A tree survey for planning should be carried out by a "suitably qualified arboriculturist" — the exact phrase both BS5837 and local planning authorities use. There is no single statutory licence to be an arboriculturist, and anyone can legally call themselves an "arborist". That is precisely why choosing the right person matters: the difference between a report the tree officer accepts on sight and one they pick apart is entirely down to the qualifications, accreditation and experience behind it.
This guide explains what "suitably qualified" actually means, the credentials that carry weight, how to vet a consultant, the questions to ask before you commit, and the red flags that mark out a report heading for rejection.
"Suitably qualified" — what it really means
There is no legal register you must appear on and no licence to sit a tree survey. BS5837 simply asks that the work be done by someone "suitably qualified and experienced", and LPAs then expect certain credentials as a matter of practice and weight. The widely-accepted working definition is that an individual should meet both of these:
- Hold a degree or equivalent (for example an N/SVQ Level 5) in arboriculture or a closely related subject; and
- Be a practising arboriculturist with at least three years' relevant experience in the last five, demonstrating real understanding of trees in relation to construction.
The Level 5/6 arboriculture qualifications, and the Technician's Certificate or Professional Diploma in Arboriculture, are the common academic routes. Someone who meets both limbs above is generally accepted as suitably qualified for BS5837 purposes.
The credentials that carry weight
The LPA does not legally require a specific badge — but the accreditation on the front of the report changes how much the tree officer trusts it, and how hard it is to challenge. In rough order of weight:
| Credential | What it signals |
|---|---|
| AA Registered Consultant (AARC) | The top UK consultancy accreditation. Requires NVQ Level 5+, professional/fellow Arboricultural Association membership, and passing a rigorous expert-panel assessment. Widely treated by LPAs as the gold standard. |
| ICF Chartered Arboriculturist (MICFor) | Chartered status via the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the chartering body for foresters and arboriculturists. Carries comparable weight. |
| Professional Tree Inspection (LANTRA) | A recognised tree-inspection certificate — more relevant to condition and risk surveys than full BS5837 design work, but often held alongside other qualifications. |
| Professional indemnity (PI) insurance | Not a qualification, but a standard requirement for any credible consultant. It means the report stands behind itself and there is recourse if it is negligent. |
The bottom line: a report from an AA Registered Consultant or an ICF Chartered Arboriculturist carries the most weight and is least likely to be challenged. Anyone can call themselves an "arborist"; these accreditations are the differentiator. You can verify an AA Registered Consultant on the Arboricultural Association's public directory, and an ICF member via the Institute of Chartered Foresters — do that check yourself rather than taking a logo on a website at face value.
Arborist vs arboricultural consultant — don't confuse the two
A common and costly mix-up: an arborist or tree surgeon does the physical work — climbing, pruning, felling. An arboricultural consultant is the desk-and-survey specialist who assesses trees, calculates root protection areas, grades trees to BS5837 categories and writes the reports your planning application needs. For a BS5837 survey, an impact assessment or a method statement, you need the consultant. Some firms provide both, which is convenient — but make sure the person signing the planning report is the qualified consultant, not the tree surgeon who will later do the pruning.
What to look for
- A degree or Level 5/6 qualification in arboriculture (or genuinely equivalent experience).
- Membership of a recognised body — an Arboricultural Association Registered Consultant or a Chartered member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters.
- Current professional indemnity insurance.
- Recent, relevant experience with your type of application — a householder extension, a driveway over a root protection area, or a multi-unit development are different jobs.
- Familiarity with your local planning authority and its tree officer's expectations.
Questions to ask before you commit
Treat the quote conversation as a short interview. Good questions to ask:
- What is your accreditation, and can I verify it? (AA Registered Consultant / ICF Chartered — then check the public directory.)
- Do you carry current PI insurance, and to what value?
- Which reports does your quote include — survey only, or survey plus AIA, TCP and TPP? See the cost breakdown so you know what should be in scope.
- Have you worked with my council recently, and do you know its validation list?
- Will you check TPO and conservation-area status before finalising the report?
- What happens at the discharge stage — is the method statement to discharge conditions quoted, and is it extra?
- Can I see a redacted sample report so I know what I'm buying?
Getting comparable quotes
Get two or three quotes, but make sure you are comparing like with like — the commonest reason quotes look wildly different is that one covers a survey only and another covers the full report package. Send each consultant the same brief: your site plan, postcode and a short description of the works, and ask each to confirm exactly which reports are included and whether they've checked TPO and conservation-area status. A good consultant will often pre-check tree cover from aerial imagery before quoting, which tells you they're scoping the real job rather than guessing. Cheapest is rarely the deciding factor; the report that clears validation first time is.
Red flags to avoid
- No verifiable accreditation. A "tree survey" written by someone with no arboricultural qualification is the classic reason a report gets rejected at validation.
- A quote that only covers "your" trees. A survey has to include neighbouring trees whose canopies or root protection areas cross the boundary. Missing them is a sign of an underscoped job.
- Suspiciously cheap. The hidden cost of a cheap survey is a redesign or a resubmission — you pay twice.
- Out-of-date terminology. A report that grades trees "Category R" is using superseded 2005-edition wording (the current standard uses U), a small but telling sign the consultant isn't current.
- No PI insurance. If the report is wrong, you have no recourse.
- Reluctance to check protected-tree status. Touching a TPO tree without consent is a criminal offence — your consultant should be checking, not guessing. Run a TPO check yourself as well.
What to expect once you've engaged one
A straightforward domestic job typically runs to a site visit within a week or two, then the report a week or so after — call it two to three weeks from instruction to a finished survey and AIA for a simple site, longer for large or complex ones. A useful advantage over ecology work: a BS5837 assessment can be done year-round, because it doesn't depend on leaf cover, so winter is not the barrier people assume. The exception is where your site also triggers protected-species surveys (bats, nesting birds) — those have tight seasonal windows and will dominate the timeline regardless of when the tree survey happens. Ask your consultant up front whether they think ecology is likely to be triggered, so a two-week tree survey doesn't quietly become a six-month wait.
A quick worked scenario
You're adding a driveway across a front garden with a mature lime near the boundary. A tree surgeon offers to "sort the survey" cheaply. Because they aren't an accredited consultant, they schedule only your tree, miss the neighbour's — whose RPA reaches under your new hardstanding — and grade to old terminology. The council's tree officer rejects it at validation. You now pay an AA Registered Consultant to do it properly, having lost six weeks and the original fee. The accredited report, ordered first, would have cost a little more and saved all of it.
Requirements are set locally — get someone who knows your council
A consultant's badge tells you the report will be technically sound. What it can't tell you is whether it hits your council's specific expectations — because the tree-survey requirement is set locally, not nationally. Validation checklists, trigger wording, TPO density, conservation-area coverage and how strictly the tree officer applies all of it genuinely vary between authorities such as Leeds, Manchester and Lambeth.
A surveyor who regularly works with your local planning authority already knows its validation list and its tree officer's habits, which de-risks your submission in a way no national credential can. Local also usually means lower travel in the quote. And if you're building outside England, confirm your consultant knows the relevant framework — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own tree-protection law.
Before you brief anyone, check which LPAs require a tree survey and read your council's local validation list. PlanWatch tracks live tree-related planning activity council by council — enter your postcode to see how your authority handles arboricultural submissions in real applications near you, so you can brief a surveyor who genuinely knows your patch.
Once you've chosen well, your consultant can produce the BS5837 survey, impact assessment and the protection documents your council needs — and, just as importantly, produce them in the right order so the survey shapes your design rather than fighting it. Not sure you need a survey at all yet? Start with do I need a tree survey for planning.