Arborist Job Description Templates for Tree Care Companies
6 free templates for the companies that hire without an HR department: climbing arborist, crew leader, ground worker, certified arborist, line-clearance trimmer, and plant health care technician. Download as DOCX.
The first tree care owner I ever wrote a job description with had lost a climber on a Friday and had a crane removal booked for the following Wednesday. He did not need a philosophy of hiring. He needed a posting that would not attract twelve landscapers who had never left the ground.
That is the real problem with most arborist postings you can copy off the internet. They were written for a municipal forestry department with a civil service grade attached, or they are so generic that the word climbing appears once, in a bullet, next to raking. A skilled climber reads two lines and closes the tab.
At FirstHR we build hiring templates for small employers who have no HR department to hand this to. The six below cover a climbing arborist, a crew leader, a ground worker, a certified or sales arborist, a utility line-clearance trimmer, and a plant health care technician, each with the classification and credential notes the generic versions leave out. The rest of the set lives in our hiring templates library.
TL;DR
An arborist job description has to name the work, the gear, and the rate, because climbers screen on those three. Nearly every tree care role is non-exempt hourly, including most working foremen. Certification is voluntary, state licensing exists in a handful of states, and only a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer may work within 10 feet of energized conductors. Six templates below, downloadable as DOCX.
Tree Care Is Not a Landscaping Hire
Tree work sits in a different risk and skill class than grounds maintenance, and the posting has to reflect that from the first line. A climbing arborist carries a rope-access skill set, a chainsaw competence aloft, and a hazard assessment habit that no amount of mowing experience produces.
The pay data says the same thing in dollars. The gap between general grounds work and tree work runs close to six dollars an hour at the median, about 30 percent more, and that gap is what you are competing across every time a candidate weighs your posting against a landscape crew role or a grounds maintenance role.
Residential and commercial tree care
Production climbing and removals
Pruning, removals, cabling, and storm cleanup on private property. Small crews, high skill concentration in one or two climbers, and a hiring problem that is really a retention problem. This is the bulk of the industry by employer count.
Utility vegetation management
A federal standard applies directly
Line clearance on a utility contract is the one slice of tree work a federal safety standard addresses by name. Qualification, documented training, and annual observed compliance are conditions of the job, not extras.
Plant health care
Licensing runs the show
Diagnosis, injections, and treatments. The gating credential is a state pesticide applicator certification with the right category, not a climbing skill. Route work, solo days, and heavy record keeping.
Municipal and public forestry
Out of scope here
City forestry departments hire through central HR, civil service classifications, and published pay grades. If that is you, the posting is largely written for you already. These templates target private tree care companies.
This Is High-Hazard Work and the Numbers Say So
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries counted 356 fatal work injuries in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations in 2024, roughly 7 percent of all workplace deaths that year, against an all-occupation rate of 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries). Falls, struck-by incidents, and electrical contact are the recurring causes in tree work specifically.
That risk profile is why the safety language in a tree care posting is not boilerplate. It is a filter. Candidates who take the work seriously read a posting that names job briefings, gear inspection, and drop zone discipline and conclude you are a company where they will get home. Candidates who do not, self-select out.
What Belongs in the Posting
An arborist job description does four jobs at once: it describes the work in terms a climber recognizes, it filters out applicants who cannot clear the credential and physical bar, it protects you legally, and it closes the hire. Most postings do only the first, badly.
The parts a climber reads first
What you actually run: removals, pruning cycles, or storm work
Crew size and how many climbers you already have
Equipment: lifts, cranes, chippers, grinders, truck age
Year-round work or a seasonal shutdown
The parts that filter applicants
Climbing system and rigging expectations, stated concretely
Certification: required, preferred, or reimbursed
Driver license class and motor vehicle record standard
Minimum age of 18 and the physical demands
The parts that protect you
Non-exempt hourly status stated on the posting
Essential functions written plainly for accommodation purposes
Drug and alcohol policy where you have one
Equal opportunity statement
The parts that win the hire
The hourly rate, not a range with a 20 dollar spread
Who pays for saddles, ropes, saws, and boots
Certification and continuing education reimbursement
A named person and a phone number, not a form
The single most common omission is the equipment list. Climbers want to know whether you own a lift, whether you rent a crane, how old the chip trucks are, and whether the saws are maintained. A company that lists its fleet is telling a candidate something true about how it operates. Our guide to writing a job description covers the general structure in more depth.
