No arborist licence, but rules: what the law asks in Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand

This page answers one question for each country: does an official page say a licence is needed to do tree work, and if not, what does the law or the regulator ask of employers and workers? It describes what the pages say and where to read them. It is not legal advice. The pages are listed under Sources, and a country where no page names a licence means only that none of the pages linked here does. For the safety rules themselves, see the safety rules guide. For the course and trade credentials, see certifications by country. The United States is in the state licences guide.

Canada

The answer depends on where you work.

Quebec

Quebec is the exception. The government's arboriculture certificate page says the qualification certificate is mandatory for anyone doing arboriculture work for an employer. The work it lists includes pruning outside forest, tree trimming, felling of predetermined trees outside forest, stump grinding, chipping outside forest, tree surgery and cabling or bracing. It also covers manual vegetation control on energy and telecommunications rights of way. Nursery and horticulture work are excluded.

The page says working without a valid certificate or apprentice card is an offence that carries a fine. It says apprentices complete at least 1,800 hours under a certified worker, and renew the apprentice card every year. It says registration has been open to everyone since April 1, 2026, with separate integration measures for people already employed in the trade before June 8, 2026. It also says the ministry may issue the certificate without the exam to holders of an equivalent certificate from another province, a territory or a recognised body. To find out whether a given job is covered, the page points to the provincial workplace safety board, the CNESST.

Ontario

Skilled Trades Ontario lists Arborist as a trade named under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021. Its arborist page says the time to become competent is 6,120 hours: 5,400 on the job and 720 in school, with a certifying exam that earns a Certificate of Qualification. It also says: "Because this trade is non-compulsory, this certificate does not have to be renewed, and the information of individuals practicing this trade will not appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register." The agency's page on non-compulsory trades puts it plainly: "Non-compulsory means that you don't have to be certified to work in the trade." So in Ontario the certificate is a voluntary credential. The page does not give a trade code, so none is given here.

Other provinces

Alberta's tree care rules and the Saskatchewan and Ontario chain saw rules are in the safety rules guide. The British Columbia apprenticeship programs are in the certifications guide.

United Kingdom

None of the pages linked here says a licence is needed to be a tree surgeon. What they say is about training and competence.

The regulation. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9, says: "Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety." It adds that the training covers the methods that may be used, the risks and the precautions. A second paragraph says the same for employees who supervise or manage the use of work equipment.
The chainsaw standard. The Health and Safety Executive leaflet INDG317, Chainsaws at work, quotes the approved code of practice to that regulation: "Before using a chainsaw to carry out work on or in a tree, a worker should have received appropriate training and obtained a relevant certificate of competence or national competence award, unless they are undergoing such training and are adequately supervised." The leaflet says this means everyone working with chainsaws on or in trees should hold such a certificate or award, with an exception for certain agricultural work done by the occupier or their employees who used a chainsaw before December 5, 1998.
Supervision. The leaflet says a trainee consolidating training through workplace experience should be supervised by someone competent for the work, and that the supervisor should hold the relevant competence certificate or award.
Who pays. HSE's tree work training page says all workers must be adequately trained and competent to carry out their job safely, that refresher training is recommended at set intervals for high-risk activities such as chainsaws, and that employers must provide training during working hours and employees must not have to pay for it.

The code says "should", and the HSE leaflet is guidance, so this is a competence standard that employers and clients treat as the norm, not a licence issued by the state. HSE names City and Guilds NPTC and Lantra Awards as the awarding bodies on its training page. Council tree rules are in the guide on UK council tree rules, and contractor approval schemes in the guide on approved contractor schemes.

Australia

SafeWork NSW's Tree works code of practice was approved under the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and commenced on March 27, 2026, replacing the 1998 Amenity Tree Industry code. No page linked here names a licence to be a tree worker.

Training duty. A table in the code says employers and others who run a business (PCBUs) must provide the information, training, instruction or supervision needed to protect all persons from health and safety risks, including when undertaking tree works. It cites the Act and the Work Health and Safety Regulation.
Climbing. The code says tree climbing "should only be carried out by competent workers with the relevant national qualification or workers undergoing training and being directly supervised by a competent person." The word is "should", and it is a code of practice, not a licence.
Chainsaws. The code says chainsaws should only be operated by trained and competent persons.

Licences that do exist

The licences the code names are high risk work licences for equipment, not for tree work. Section 10.3 says operators of boom-type elevating work platforms with a boom able to extend 11 metres or more must hold the appropriate licence. It lists the same for non-slewing mobile cranes over three tonnes and for slewing mobile cranes. A dogging licence is needed for a person slinging a load or directing a plant operator when the load is out of the operator's view. A scissor lift does not need a high risk work licence, per the code, though the operator should be trained. The EWP guide covers the equipment side.

New Zealand

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 is the workplace safety law, and WorkSafe's Act page says it came into effect on April 4, 2016. The same page says an amendment bill has passed, with changes coming into force on April 1, 2027. No page linked here names a licence to do tree work. Two WorkSafe documents describe what employers and workers are expected to do.

The arboriculture code. WorkSafe hosts the Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Arboriculture. It was approved under the older Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and is called a statement of preferred work practices that a court may consider. WorkSafe says it has not been updated for the 2015 Act and will be reviewed and either updated, replaced or revoked. The code says: "All arborists engaged in arboricultural work shall be suitably qualified to carry out that work." It says competency outcomes are documented, including any national qualifications.
Employer duties in that code. Employers shall ensure workers are properly instructed and trained, shall name a competent person in charge of each operation, and shall provide close supervision of an inexperienced worker until they show they can work safely. A new hire with experience must show competence before working unsupervised, and holders of a valid approved training qualification are considered experienced in those skills.
Chainsaws. The code says: "No person shall use a chainsaw for tree work unless they have fully demonstrated their competence and practical knowledge in chainsaw operation and tree climbing."
Forestry. WorkSafe's forestry code, section 11 on training, was last updated in January 2026 and covers forestry and harvesting, not urban tree work. It says all forestry workers must be given appropriate training, information, instruction and supervision, and gives Safetree certification and NZQA qualifications as examples of task-specific qualifications.

At a glance

Country	Licence to do tree work	What the law asks instead
Canada	Quebec certificate mandatory; Ontario voluntary	Provincial safety rules
United Kingdom	None named on the pages linked	Adequate training; chainsaw certificate expected
Australia	None named; equipment licences only	Training and supervision duty
New Zealand	None named on the pages linked	Qualified, trained, supervised

Moving between countries is covered in the working abroad guide.