credentialing system, with an outline of the content and proof of attendance. ISA's guides say units take four to six weeks to post. If a holder falls short, the policy gives a 60-day grace period to finish the requirements. A further 60 days is for processing only, and units earned in that second period do not count. A late fee of US$75 applies once the first grace period has passed.

TCIA Certified Treecare Safety Professional

On renewal, the TCIA renewal page asks for 30 CEUs in each three-year period and a renewal fee. The page shows US$153 for TCIA members and US$305 for others. At least 15 units must come from continuing education such as safety meetings, seminars and workshops, and at least 15 from training and program development. A college course earns 10 units per credit hour. An event must run at least 15 minutes and units are granted in steps of 0.25. TCIA says that from January 1, 2026 each request needs a Manager Verification Form or a Tailgate Training Log, and no other supporting document. The page also describes a six-month extension that a holder can request when the units cannot be finished before the expiry date.

Canada

ISA credentials work the same way in Canada as in the United States, and ISA's pages give their fees in US dollars. Provincial credentials differ.

Ontario. The agency Skilled Trades Ontario says Arborist is a non-compulsory trade, so the Certificate of Qualification does not have to be renewed, and the holder does not appear on the public register.
Quebec. The government's arboriculture page, in French, says the qualification certificate is valid for four years and must be renewed to keep practising the trade legally. It says the certificate is mandatory for anyone doing arboriculture work for an employer. The apprentice card is renewed every year. The tariff lists CA$84.50 to renew the certificate and CA$67.50 for the yearly apprentice card renewal, in the government's tariff for qualification programs.

United Kingdom

The Health and Safety Executive says on its tree work training page that refresher training is recommended at set intervals for high-risk activities such as operating chainsaws. It also says employers must provide health and safety training during working hours and employees must not have to pay for it.

The leaflet INDG317, Chainsaws at work, published January 2013, suggests refresher training every two to three years for occasional users and every five years for full-time users. The Forestry Industry Safety Accord guide 805, updated August 2025, describes the HSE leaflet as recommending every three to five years. FISA itself recommends recorded refresher training at least every five years for most machinery, chainsaw and aerial work. FISA says following its guidance is not compulsory. The two documents do not match exactly (see FISA guide 805).

The HSE, FISA, City and Guilds and Lantra pages do not state an expiry period for NPTC or Lantra awards, so this page gives none.

The Arboricultural Association sets continuing professional development, called CPD, for its grades. Its CPD guidance says Technician, Professional and Fellow members must do a set number of hours over three years, and that it samples members' records each autumn.

Grade	CPD stated	Fee per year
Technician	30 hours over 3 years, or 10 a year	From £200
Professional	40 hours over 3 years, or 13 a year	From £222
Fellow	At least 50 hours over 3 years, stated as an aim	Not stated
Registered Consultant	At least 25 hours a year	Not stated

The fees come from the Association's Technician and Professional pages. The CPD guidance says the Association does not insist on a quota of its own courses, and it notes that ISA calls CPD by the name CEUs.

Australia

Arboriculture Australia describes the industry on its membership page as unregulated. Its Registered Memberships need approval, and its memberships run to December 31. Its CEU policy, last updated February 2024, says Registered Members must earn CEUs each calendar year to keep that membership. CEUs can come from activities that Arboriculture Australia or ISA awards them for.

Registered category	CEUs each year
Practicing Arborist	6
Consulting Arborist	12
Practicing and Consulting Arborist	18

The policy says a first application needs no CEUs, and that the annual count applies to renewal. The pages linked here do not state a renewal period for trade qualifications such as the Certificate III in Arboriculture. High risk work licences are covered in certifications by country.

New Zealand

The pages linked here give a renewal term for one New Zealand programme. New Zealand Arboricultural Association's Registered Master Arborist programme is for contractors. Its programme document, version 6.3, August 2025, says the status is valid for up to five years, with an audit in the third year. It says renewal must be applied for at least 90 working days before the five-year term ends. The Association says on its master arborists page that the programme is increasingly a prerequisite for local authorities and commercial organisations. The pages linked here give no CPD or points requirement for ordinary members, so none is stated here.

At a glance

Country	Credential	Stated renewal
US	ISA certifications	3 years, CEUs or retest
US	TCIA CTSP	3 years, 30 CEUs
Canada	Ontario Certificate of Qualification	Not renewed
Canada	Quebec certificate	4 years
UK	Arboricultural Association grades	CPD hours over 3 years
Australia	Arb Aus Registered Member	CEUs each year
New Zealand	Registered Master Arborist	Up to 5 years

The guide on ISA credentials step by step covers the first step on each ladder.