6 Arborist Job Description Templates to Download
Download all six as one file or copy them individually. Each follows the same structure: company overview, position summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a classification and safety note, an equal opportunity statement, and how to apply. The bracketed fields are the only parts you need to change.
Download All 6 Arborist Job Description Templates
Climbing arborist, crew leader, ground worker, certified arborist, line-clearance trimmer, and plant health care technician. All in one download.
Climbing Arborist
Production work aloft
The core production role: climbing systems, rigging, chainsaw work in the canopy, and gear inspection written as a daily duty rather than a policy.
Crew Leader / Foreman
Owns the job site
Site assessment, job briefing, production pace, and the customer at the curb, with an honest note on why most working foremen are not exempt.
Ground Worker
Trainable entry point
The role you hire for attitude and train for skill: ropes, chipper, drop zone, cleanup, and a stated path into climbing.
Certified / Sales Arborist
Diagnosis and proposals
Client-facing diagnosis, risk assessment, written reports, and pricing, with the exemption question worked through rather than assumed.
Line-Clearance Trimmer
Utility contract work
For vegetation management crews: minimum approach distances, qualification status, storm response, and the annual observation requirement.
Plant Health Care Tech
Licensed applicator route
For the treatment side: diagnosis, injections, label compliance, application records, and the state certification category spelled out.
Template 1: Climbing Arborist
The core production role, with climbing systems, rigging, chainsaw work aloft, and daily gear inspection written in as a duty rather than buried in a policy handbook.
Climbing Arborist / Tree Climber Job Description
CLIMBING ARBORIST JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Crew Leader / Operations Manager / Owner]
[Company Name] is a [residential / commercial] tree care company in [City, State]
running [number] crews. We prune, remove, cable, and treat trees for
[homeowners / property managers / municipalities], and we work to ANSI A300
pruning standards and ANSI Z133 safety practices on every job.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Climbing Arborist ascends and works aloft in trees to prune, reduce, cable,
and dismantle them safely, directs the ground crew from the canopy, and finishes
the work to the pruning standard the sales estimate promised.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Climb using [doubled rope technique / stationary rope system] or work from an
aerial lift where access allows
•Perform pruning, crown reduction, deadwooding, and cabling to ANSI A300
•Rig and dismantle removals in confined spaces over [structures, fences, lawns]
•Operate a chainsaw aloft and on the ground safely and accurately
•Inspect climbing line, saddle, lanyards, and hardware before every use and
remove damaged gear from service
•Direct ground personnel on rigging, drop zones, and load control
•Assess each tree and the site for hazards before the first ascent
•Keep the required distance from energized conductors and stop work when a
[utility / qualified line-clearance crew] is needed
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years of production climbing experience
•Chainsaw competence aloft and on the ground
•[ISA Certified Arborist credential required / preferred / not required]
•Valid driver license and an acceptable motor vehicle record
•Must be 18 or older (this work involves federally restricted equipment)
•Able to lift [weight], work at height, and work outdoors in all conditions
•Current [first aid / CPR / aerial rescue] training or willing to obtain
CLASSIFICATION AND SAFETY NOTE (read before posting)
Climbing arborists are non-exempt: hourly, and owed overtime past 40 hours in a
workweek. Time spent loading the truck at the yard, fueling saws, and traveling
between job sites during the day is generally hours worked. Only a qualified
line-clearance tree trimmer may work within 10 feet of energized power lines at
50 kV or less; a general certification does not confer that qualification. Where
a climber is aloft, industry practice calls for a second worker on site trained
in aerial rescue. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per hour, [overtime policy], [gear allowance],
[certification reimbursement], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and climbing experience.
Template 2: Tree Crew Leader / Foreman
Site assessment, documented job briefing, production pace against the estimate, and the customer conversation at the curb, with a blunt note on why most working foremen are not exempt.
