Agriculture & Farming UK-wide

Forestry compliance checklist

A confirmation checklist for forestry and logging businesses. Work through the cross-cutting duties every forestry business shares, then the section for what you do — growing trees and nursery supply, felling and harvesting, selling timber, or forestry support and tree surgery.

Guide summary

Work through the checklist for your forestry business. Start with section 1 (applies to everyone), then complete the section for your activity: growing trees, felling, selling timber, or support. Follow the rules for health and safety, equipment, insurance, data, and your specific work – each section tells you what to do and which body to contact in England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

  • Manage health and safety with risk assessments and safe systems
  • Keep chainsaws and lifting equipment certified and inspected
  • Insure employees for at least £5 million
  • Register as a professional plant-health operator if you grow trees
  • Hold a felling licence or check exemptions before cutting trees
  • Run a due-diligence system if you place timber on the market
  • Get consent before working on protected trees or in conservation areas
  • Hold pesticide certificates if you apply professional plant protection products
  • Get landowner permission before gathering wild products commercially
  • Check if new woodland or forest roads need environmental impact assessment consent
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Confirm the obligations that apply to your forestry business are in place. Start with section 1, which applies to every forestry business, then complete the section for what you do — answer only the items for the activities you actually carry out. Forestry is devolved: where a duty differs by nation, the item says so, and the consenting body is the Forestry Commission in England, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Forestry, or the Forest Service in Northern Ireland.

Section 1 — Every forestry business

  1. 1

    Manage high-hazard health and safety

    Risk assessments, safe systems of work, lone-working and emergency arrangements for felling, chainsaw work and remote sites under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Great Britain, with a corresponding order in Northern Ireland).

  2. 2

    Keep work equipment, lifting and height work compliant

    Chainsaws and harvesters maintained and operated by certificated people (PUWER), lifting and climbing equipment thoroughly examined (LOLER), tree climbing managed under the Work at Height Regulations, and pesticide and wood-dust exposure controlled under COSHH (Great Britain, with parallel Northern Ireland regulations).

  3. 3

    Insure your employees

    At least £5 million employers' liability cover from an authorised insurer if you employ anyone — including seasonal and contract forestry workers (Great Britain, with equivalent rules in Northern Ireland).

  4. 4

    Avoid discrimination

    Comply with the Equality Act 2010 (Great Britain) or Northern Ireland equality law in employment and in services to the public.

  5. 5

    Handle personal data lawfully

    Hold a lawful basis for employee, client and supplier data and pay the ICO data protection fee unless exempt. UK-wide.

Section 2 — Growing trees and nursery supply

  1. 1

    Register as a professional plant-health operator

    Register and issue plant passports for regulated plants moved within Great Britain, and report notifiable tree pests and diseases (APHA inspectorate in England and Wales). Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate regimes.

  2. 2

    Register as a forest reproductive material supplier

    If you market seed, cuttings or planting stock of the listed forest species, register with the Forestry Commission (the GB authority). Supply only from approved basic material, with a supplier's document and master certificate for each lot.

  3. 3

    Check whether new woodland needs an EIA opinion

    Afforestation above thresholds or in sensitive areas needs the consenting body's opinion — and EIA consent where significant effects are likely — before planting starts (England and Wales regime). Scotland has its own forestry EIA regulations.

Section 3 — Felling and harvesting

  1. 1

    Hold a felling licence or confirm your exemption

    Check the volume and trunk-diameter exemptions. Felling without a required licence is a criminal offence. Confirm against the felling licence application guide. The consenting bodies are the Forestry Commission in England, NRW in Wales, Scottish Forestry in Scotland and the Forest Service in Northern Ireland.

  2. 2

    Plan for restocking conditions

    Licences usually carry restocking conditions. Felling without a licence can bring a restocking notice, with costs recoverable if you do not comply.

  3. 3

    Check whether the project needs EIA consent

    Deforestation, forest roads and forest quarries above thresholds (or in sensitive areas) need an opinion — and where significant effects are likely, consent — before work starts (England and Wales regime). Scotland has its own forestry EIA regulations.

  4. 4

    Check for protected trees before you cut

    A felling licence exemption does not override a Tree Preservation Order or conservation-area rules — confirm the local planning authority position first.

Section 4 — Selling timber

  1. 1

    Run a UK Timber Regulation due-diligence system

    If you first place timber on the GB market — including your own harvested timber — operate the three-step due-diligence system (information, risk assessment, mitigation) and keep records for 5 years. Enforced by OPSS. Confirm against the timber sourcing compliance guide.

  2. 2

    Watch the forest-risk-commodities regime

    The Environment Act 2021 (Schedule 17) creates a separate forest-risk-commodities due-diligence regime that will sit alongside the timber rules (it cannot cover timber itself). Monitor for commencement and for any review of the UK Timber Regulation.

Section 5 — Forestry support and tree surgery

  1. 1

    Get consent before working on protected trees

    Local planning authority consent for any work on TPO-protected trees, and six weeks' notice for most work on trees in a conservation area. Destroying a protected tree carries an unlimited fine, other unauthorised work up to £2,500 (England and Wales). Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own planning Acts. Confirm against the Tree Preservation Orders guide.

  2. 2

    Hold pesticide certificates of competence

    Anyone applying professional plant protection products must hold the relevant certificate, use only authorised products in line with the product label, keep application records and have application equipment tested.

  3. 3

    Gathering wild products — get permission and check protections

    Commercial gathering of moss, foliage, mushrooms or bark needs the landowner's permission. Uprooting wild plants without authorisation is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Activity on a Site of Special Scientific Interest needs consent.

Related guides

The guides this checklist confirms, and the onward guides it routes to.