Is arborist's license neccessary?

[Tinwoodman]

I have recently started my own business and hope to grow it to where I can quit my 40-hour job and go full-time removing trees and doing some lawn work too. People keep talking about an arborist's license-- like that's some really great thing to have. I live in South Carolina, and I can't find anyone who will tell me 100% whether it is necessary to have a license. Am I breaking the law? Anyone in SC please let me know. I want my business to be 100% legit, but I'm having to buy and pay for new things, licenses, permits, etc. as I grow.

 

[Lumberjack]

You say you want to only remove trees, so your not an arborist by definition, so it would be null and void IMO.

 

[Tinwoodman]

Ah I see

I was wondering about that. I used to work (about 5 years ago) for a big arborist company as a groundman. Got laid off first of the year, and found other work. Around here, removal is the name of most peoples' game. That's what I specialize in. I'm not interested in the health of the tree except to determine whether I can haul the logs to the sawmill!

 

[basnighttrees]

To get an ISA cert Aborist you have to be climbing full time for tree years. About a licence I would just get a $50 licence to do business with the city you live in. That just means you are another intity to pay taxes.

 

[Tinwoodman]

Excellent! So this means the license is not to allow me to do it, but a credential saying I know how to do it, in case somebody's really wanting to know?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Having your ISA Certifiied Arborist card is completely different than having a license. Contact city hall in every community that you intend to work and ask if you need a business licensce to work on trees. Contact the state to see if you need a business or contractors license. Much cheaper to know ahead of time than to pay the fine afterwards. I know of several cities that will stop a job in progress until the license is squared away. In most cases, you file the paperwork and pay the fees and then wait for City Council to approve the license. If Council only meets every other week you could be standing around for a while.

 

[Tree Machine]

I don't believe you need to be licensed or certified to run a chain saw, not in the US. Please get liability insurance. This will protect you, protect the client and give you a degree of seperation from the common hacks.

And some personal protective gear. Invest in a pair of chainsaw protective trousers, helmet-ear protection-face shield, and ugly gloves as a start.

There may be certain local restrictions, as Tom fully points out, and you'll have to check locally for those answers.

We hope you have success, work safely and continue learning proper and accepted practices.

 

[Ekka]

From the searches I have done on the net it appears that you Americans call a business registration a license.

This could be somewhat confusing when a customer asks if you have a license ... err yes

But the holder of that license may have zero competencies in the tree cutting world ...

...we have similar problems here but by having a registered tree business the govt has a record of who you are and where you are so it is one step in the confidence direction for the customer,

but remember, it means you have a license to run a business. That's all.

 

[Stumper]

Oh how we have fallen from Jefferson's "wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned."

Licensing is a reality of life in the U.S. but it is in direct violation of the principles of liberty. It masquerades as "consumer protection" but in reality is simply an instrument of taxation and "social control".

 

[Tree Machine]

Wow, Stumper. Nice quote.

Ekka has it correct. There may be local ordinances, but for the most part you have to register a DBA, doing business as. It's a far cry from licensure or certification, but it means the bank will now take checks that have that business name on them, and the Internal Revenue Service can keep a paper trail attached to your money makings. It has NOTHING to do with your capabilities or competence. It's just a paperwork hoop.

in reality is simply an instrument of taxation and "social control".

Yea, what he ^ said.

 

[geofore]

What Tom said

And while you're asking the the questions, ask about the hours and days you can make noise (work). Some towns want no work on Sundays and no work before 8:00am or after 9:00pm, short of an emergence. Does the town have tub grinder and accept you hauling tree debris to their tub site. Some towns do, it saves a trip to the dump if they grind residential trees or want your chipper chips for mulch. The time to ask the questions is before you start so you don't look stupid when they come to shut you down for working without the proper permits or the wrong day of the week. Some towns require permits to take down trees over 5" dia. and some towns don't. Ask frist! The homeowner doesn't always know the rules but the municipal authority does, call and ask.