Tree Crew Leader / Foreman Job Description
TREE CREW LEADER / FOREMAN JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Operations Manager / Owner]
Employment type: Full-time, year-round
FLSA status: Non-exempt in most cases (see classification note)
Compensation: $_ per hour
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Company Name] runs [number] tree crews out of [City, State]. The Crew Leader
owns the job site: the plan, the safety briefing, the production rate, and the
customer conversation at the curb. This is the role that decides whether a day
runs at a profit.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Crew Leader plans and directs the daily work of a [number]-person tree crew,
runs the pre-job briefing and site assessment, keeps production on the estimate,
and is the customer-facing representative of the company on site.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Review the work order and walk the site before any equipment comes off the
truck
•Run a documented job briefing covering hazards, drop zones, traffic, utilities,
and the emergency plan
•Assign roles, direct rigging, and climb or operate the lift as needed
•Keep production on pace against the estimated hours and report variances
•Enforce PPE, chainsaw, chipper, and drop zone rules without exception
•Inspect trucks, chippers, and climbing gear and take unsafe equipment out of
service
•Handle the customer walkthrough at start and finish, including change requests
•Complete daily reports: hours, materials, incidents, and job notes
•Train and mentor ground workers and apprentice climbers
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•[Number] years in tree care with at least [number] leading a crew
•Climbing or aerial lift competence and strong rigging judgment
The role you hire for attitude and train for skill. It reads close to a construction laborer posting on physical demands, but the chipper and drop zone duties are specific to tree work.
[Company Name] hires ground workers with no tree care background and trains
them. This is the entry point into arboriculture: you learn ropes, knots, saws,
and tree biology on the job, and the people who take it seriously move into
climbing within [timeframe].
POSITION SUMMARY
The Ground Worker supports the climber and the crew from the ground: managing
ropes and rigging, running the chipper, cutting and hauling brush and wood,
keeping the drop zone clear, and leaving the property cleaner than we found it.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Set up and maintain the drop zone, cones, and traffic control
•Handle climbing and rigging lines as directed from the canopy
•Feed the chipper following the manufacturer and company procedure
•Cut, drag, and load brush, logs, and debris
•Operate [chainsaw / stump grinder / mini loader] once trained and authorized
•Rake, blow, and clean the site to a finished standard
•Fuel, clean, and stage equipment at the start and end of the day
•Watch the climber continuously and call out any hazard immediately
•Attend every job briefing and follow all PPE and equipment rules
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•No prior tree care experience required; we train
•Must be 18 or older (this work involves federally restricted equipment)
•Able to lift [weight] repeatedly and work outdoors in all conditions
•Valid driver license [required / preferred]
•Reliable attendance and a [start time] report time at the yard
•Willingness to earn [first aid, CPR, chainsaw, chipper] training with us
CLASSIFICATION AND SAFETY NOTE
Ground workers are non-exempt hourly employees. Chipper feeding and chainsaw work
are among the highest-risk tasks on a tree job, so authorization must follow
training rather than the first busy morning. Federal child labor rules restrict
minors from power-driven woodworking equipment and from logging occupations, so
set 18 as the minimum age and state it in the posting. Time at the yard loading
and fueling before departure is generally hours worked, and so is travel between
job sites during the day. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per hour, [overtime], [training path and pay steps],
[PPE provided], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ or call __.
Template 4: Certified Arborist / Sales Arborist
Client-facing diagnosis, tree risk assessment, written reports, and pricing. If your work runs toward inventories, management plans, and land at scale, the forester templates are the closer fit.
•Strong writing: proposals and reports a client and a court could both read
•Valid driver license and acceptable motor vehicle record
CLASSIFICATION NOTE
Classification here depends on real duties, not the title or the commission plan.
