Frequently Asked Questions About Arboriculture and ISA Ontario

An arborist is defined by the International Society of Arboriculture as a “professional who possesses the technical competence gained through experience and related training to provide for or supervise the management of trees and other woody plants in residential, commercial, and public landscapes.

Make sure you hire a certified arborist. See our page, Hire A Certified Arborist for more information.
You need to contact your local municipal offices. Alternatively, call the non-emergency service line at 311 and tell them there is a tree near the border of your property, on municipal land, that you are worried as you feel it is an imminent threat, and they NEED to send someone immediately to look at it. They will need the address.
If your tree is on your neighbour’s property, please open a dialogue WITH you neighbour about your concerns. Document all conversations. It is important that you work WITH your neighbours. An ISA certified arborist will NOT trespass onto someone else’s property to deal with a tree that does NOT belong to you. They will, however, work with you to make the tree safe, within the confines of the law. If open communication with your neighbour fails, and you feel the tree is an imminent threat, contact your municipality or 311.

Please download the Storm Brochure from the International Arboriculture Society for tips.

If your organization is a nonprofit, we will gladly add your event to our events calendar.
Contact us for more information: info@isaontario.com
Thank you! Our committees are composed of volunteers. Is there a particular committee on the list that interests you?
If you’re interested in joining a committee, please email info@isaontario.com and tell us which areas you’re interested in and what relevant experience you have (such as in writing, photography, governance and policy, etc.), and we’ll forward your message to the committee chair.
Also, please go and fill our out Volunteer application form »
Aside from that, we welcome submissions of articles and photos for our Ontario Arborist magazine. Please send possible photo submissions to: info@isaontario.com
Arboriculture is a non-regulated trade. It is easy to call yourself an Arborist, but what clients are really looking for is proof that an Arborist has enough knowledge and competency to pass either the ISA Certified Arborist Exam or the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities Qualified Arborist Exam. Both of these exams require a set amount of time in the field (3+ years ) and an in-depth test.
Many Ontario colleges offer arboriculture programs (see the list below), which will give you a solid foundation in arboriculture training that most employers will recognize.
There are many paths into arboriculture; some people will choose to begin their arboriculture career by being signed on as a groundworker, with no formal training, and learning on the job. Some employers are willing to hire new people on this basis, so long as they are hard working, with a good work ethic, eager to learn and have a keen eye for safety, among other qualities. Visit our jobs board to explore who’s hiring.

Algonquin College — Pembroke Campus

Career Foundation / ISAO / OCAA Partnership
Humber College — North Campus (Toronto)
Sir Sanford Fleming College — Frost Campus (Lindsay)
University of Toronto — Faculty of Forestry (Toronto)
Lakehead University — Faculty of Natural Resources Management (Thunder Bay)
To learn more about becoming a certified arborist, check out the following:
The ISA Certification Board requires a candidate to have a minimum of three years of full-time experience in arboriculture. Acceptable experience includes the practical use of knowledge involved in pruning, fertilization, installation and establishment, diagnosis and treatment of tree problems, cabling and bracing, climbing, or other services that directly relate to arboriculture.
Examples of experience sources include, but are not limited to:
tree care companies
nurseries
landscape companies
municipalities
state forestry agencies
utility companies
academic arboriculture/horticulture departments.
Documentation of work experience is required with submittal of your application. Letter(s) of reference from your current or previous Employer(s) is acceptable. Applicable volunteer work may count towards eligibility if it is supervised and documentation can be supplied.
The eligibility requirement may also be satisfied with a two-year degree in arboriculture and two years of practical experience or a four-year degree in a related field and one year of practical experience. Multiple degrees cannot be utilized to equal degree requirements for a longer program. Educational experience must be a completed Degree program and include a transcript with the application.
If you are self-employed or own your own company, you will be required to submit three letters of reference with your application. References may be in the form of copies of invoices, T4s, contracts, and/or business licenses. Please contact ISA for other possible forms of verification.
Before you hand in your application, you need to get all your ducks in a row. Get your transcripts with all the course details that you can get, as it relates to trees, or soils or anything to do with trees OR if you look at the Certified Arborist exam outline, anything to do with that. Collect any job references, pay stubs, or anything that proves that you were in the tree care industry as it relates to trees (even if you were working in landscaping, or just planting trees, have any employers attest to and sign off on this in a letter).
You could also go online and get anything regarding your university/college education. For example, if it’s the UofT Forestry Program, print information about that. If you can find any world rankings to highlight what a great program it is, print those.
Anything that you feel is relevant in your history, SEND IT… ALL of it. If you have a 200-page thesis, SEND IT. Get your thesis advisor to write a letter. Print your thesis advisor’s details off the internet for ISA to see. Anything relevant is important; you want to make it easy for them to say “YES”.
You get the point: leave no stone unturned!
No, you don’t need to be a member of ISA to write the exam. That said, there is a significant discount on the exam IF you are a member of both ISA International and ISA Ontario, and it makes writing the exam easily worth the cost of membership. The way it’s structured, it’s worth your money to join ISA as a member to write the exam, then you need to join a Chapter to get the discounts to get your CEUs to maintain your membership (30 every 3 years). So it’s well worth joining your Chapter AND the ISA.
The first process is to apply to ISA and get the approval to write the exam.
If you choose to test at a Pearson VUE testing facility, you determine your own test date and location. IF you are wanting to write a paper/pencil-based exam, then you would need to coordinate with your local Chapter for their next sitting. There is a deadline to register for pencil/paper-based exams; there is no deadline date for computer-based exams; you write at the place and time that is convenient to you.
You will be notified when your application is received and approved. After your application is approved, you will receive instructions via email on how to schedule a date and time with the computer-based testing vendor. The vendor will then send you a confirmation including the location, date, and time of the exam. You are provided a 90-day authorization period to schedule and take the exam.
To be clear, it’s only a 90-day window, so timing is crucial. If you need to reschedule an exam date within your current 90-day authorization period with the computer-based testing vendor, you may do so no later than one business day prior to the scheduled exam date. If contact is less than one business day, you will be considered a no-show and all exam fees will be forfeited. Registrations are not transferrable to another person. If you need to reschedule the exam, you may do so by contacting Pearson VUE via phone or through their website. There are additional fees associated with changing exam dates; please contact ISA directly.
You can leave the date, time and place section of the application empty, IF you are planning on taking a computer based test. Please make sure that you are pretty much ready to sit the exam when you apply through ISA to write. It’s only 90 days. We’ve had people apply and then not start studying, and it ends up being a big CRAM, and they are not ready come the end of the 90 days. It gets expensive to pay to keep the window open. Also, when you apply to ISA, include any work experience where you have EVER worked with trees. Better to include too much information than with not enough. If you have transcripts from College / University, that include course descriptions, include those. It can be a pain to get those from the institutions, but ISA does not know your school, so better to give those in advance than to have your school courses rejected. ISA will NOT seek out that information for you.
You do not need to be a member of ISA to be considered certified. There are numerous advantages to being a member, but you do not need to bme a member to be certified.
No, there is no difference to being certified in the US or Canada. ISA certification is recognized internationally.
 
