Tree work rules in North Carolina

North Carolina doesn't license tree care. Its landscape contractor license covers planting and managing trees but doesn't name tree removal.¹

In North Carolina local governments may not regulate forestry on present-use-value forestland or land under a forester's management plan, though they may delay development permits after a clear-cut. State law doesn't address ordinary residential tree ordinances.²

If a tree is touching the power line to your house, keep clear and call your utility first. Clearing the line is the utility's job, and a tree company can't start until it's done.

In North Carolina people and hand tools keep 6 feet from overhead lines, and mechanical equipment keeps 10 feet. The line owner needs at least 48 hours' notice, not counting weekends and holidays.³

North Carolina's one-call law doesn't name stump or root removal; it covers manual or mechanized earth movement. Call 811 before a stump is ground or dug out, and the one-call center can say whether your job needs a locate.^4-5

In North Carolina applying any pesticide for pay needs a Commercial Ground Applicator license from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Category L, Ornamental and Turf, covers shade trees, and ornamental tree applicators test in it rather than in forestry.⁶