An arborist whose primary duty is outside sales at the customer site may fall
under the outside sales exemption, which has no salary requirement. One whose
primary duty is field diagnosis, production support, or inside estimating
generally does not, and is non-exempt: hourly and overtime-eligible. Paying
commission does not by itself make anyone exempt, and a non-exempt commissioned
employee still needs hours tracked and overtime calculated on a regular rate that
includes the commission. Decide on the day, not the business card. This is
general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ [base], [commission percentage and basis],
[vehicle or allowance], [certification and CEU reimbursement], [benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume and certification
number.
Template 5: Utility Line-Clearance Tree Trimmer
For vegetation management crews on a utility contract: minimum approach distances, qualification status, storm callouts, and the annual observation requirement stated as a condition of the job.
Utility Line-Clearance Tree Trimmer Job Description
UTILITY LINE-CLEARANCE TREE TRIMMER JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [General Foreman / Line Clearance Supervisor]
[Company Name] holds [vegetation management contracts] with [utility name or
type] covering [service territory]. Crews clear conductors on a [cycle length]
maintenance cycle and respond to outages and storm events on call.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Line-Clearance Tree Trimmer prunes and removes vegetation near energized
electrical conductors, works from an insulated aerial device or by climbing,
maintains the required minimum approach distances, and restores clearance on the
utility specification.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Prune and remove trees and brush to the utility clearance specification
•Determine the voltage of any line that may present a hazard before work begins
•Keep the body, tools, ladders, and aerial device outside the minimum approach
distance from any energized part
•Use only insulated tools on limbs that are or may become energized
•Work from an insulated aerial lift or by climbing as conditions require
•Take part in the documented job briefing before every job
•Respond to storm and outage callouts, including nights and weekends
•Complete daily production, clearance, and customer notification records
•Report any contact, near miss, or damaged equipment immediately
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Qualified line-clearance tree trimmer status, or trainee status working under
direct supervision until qualified
•Documented training and certification in safety-related work practices,
including emergency procedures, with at least annual observation
•Current first aid, CPR, and pole-top or aerial rescue training
•[CDL Class A / Class B required] for [truck description], with DOT medical card
•Must be 18 or older
•Available for storm response and extended hours
CLASSIFICATION AND SAFETY NOTE
This is the one part of tree work that a federal standard addresses head on.
Line-clearance tree trimming means pruning, trimming, repairing, maintaining,
removing, or clearing trees, or cutting brush, within 10 feet of energized power
lines at 50 kV or less to ground, and it is covered directly by 29 CFR 1910.269.
An unqualified employee, including an experienced certified arborist who has not
been qualified for line clearance, must stay 10 feet away. Only a qualified
line-clearance tree trimmer, or a trainee under direct supervision, works inside
that zone, and qualification requires documented training and at least annual
observed compliance. Storm weeks generate heavy overtime; all of it is owed at
time and a half past 40 hours. This is general information, not legal advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable
accommodations for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $_ per hour, [storm and callout premium], [per diem],
[overtime policy], [benefits summary]
To apply, email __ with your resume and qualification
records.
Template 6: Plant Health Care Technician
For the treatment side of the business: diagnosis, injections, label compliance, and application records. It shares its licensing spine with the pest control technician templates.
Plant Health Care Technician Job Description
PLANT HEALTH CARE TECHNICIAN JOB DESCRIPTION
Company: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [PHC Manager / Certified Arborist / Owner]
To apply, email __ with your resume and license category.
Certifications, Licenses, and Driver Records
Three separate credential systems touch a tree care hire, and only two of them are legal requirements. Professional certification is voluntary, state tree care licensing exists in a minority of states, and pesticide applicator certification is mandatory almost everywhere for commercial treatment work.
Confusing the three is how small companies end up either overspecifying a posting nobody can meet or hiring someone who cannot legally do half the work. Federal rules require certification for anyone who applies or supervises the use of restricted use pesticides, and the Environmental Protection Agency points applicators to their own state program for the actual certificate.
Certification is voluntary and still worth naming
The ISA Certified Arborist credential is issued by a professional body, not a government agency, so nothing in federal law requires it. It still does real work in a posting. It tells a candidate you know the difference between tree care and brush clearing, it gives you a defensible line in a proposal or a risk assessment report, and it comes with continuing education that keeps someone current on species, diagnosis, and standards. Decide which roles need it and which do not, then write it as required, preferred, or reimbursed. Reimbursed is often the strongest option for a small company: it widens the pool to skilled climbers who never sat the exam, and it gives you a retention hook that costs a few hundred dollars rather than a raise.