Note: Ontario has an arborist apprenticeship training program (separate from ISA) where qualified individuals may obtain a Certificate of Qualification as– an Ontario Qualified Arborist, as part of the Ontario Trades Apprenticeship Programt. This is an journeyman/apprenticeship qualification.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the ISA Ontario office 1-888-463-2316 or info@isaontario.com. You can also contact ISA International, as they administer the exams and are, therefore, the experts on the application process. They can be reached by phone at 1-217-355-9411 OR email at isa@isa-arbor.com.

They have 90 days. The 90-day period starts once the payment is processed and ISA enrolls the individual. That individual then receives a confirmation notice that specifies exactly what the end date is of that 90-day period.

Yes! You can purchase a digital version of the study guide here » (Note you won’t be able to download the guide. And you will need internet access to view the content).
 
If you are interested in ordering hard copy of the Certified Arborist Study Guide, please contact Bridget at 1-888-463-2316 or info@isaontario.com. She can give you the current Canadian price for the Study Guide, including shipping.

Visit our events page to view upcoming TRAQ courses and sign up online!

Unfortunately, TRAQ signups are first come, first served. Due to the ISA International policy, we cannot change or add anyone after the registration deadline has passed. We need at least four weeks to send out study information to the participants.
 
Please see ISA’s events calendar to find out when the next TRAQ course is scheduled. You can also contact your local the Chapter office, in Ontario for information please email: info@isaontario.com.
TRAQ is more geared towards teaching a method of assessment and recording those assessments in a report. The Municipal Specialist course covers a lot of the inner workings of municipal tree care departments, such as tree planting, road reconstruction, and budgeting.
We recommend getting your TRAQ credential first, and then once you have it, do the Municipal Arborist course to enhance your understanding of contract writing and administration as well as budgeting and the different levels of government.

The qualification does not force a person to adhere to that methodology. It could be challenged by an opposing party depending on the circumstances. Whichever plant appraisal method you do use, you need to be able to defend it.

For some other great ways to earn CEUs and learn!) see additional resources below:
  • Tree Stuff (scroll down the page to see “Past Webinars available” and a link to the quiz)
  • Tree Fund (a few of these have CEUs available with a link to a quiz)
  • Forestry Webinars (check CEU credits: if it says yes and lists ISA as one of the credits, it should be eligible)
  • Canadian Tree Fund Webinars (CTF usually holds a free webinar every month – attend live to earn a CEU)
  • Urban Forestry Today (offer mainly live credits – you need to watch live)
 
 
 
Make sure ISA CEUs are offered. You’ll be asked to register to view the webinar, and will usually need to take a quiz and/or submit a CEU form when the webinar ends. It can take ISA 4-6 weeks to approve CEUs.
You can also LIKE our Facebook page, to stay abreast of other free CEU workshops. If you are expiring immediately, you can contact ISA to find out about paying to extend your deadline. They can be reached at 1.217.355.9411 OR email at isa@isa-arbor.com.
ISA Ontario does not offer any seniors discounts on memberships, but we do offer member discounts on workshops and events. To receive a discount on workshops and events, you can be (A) a member of ISA & ISAO; (B) a member of ISA only, or (C) a member of ISAO only.
ISA (International) offers senior memberships at US$70 (regular price US$135). To purchase, you must submit a letter or email to isa@isa-arbor.com stating that you meet the minimum age of 62, are retired or working less than 15 hours a week and have been a member in good standing for 10 years.