 

[Tree Machine]

Exzcellent points, Geo.

Yes, ask about local ordinances. Some trees in the area might be protected and require an inspection and permit to be taken down. Big fines, and ignorance is not generally taken as a valid excuse.

Also ask about city eavesments. Sometimes the grass strip between a sidewalk and a street are city-owned, city-planted. The homeowner may think the tree is theirs when it is actually property of the city.

Having this sort of information will allow you to do better business, protecting yourself from embarassing, annoying and costly mistakes.

 

[Manco]

(Sliding off topic just a little) As far as cutting trees in a town without a permit, you can be made to pay very big fines for cutting a tree in certain areas if it is not Ok'd with proper permission. Even if the homeowner wants tree cut and pays you for the job, the city can still fine you. There are some trees that are marked with a metal tag that has gps coordinates and are registered.

 

[RedlineIt]

Re: Local permits, I agree with all of the above posters.

You must get educated as to whose tree is whose, and what you can do to them.

Here, some trees are protected to the point that you cannot make a pruning cut over 10cm (4inches) without a permit from city hall. The permits are not difficult to get if you can show a present hazard, but god forbid if your customer wants a branch removed so he can see a little bit more of the ocean.

Go two miles in one direction, you cannot remove ANY tree over 12" dbh without permit.

Two miles in the other direction, you need the permission of not only of the elected authorities, you need to pass your plan through a local neighbourhood association.

Five miles to the north, you can cut or prune whatever you want.

And in all this, when the neighbor comes up to me and enquires about having his tree work done, the first thing they ask is: " Are you insured?"

 

[Tinwoodman]

All very good advice. I am not yet insured, but planning to be. I am getting my business permits for each town as I have need. I agree it is just another scam for the tyranical govt to steal your blood-earned money. I have to abide by the law. I'm getting my financial records all squared away nicely now, using a computer program, and I do have a DBA and a commercial bank account. Thanks for your help.

 

[clearance]

Stumper made a very rude, unkind comment to me earlier in another thread, but I forgive him. The quote he dug up about meddling s.o.b.s. (gov't) putting the arm on the little guy hits the nail right on the head. Your founding fathers had some great ideas about government, too bad for all the mutts that have come after them, all putting the squeeze on. The I.S.A. is just another hand out for your hard earned money. If you are "just" doing removals don't even consider it.

 

[Tinwoodman]

OK I won't

Doesn't take much to convince me not to spend money.

 

[Stumper]

Clearance, Thank you for your forgiveness-I should not have insulted you. :angel:

 

[treeseer]

The I.S.A. is just another hand out for your hard earned money. If you are "just" doing removals don't even consider it.

I'm not eager to spend money, but I am ready to invest it in places where it will grow. ISA is one of those places. It is a big organization so by nature less efficient than a small company, but comparing it to the government makes no sense.

Even if you focus on removals, you want to work safely, so you can work the next day. ISA puts out a lot of material--books, cd's, videos etc. on working safely. After a while you may want to branch out beyond removals into tree care. Maybe you'll be bored with them, or maybe you will start to see less trees around to remove and the light bulb will go on.

You may want the financial security that comes from visiting a tree more than once, and growing people's assets instead of removing them. It isn't that hard to learn how, if you can draw information from others thru an organization like ISA. I could say a lot about how I disagree with their policies, but that's small compared to the good they do their active members, and the industry as a whole.

 

[clearance]

I compare the I.S.A. to any goverment for good reason, they like any big organization (Catholic church comes to mind instantly) are out for power and control. They and people involved with them want to stop topping, spurring and other atrocities. They would like to see this legislated, like a plumbing or electrical code. A great judge, either Douglas or Brandiez? (Stumper help me out here) warned about the ever increasing erosion of personal freedoms. He said basically that men want to govern for all the right reasons, but they want to govern. Then the right reasons get lost along the way. The doo-gooders got rid of three wheeler motorbikes, lawndarts......now they want to get rid of cash, guns.... All for the greater good, fek off.