Some states license tree work, most do not
There is no federal arborist license. A handful of states regulate the trade directly and the rules are not similar to each other. Connecticut licenses arborists who advertise or contract for tree care. New Jersey requires tree care businesses to register with the state board and to keep a licensed tree expert or licensed tree care operator on staff. Maryland licenses tree experts through the state natural resources agency with an experience and education requirement behind it. Elsewhere the requirement may be a contractor registration, a county business license, or nothing at all beyond insurance. Check your own state agency before you write a credential into a posting, because advertising work you are not licensed to perform is its own violation, separate from anything about the hire.
Pesticide certification is not optional
Anyone applying or supervising the use of restricted use pesticides must be certified under federal rules, and the states run the certification programs. Many states go beyond the federal floor and require certification for all commercial application, not only restricted use products, which sweeps in most routine plant health care work. Certification is granted in categories, so an applicator certified for turf may not be certified for ornamental trees or for right of way work near utility corridors. Recertification cycles run no longer than five years and are frequently shorter. Treat the certificate, the category list, and the expiration date as onboarding documents with renewal reminders attached, because the state inspector who shows up will ask for the record, not for your recollection.
Driver credentials decide who can take the truck
Tree care runs on chip trucks, bucket trucks, and trailered grinders, and the license question is settled by weight rather than by job title. A commercial driver license is required for a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating at or above 26,001 pounds, and combination weights bring trailers into the calculation, so a modest chip truck towing a stump grinder can cross the line. Drivers of commercial motor vehicles also need a current medical examiner certificate. Decide before you post whether the role requires a CDL, and if it does, say the class. Also set a motor vehicle record standard and check it, because your insurance carrier will check it anyway and finding out at the renewal is the expensive way to learn.
Credential
Who issues it
How to write it in the posting
ISA Certified Arborist
Professional association, voluntary
Required, preferred, or reimbursed; reimbursed widens the pool the most
Tree Risk Assessment Qualification
Professional association, voluntary
Worth requiring for anyone writing risk reports or expert opinions
State arborist or tree expert license
State agency, in a minority of states
Check your state first; a few states also require business registration
Pesticide applicator certification
State agency under federal rules
Name the category you need, not just the word certified
Line-clearance qualification
Employer, per federal standard
Required for any work within 10 feet of energized lines
CDL Class A or B
State DMV, by vehicle weight
Say the class; a chip truck towing a grinder can cross the threshold
First aid, CPR, aerial rescue
Training providers
Required or provided; a climber aloft needs a trained rescuer on site
The Line-Clearance Rule Is the One Federal Standard That Names Tree Work
Only a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer, or a trainee under direct supervision, may perform tree work within 10 feet of energized power lines carrying 50 kilovolts or less to ground. Everyone else, including an experienced certified arborist, must stay outside that distance.
The federal electric power standard defines line-clearance tree trimming as pruning, trimming, repairing, maintaining, removing, or clearing trees, or cutting brush, inside that zone, and it applies whether or not the work is on a utility contract. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets out the practical requirements in its guidance on line-clearance tree trimming operations: determine the voltage before work begins, keep the body and every tool, ladder, and aerial device outside the minimum approach distance, and use insulated tools on limbs that are or may become energized.
Qualification Is Documented, Certified, and Observed Annually
Qualified status is not a judgment call an owner makes on a job site. Line-clearance tree trimmers must be trained and certified in safety-related work practices and procedures, including emergency procedures, and observed at least annually to confirm they are complying. That means a training record, a certification record, and a dated annual observation for every qualified trimmer on your payroll. If your crews prune near conductors and you cannot produce those three documents today, that is the gap to close before the next hire, not after the next incident.
