Applying for a arborist level 4 certification

Awarding body for arborist certifications in Estonia is Estonian Arboricultural Society. Certification exams is organized in cooperation with Luua Forestry School.
Awarding certification is regulated by:

• Certification standard
• Certification procedure for arborist certifications

If certification exam is passed successfully you can be awarded with:

• Arborist, level 4 certification or
• sub-certification: arborist working on a elevated work platform, level 4

You must register for the exam no later than 30 days before the exam date by sending all the necessary documents to eksam@luua.ee .

Exams are generally held once a year, when groups are filled to 12 people.

Contact person in Luua Forestry School: Galina Käen, 5300 4520, eksam@luua.ee 

Contact person in Estonian Arboricultural Society: Arpo Põld, kutse@eestiarboristid.ee 

The assessment methods and criteria are described in the following documents:

1. Assessment standard arborist certification and sub certification arborist working on a elevated work platform, for level 4 first time applicants and re-certifiers competency assessment.
2. Exam instructions for applicants from industry and for re-certifiers (Arborist certification and sub certification – arborist working on a elevated work platform, for level 4 first time applicants and re-certifiers assessment tasks and -criteria for certification exam.
3. Exam instructions for graduate of a vocational school.

When preparing for certification exam, please familiarizise yourself with following information:

Instructions for arborist portfolio (EST)

List of woody olants and fungi (EST) 

Requirements for equipment (EST)

Dates and fees of the certification exams

29.-30.04.2025: arborist , level 4.

Fee of the certification exam for first time applicants

Fee of the arborist certification exam: 435 €.

Fee of the arborist working on a elevated work platform certification exam: 302 €.

 

Fee of the certification exam for re-certifiers

Fee for the recertification of the arborist level 4 certification: 357 €.

Fee for the re-certification of the arborist working on a elevated work platform sub-certification: 286 €.

Bank account of the Estonian Arboricultural Society :

Account holder: Eesti Arboristide Ühing MTÜ
Swedbank: EE502200221071142734
Explanation: Arborist 4, exam date, name(s) of the applicant(s) of the certification.

The exam fee must be received into the bank account of the Estonian Arboricultural Society 30 days before the exam.
A persons who registers for the exam and does not attend will not receive a refund of the exam fee and will have to pay the exam fee again if they will attend for the exam next time.
Invoices are issued by Estonian Arboricultural Society, contact: rmp@eestiarboristid.ee

Applying for certification first time

Conditions of entry:

Arborist, level 4:

a) at least three years of professional work experience or a completed arborist curriculum; 

b) at least level 2 logger certification, for those who have not completed the arborist curriculum.

Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4:

a)at least three years proffessional work experience or completed arborist curriculum or sub-certification arborist working on a elevated platform curriculum; 

b) at least a level 2 logger certification for those who have not completed the arborist curriculum

Documents needed for applying for certification

Arborist, level 4 and arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4:

1. application in accordance with the form; (first time application / re-certification)
2. copy of the ID card or passport of the applicant;
3. valid certificate of completion of first aid training;
4. at least a level 2 logger certification for those who have not completed the arborist curriculum;
5. portfolio, composed in accordance with the form, of work completed over the past three years (see the guidelines for composing a portfolio above);
6. payment order for payment of expenses related to the award of the certification;
7. certificates of at least 40 hours of professional training (courses, seminars, etc) completed in the five years preceding recertification (see the guidelines for compiling a portfolio above); 

You can send the documents to eksam@luua.ee
The prerequisites for attending the exam are: registration for the exam, availability of vacant places in the exam, sending the required documents digitally signed 30 days before the exam to eksam@luua.ee.

Re-certification

Conditions of entry:

Arborist, level 4:

a) the applicant has previously been awarded the same certification, the validity of which has not expired more than 1 year ago;

b) the applicant must have performed work related to the arborist proffession for at least three years prior to recertification;

c) certificates of at least 40 hours of professional training (courses, seminars, etc) completed in the five years preceding recertification (see the guidelines for compiling a portfolio above); 

Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4:

a) the applicant has previously been awarded the same certification or arborist, level 4 certification, the validity of which has not expired more than 1 year ago;

b) the applicant must have performed work related to the arborist proffession for at least three years prior to recertification;

c) certificates of at least 40 hours of professional training (courses, seminars, etc) completed in the five years preceding recertification; 

Documents needed for re-certification

Arborist, level 4 and arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4:

1. application in accordance with the form; (first time application / re-certification)
2. copy of the ID card or passport of the applicant;
3. valid certificate of completion of first aid training;
4. the certificate previously awarded to applicant: arborist, level 4 or arborist, working on a elevated platform, level 4;
5. portfolio, composed in accordance with the form, of work completed over the past three years (see the guidelines for composing a portfolio above);
6. payment order for payment of expenses related to the award of the certification;
7. certificates of at least 40 hours of professional training (courses, seminars, etc) completed in the five years preceding recertification (see the guidelines for compiling a portfolio above);

Retake exam

If the applicant fails one or more exam tasks, he/she has the right to retake these tasks within one year. The retake exam can be taken in parts only once; if a partial retake exam is failed, the entire exam must be taken again. The interval between retake exams must be at least 1 month. The assessment results are valid for 1 year, provided that a new certification exam is held within this period; if the exam is held later, the validity of the assessment results is automatically extended until the next exam.

The applicant covers the costs of the retake according to the cost of the exam taskscalculation. When taking the retake exam, the applicant sends a payment order and application to eksam@luua.ee.

Different parts of the certification exam and fees

Part of the retake exam	Certification	Fee
Theory	Arborist 4	106 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Identifying species of the woody plants	Arborist 4	106 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Identifying fungi	Arborist 4	106 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Knots	Arborist 4	106 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Treecare on a airlift	Arborist 4	255 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Aerial rescue	Arborist 4	149 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Portfolio	Arborist 4	149 EUR
	Arborist working on a elevated platform, level 4 sub-certification
Tree climbing	Arborist 4	268 EUR

When and how i will receive my certification?

The certificate is sent by the Estonian Arboricultural Society to the address indicated in the application by the applicant (personal, employer, school, etc.) by post. According to the certification procedure, the awarding body (EAS) has 30 days to do this.