Hazardous trees regularly lead to death or injury of arborists and property owners. To address this issue, the ISA has created the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ). TRAQ promotes the safety of people and property by providing a standardized and systematic process for assessing tree risk. The results of a tree risk assessment can provide tree owners and risk managers with information to make informed decisions to enhance tree benefits, health, and longevity.

Through education and training, arborists will learn strategies to systematically identify and assess tree risk. The qualified professional will:

• be proficient with the fundamentals of limited-visual and basic tree risk assessment, as defined in ISA Best Management Practices: Tree Risk Assessment;

• understand the principles of advanced diagnostic techniques for assessing tree risk;

• gather and synthesize information needed to assess tree risk; and

• make reasoned judgments and recommendations for mitigating identified risk.

Eligibility

To be eligible to register for the course and take the exam, you must have earned one of the following credentials:

• ISA Certified Arborist® or ISA Board Certified Master Arborist®

• ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified

• A degree in arboriculture, urban forestry, traditional forestry, or horticulture that is part of a national qualifications framework or is from a college or university

• A national certification or certificate in arboriculture (see a complete list in the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification Application Guide)

• ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist (RCA) status

• Licensing or Certification from an approved state/province program (see a complete list in the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification Application Guide)

• SAF Certified Forester

If you would like the ISA to consider any other credential, please contact qual@isa-arbor.com.

Course and Assessment

The qualification consists of a two-day educational course followed by a half-day assessment that includes both a written and a field component. You must attend the course and successfully complete the assessment in order to receive this qualification.

When applying to participate in a TRAQ event, applicants must agree to the terms, conditions, and policies outlined in the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification Application Guide.

All course registrants will receive a copy of the Tree Risk Assessment Manual and a course workbook which will be shipped three (3) weeks prior to the exam date.

Fees

Maintaining Qualification

The TRAQ credential is valid for five (5) years from the date it is earned. A credential holder must take the course and pass the exam every five years in order to renew the credential. Maintaining this qualification does not require CEUs. ISA certification holders will be offered 14.5 CEUs for attending the course.

The renewal course is an abbreviated version of the full course. The renewal is a one-day refresher with five hours of instruction and three hours to take the exam. ISA certification holders will be offered 5 CEUs for attending the course.

Current TRAQ holders can complete the abbreviated renewal course as early as 18 months prior to the expiration of their qualification. Upon passing the renewal exam, the expiration date will be adjusted to five years from the original expiration date. This means if you pass the renewal exam four years into your credential, you will have six years until it expires.

TRAQ holders who do not take the renewal course and exam before their expiration date will be required to retake the full TRAQ course and pass its exam to requalify.

To view PNW-ISA's TRAQ exam schedule, click on this link.