Beyond line clearance, there is no single federal standard written for tree care. Enforcement runs through general industry rules on personal protective equipment, machinery, and hazard communication, plus the general duty clause, with the ANSI Z133 consensus standard functioning as the practical benchmark for what reasonable care looks like. Our overview of OSHA requirements for employers covers the recordkeeping and posting obligations that come with it.
Overtime, Yard Time, and Why Foremen Get Misclassified
Every production role in tree care is non-exempt: climbers, ground workers, plant health care technicians, and line-clearance trimmers are hourly employees owed overtime at time and a half past 40 hours in a workweek. The role that gets misclassified is the crew leader.
A working foreman who climbs, cuts, rigs, and runs the chipper all day has production as a primary duty, not management. The executive exemption asks for a qualifying salary plus genuine management as the primary duty, including the customary direction of two or more full-time employees and real weight in hiring decisions. Our breakdown of exempt versus non-exempt classification works through the tests, and the practical rules for calculating overtime apply once you land on non-exempt.
Situation
Compensable hours?
What to do about it
Loading and fueling at the yard before departure
Generally yes
Set the shift start at yard report time, not at the first job site
Travel from the yard to the first job site
Generally yes once the day has started
Track it; the continuous work day has already begun
Travel between job sites during the day
Yes
Never treat mid-day drive time as unpaid
Commuting from home to the yard
Generally no
Ordinary home to work travel is not hours worked
Storm callouts at night and on weekends
Yes
Overtime applies past 40 in the week regardless of the hour
Required training and certification classes
Generally yes
If you require it and it relates to the job, pay for the time
Cleaning and staging equipment at day end
Yes
Build it into the schedule instead of letting it run off the clock
Seasonal shutdowns add a second question. If you lay crews off in winter and rehire in spring, the classification and record obligations reset each season, and our guide to managing seasonal workers covers what carries over. Keep the workers compensation classification codes accurate as well, since tree work rates sit far above grounds maintenance rates and a misclassified crew is an audit finding waiting to happen.
Companies Using FirstHR Onboard 3x Faster
Join hundreds of small businesses who transformed their new hire experience.
There is no Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation called arborist. The nearest classification is tree trimmers and pruners, code 37-3013, and that is the benchmark to anchor to, with landscaping occupations below it and forestry occupations above it for context.
National Wage Benchmarks for Tree Work
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), tree trimmers and pruners (SOC 37-3013) earned a national median of $24.50 per hour, or $50,960 per year. The bottom 10 percent earned $18.24 per hour or less and the top 10 percent $38.61 per hour or more. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers earned a median of $28.09 per hour (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS national estimates).
Occupation (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
Median hourly
Median annual
Use it for
Tree trimmers and pruners (37-3013)
$24.50
$50,960
Climbing arborists and line-clearance trimmers
First-line supervisors, landscaping and grounds (37-1012)
$28.09
$58,430
Crew leaders and foremen
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers (37-3011)
$18.82
$39,150
Entry-level ground workers, as a floor to beat
Forest and conservation workers (45-4011)
$21.00
$43,680
Rural and land management crews
Foresters (19-1032)
$36.73
$76,400
Consulting and management roles above field production
Read the percentile spread rather than the median alone. The distance from $18.24 to $38.61 per hour is the distance between a first-week ground worker and a production climber who can dismantle a dead oak over a roof, and posting a single midpoint rate for both is how you end up interviewing neither. Publish the rate for the specific role, and publish a good-faith range where pay transparency laws require one.
The Gear Policy Is Part of the Offer
A working climber may own two thousand dollars of saddles, ropes, lanyards, and hardware, plus boots that wear out on a schedule. Who pays for replacement, who inspects and retires damaged gear, and whether the company supplies saws are questions every serious candidate will ask, so answer them in the posting instead of the second interview. A company-funded gear program and paid certification renewal often land harder than another dollar an hour, and they cost less.
Hiring Tree Crews Without an HR Department
Small tree care companies fail at hiring in three predictable places: capacity concentrates in one or two climbers, the safety document trail exists on paper but not in any findable order, and onboarding lands in a single week when the season turns. Each has a fix.
