Tree work rules in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no state tree care license. Its Home Improvement Contractor registration exempts landscapers limited to Plant Pest Act work and doesn't name tree work.¹

Pennsylvania's Municipalities Planning Code says zoning may not unreasonably restrict forestry and makes timber harvesting a use by right in every zoning district. Residential tree ordinances aren't otherwise limited.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 Pennsylvania the federal OSHA rule is the one to know. A state act requires lines above about 13,200 volts to be shut off or worked with hot sticks, with notice to the line owner, but sets no clearance distance for other workers.^3-4

Pennsylvania's one-call law doesn't name trees or stumps. It defines excavation work as moving earth with powered equipment, with listed exclusions.⁵

Spraying or treating trees on someone else's property needs a commercial applicator license from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, working for a licensed pesticide business. The category is 06 Ornamental and Shade Trees.^6-7