An arborist for tree removal is not someone who climbs with a saw. It is someone who decides, with training and a standard method behind the decision, whether a tree really needs to come down. In Orlando that judgment matters for safety, for money and, under a Florida law passed in 2019, for permits: a written arborist assessment can be what lets a homeowner remove a risky tree without a city or county permit.
Tree Service Orlando FL has no arborists on staff and writes no reports. Calls to the free line, (689) 407-5379, are answered by an automated assistant that notes the tree's problem and your town, then connects you to an independent tree company working near you. When it picks up, ask for an ISA credentialed arborist and confirm the credential yourself, as explained below.
Arborist credentials, explained
All three are issued by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). They answer different questions, so it helps to know which one you need.
ISA Certified Arborist
The core credential. ISA's candidate guide requires three years of tree care experience, or a two-year degree with arboriculture coursework plus two years working in tree care, or a four-year degree plus one year, and then a passing exam. Holders must earn 30 continuing education units every three years to keep it. This is the credential Florida Statute 163.045 names.
Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)
A specialty qualification in judging tree risk. Candidates must already hold a credential such as Certified Arborist. ISA says it trains holders to perform limited visual and basic tree risk assessments and to make reasoned recommendations to reduce risk. It must be renewed every seven years through retraining and retesting. The City of Orlando's permit page refers to TRAQ arborists.
Board Certified Master Arborist
The highest level of ISA certification. Applicants must already be ISA Certified Arborists in good standing and meet further requirements in experience, education and other credentials. Holders must earn 60 continuing education units every three years across science, practice and management.
Florida has no state arborist license
Many people search for a "licensed tree arborist near me." In Florida there is no such state license. UF/IFAS Extension notes that the state does not license tree services, though a local occupational license is required. The Florida Chapter of the ISA has been campaigning for state arborist licensing, which tells you it does not exist yet.
So anyone can sell tree work. ISA credentials are voluntary, which is exactly why they are worth checking. Ask for the arborist's full name and ISA certification number, then look them up on the ISA credential directory (opens in a new tab). A real credential will show there, with its type and status.
UF/IFAS Extension's advice on hiring adds a few more checks: confirm liability and workers' compensation insurance by contacting the insurer directly rather than accepting a photocopy, be wary of anyone who recommends topping, and get more than one opinion before major work.
What a tree risk assessment report contains
A quick "it looks fine" or "it has to go" is an opinion. A risk assessment follows the ISA's Best Management Practices for tree risk assessment, the same document Florida's law points to. ISA's annotated sample report shows what a proper written assessment includes:
- The assignment: the date, how the inspection was done, and what the report covers.
- The tree and site: species, size, condition, and what is around it.
- Targets: what the tree or a part of it could hit, such as the house, a driveway, a pool cage or a play area, and how often people are there.
- Likelihood of failure for each specific defect, such as a decayed union or a cracked limb.
- Likelihood of impact on each target, and the consequences if it happens.
- An overall risk rating that combines those findings, usually for a stated time frame such as one year.
- Mitigation options: pruning, cabling or bracing, moving the target, or removal, with the risk left after each.
- Photos and limitations: annotated photos, plus a note on what a ground-level visual check cannot see.
- When to look again: the sample report recommends annual inspections.
Florida Statute 163.045 and the arborist's role
Passed in 2019 and amended in 2022, this law changed how tree removal works for many Orlando-area homeowners.
What the law says
On a single-family, detached home lot, a local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee or mitigation to prune, trim or remove a tree when the owner has documentation from an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk to people or property, and it may not require the owner to replant. The documentation is an onsite assessment, signed by the arborist or landscape architect, done under the ISA Best Management Practices, Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition (2017). "Unacceptable risk" means removal is the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate. The law does not apply to mangrove protection.
How the City of Orlando applies it
The city's permit page says a residential permit is not required when the owner gets a report from a TRAQ qualified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect confirming the tree poses a danger. Without one, the city's residential permit fee is $25, and a city arborist inspects the tree, usually within three business days. Questions go to trees@orlando.gov or 407.246.2283. Other cities and the counties have their own process. See the permit guide.
Keep the report. The statute is built around the owner having that documentation, so it is your record if a code officer or a neighbor ever asks why the tree came down.
How much does an arborist cost?
There is no set Orlando price, and the line does not set any prices. The figures below are national ranges from Angi's arborist cost guide, updated in July 2026, so treat them as a rough idea only:
| Service | Angi national range |
|---|---|
| Initial consultation or inspection | $75 to $150 |
| Comprehensive written report on several trees | $450 to $700 |
| Hourly rate, where an arborist charges by the hour | $75 to $200 |
| All arborist services, national average | about $875 (range $75 to $5,000) |
Angi notes that hourly billing is uncommon and most arborists price by the service and the size of the job. What moves the price for an assessment: how many trees, whether you need a formal written report suitable for Florida Statute 163.045, and whether tools beyond a visual check are used. Ask up front what the visit costs, whether it is credited toward any work, and whether you get a written report or a verbal opinion.
Need an arborist to look at a tree before you decide? Call the line, describe the tree, and ask the company you are put through to for an ISA credentialed arborist and the price of the visit.
When to ask for an arborist, not just a quote
- You want to remove a healthy-looking tree on a single-family lot and would rather not apply for a permit.
- A big oak over the house has mushrooms at the base, a crack at a fork, or a new lean.
- Two companies disagree, one says trim and one says remove.
- You are weighing cabling and bracing against removal for a tree you value.
- A storm damaged a tree and you need the condition documented for an insurer or a neighbor. The who pays guide covers that side.
Check the company yourself. Florida has no state license for tree trimming or removal, so ask the company for a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and for the ISA certification number of its arborist. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Related services
An assessment usually leads to one of these.
Tree Removal
Taking down a dead, leaning or unwanted tree safely, from small yard trees to big laurel oaks near the house, and what a fair quote includes.
Emergency Tree Removal (24/7)
A tree on the house, the car or across the driveway. What to do in the first hour and how emergency removal is handled and priced.
Tree Pruning and Oak Tree Care
Structural pruning for young trees and live oaks, the right season to prune oaks in Central Florida, and cuts to avoid.
Tree Cabling and Bracing
Steel cables and rods that support split trunks and heavy limbs, when they help, when removal is safer, and how they are checked.
How an arborist assessment call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Orlando area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Orlando FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.
The line takes calls from across the Orlando area:
- All Orlando-area service areas
- Orlando
- Kissimmee
- St. Cloud
- Clermont
- Winter Garden
- Ocoee
- Apopka
- Winter Park
- Altamonte Springs
- Longwood
- Lake Mary
- Sanford
- Oviedo
- DeLand