One climber leaves and half your production capacity walks out the door
A tree company with two climbers is a company where one resignation cuts revenue in half. That is a structural fact of the trade, not a management failure, and it makes hiring urgent in exactly the moment when you have the least time to do it well. The counter is to hire ground workers continuously rather than in emergencies, and to publish a real path from the ground to the canopy: which skills, which training, which pay step, and roughly how long. Most climbers in this industry started on the ground. If your posting for a ground worker says nothing about where the job leads, you are competing on hourly rate alone against every landscaping and construction crew in the county, and you will lose that fight on price.
The safety paperwork exists on paper and nobody can find it
Tree care generates a specific document trail: training records, chainsaw and chipper authorizations, first aid and CPR cards, aerial rescue training, pesticide certificates with categories and expiration dates, CDL and medical examiner certificates, motor vehicle record checks, and a documented job briefing routine. Every one of those has a renewal date, and every one of them is what an inspector, an insurer, or an attorney asks for after an incident. A folder in the truck and a folder in the office is not a system. What you need is one place per employee where the document, the issue date, and the expiration all live together, so an expired card surfaces before the job rather than after.
Hiring is seasonal and onboarding lands in a single week in March
Tree work has a shape to its year. Spring pruning and storm season fill the calendar, winter thins it in much of the country, and the result is that hiring clusters. Five people start in the same week, each needing the same paperwork, the same safety orientation, and the same equipment authorization, right when every crew is already booked. FirstHR was built for that burst. The AI onboarding wizard runs the identical sequence for every new hire, built-in e-signature handles the handbook and policy acknowledgments, document management stores certificates and licenses against each employee profile with renewal dates attached, and training modules deliver safety orientation before anyone touches a saw. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR. FirstHR is an onboarding and HR platform, not a payroll provider.
Background screening deserves its own step here, because these employees drive company trucks and work unsupervised on customer property. Our guides to running a background check and to state background check laws cover the notice requirements, and a motor vehicle record check belongs in the same sequence for anyone who will hold keys.
Key Takeaways
Tree care is a different hire from landscaping: the skill, the risk, and the pay all sit a class above grounds maintenance, and the posting has to say so in the first two lines.
Nearly every tree care role is non-exempt hourly, and the working crew leader is the position employers most often misclassify as exempt.
Only a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer, or a trainee under direct supervision, may work within 10 feet of energized lines at 50 kV or less; a general arborist certification does not confer that status.
Professional certification is voluntary, state tree care licensing exists in only a handful of states, and pesticide applicator certification is mandatory almost everywhere for commercial treatment work.
National medians (BLS OEWS, May 2025) run $24.50 per hour for tree trimmers and pruners and $28.09 for landscaping supervisors, with a 10th to 90th percentile spread of $18.24 to $38.61.
Yard time, mid-day travel between sites, storm callouts, and required training are all compensable hours, so build them into the schedule rather than discovering them in a wage claim.
Tree care hiring comes with a document trail that expires: training records, equipment authorizations, first aid cards, pesticide categories, CDL and medical certificates. FirstHR runs the same onboarding sequence for every new hire, with e-signature for handbooks and acknowledgments, document storage against each employee profile, and renewal dates tracked so nothing lapses quietly. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Once the offer is signed, the work shifts to a repeatable onboarding checklist: safety orientation before anyone touches a saw, equipment authorization after training rather than before, certification copies filed with expiration dates, and a first job site pairing with an experienced climber.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should an arborist job description include?
An arborist job description should include nine things: the kind of tree work you actually run, the crew size and equipment, the climbing and rigging expectations stated concretely, the certification requirement marked as required, preferred, or reimbursed, the driver license class and motor vehicle record standard, the minimum age of 18, the physical demands and essential functions, the non-exempt hourly status with the pay rate, and an equal opportunity statement. Climbers read for the work and the gear before they read anything else, so lead with removals versus pruning cycles, whether you own a lift or a crane, and how old the trucks are. Vagueness about the rate is the fastest way to lose a skilled climber who has three other companies calling. The six templates on this page follow that structure so you only rewrite the company-specific parts.
Do arborists need a license?
