City and Guilds branch removal and crown breakdown awards: 0039-25 and 0020-05

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The pages used are the two City and Guilds NPTC handbooks, the 2026 City and Guilds list and the NPTC factsheet. Two awards with nearly the same name are open to certification in the 2026 list: 0039-25 at Level 2 as a certificate of competence, and 0020-05 at Level 2 as an NPTC award. A job ad that prints only the title could mean either. Both cover taking the branches off a felled or downed tree with a chainsaw.

The two awards side by side

Item	0039-25	0020-05
Title	Level 2 Certificate of Competence in Branch Removal and Crown Breakdown	NPTC Level 2 Award in Branch Removal and Crown Breakdown using a Chainsaw
Ofqual number	603/7644/2	600/6303/8
Guided learning hours and total qualification time	16 and 19	15 and 20
Handbook version	1.6, December 2025	1.3, March 2025
Entry	Minimum age 16 and 0039-20 (or an equivalent version)	Minimum age 16. Unit listing names chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting units as prerequisite units
Grading	Met or not met	Met or not met
Assessment time	1 to 2 hours	2 to 3 hours
2026 list	Open to certification, certification expiry December 31, 2030	Open to certification, certification expiry December 31, 2030

Both handbooks describe a one to one practical assessment with oral questioning by an approved City and Guilds NPTC assessor. Both say candidates must finish within 24 months of the date of initial registration, and that registration is valid for two years.

What the 0039-25 handbook says it covers

The handbook says the award is for people who carry out branch removal and crown breakdown as part of work in arboriculture, forestry or other industries. Its content list is hazards, risks, controls, emergency procedures, legislation, industry good practice, roles and responsibilities and other branch removal and crown breakdown tasks. The unit text, number 206, states a safe working distance of five metres or twice the length of the product. It lists the risks of removing branches as tripping, hitting obstructions with the saw, the tree rolling onto the operator, spring back from cut branches and kickback. It covers small timber under severe tension or compression, branches above shoulder height, and the part a winch can play in restraining or rolling a tree.

What the 0020-05 pages say it covers

The NPTC scheme page for 0020-05 describes the removal of branches, also called snedding or delimbing, from trees on the ground or felled onto a natural or made bench or brash mat, coniferous and broadleaved. Its handbook says the award is designed specifically for branch removal and crown breakdown using a chainsaw.

Refresher and renewal

The Health and Safety Executive leaflet Chainsaws at work (INDG317) suggests refresher training for all chainsaw operators, every two to three years for occasional users and every five years for full-time users. The FISA guide 805 recommends recorded refresher or update training at least every five years for most machinery work, chainsaw work included. The list of CPD modules in the City and Guilds 0041-01 handbook has no module for either branch removal award. Neither handbook gives an expiry period for the certificate.

Old codes

The City and Guilds NPTC factsheet lists CS37 against 0020-05, so for that award the factsheet's own "Replaces" column is a direct match. It lists the older award as the Level 2 Award in Branch Removal and Breakdown of a Crown, Ofqual number 600/6303/8, 15 guided learning hours, with entry of both chainsaw maintenance and cross-cutting awards or the combined one. 0020-05 still carries that Ofqual number in the 2026 list. No page read gives an old code for 0039-25. See old NPTC chainsaw codes and the awards that replaced them.

Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.