It depends on the state, and in most states there is no arborist license at all. There is no federal credential. A handful of states regulate the trade directly: Connecticut licenses arborists who advertise or contract for tree care, New Jersey requires tree care businesses to register with the state board and to keep a licensed tree expert or licensed tree care operator on staff, and Maryland licenses tree experts through its natural resources agency. Elsewhere you may face only a contractor registration, a county business license, or an insurance requirement. Separately, anyone applying pesticides commercially almost always needs a state applicator certification in the right category. The ISA Certified Arborist credential is different again: it is a voluntary professional certification, not a government license, and it is worth naming in a posting even where no law requires it.
Are arborists exempt from overtime?
No. Climbing arborists, ground workers, plant health care technicians, and line-clearance trimmers are non-exempt employees: hourly, and owed overtime at time and a half past 40 hours in a workweek. Crew leaders are the role employers most often misclassify. A working foreman who spends the day climbing, cutting, and running the chipper has production as a primary duty rather than management, and the executive exemption requires a qualifying salary plus genuine management duties including the customary direction of two or more full-time employees. Most tree crew leaders do not meet that test. Sales arborists whose primary duty is customer-site selling may fall under the outside sales exemption, which carries no salary requirement, but field diagnosis and inside estimating generally do not qualify. Paying commission never makes anyone exempt on its own.
How much does an arborist make?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a separate occupation called arborist. The closest classification is tree trimmers and pruners, occupation code 37-3013, and according to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025) the national median wage for that occupation was $24.50 per hour, or $50,960 per year. The spread is wide: the bottom 10 percent earned $18.24 per hour or less and the top 10 percent earned $38.61 per hour or more. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers, the nearest classification for a crew leader, had a median of $28.09 per hour or $58,430 per year. For comparison, landscaping and groundskeeping workers had a median of $18.82 per hour. That gap of roughly six dollars an hour between general grounds work and tree work is the number to keep in mind when you set a ground worker rate.
What is the difference between an arborist and a tree trimmer?
In everyday hiring the two titles overlap, but the working difference is diagnosis versus execution. A tree trimmer performs the cutting: pruning, removal, rigging, and cleanup, usually as a non-exempt hourly production employee. An arborist, particularly a certified one, assesses tree health and structure, diagnoses insects, disease, and defects, prescribes treatment, and takes responsibility for whether the recommended work is the right work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recognizes only the first, listing tree trimmers and pruners as occupation 37-3013 with no separate arborist code. For a posting, that means you should describe the duty rather than lean on the title. If the role writes proposals and risk assessments, call it a certified arborist and require the credential. If the role climbs and cuts to someone else's plan, call it a climbing arborist and pay for the climbing skill.
What is a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer?
A qualified line-clearance tree trimmer is a worker specifically trained and certified to perform tree work within 10 feet of energized power lines carrying 50 kilovolts or less to ground. Line-clearance tree trimming is defined in the federal electric power standard, 29 CFR 1910.269, as pruning, trimming, repairing, maintaining, removing, or clearing trees, or cutting brush, inside that 10-foot zone. Only a qualified line-clearance tree trimmer, or a trainee working under direct supervision, may work there. An unqualified employee must stay 10 feet away, and holding a general arborist certification does not make anyone qualified for line clearance. Qualification requires documented training and certification in safety-related work practices including emergency procedures, plus observation at least annually to confirm compliance. If your crews work near conductors, this is the single most consequential requirement in your hiring file.
How do I hire a climbing arborist for a small tree care company?
Hire ground workers continuously and promote from within, because the open market for experienced climbers is thin and expensive. Publish a real path from ground to canopy in the ground worker posting: the skills, the training, the pay steps, and the rough timeline. For an outside climbing hire, state the hourly rate rather than a wide range, name the equipment you run, say whether the work is year-round, and specify who pays for saddles, ropes, saws, and boots, because a climber arriving with two thousand dollars of personal gear notices that line. Then move quickly, since good climbers are usually talking to several companies at once. Once the offer is accepted, run onboarding as a checklist: safety orientation, equipment authorization, training records, certification copies, and motor vehicle record check before the first job site. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
