ISA Certified Arborist Utility Specialist

When you become an ISA Certified Arborist Utility Specialist®, you are recognized by your peers and the public as a tree care professional who has attained a specialty in utility arboriculture with a generally-accepted level of knowledge in other areas within the tree care profession, such as tree biology, diagnosis, maintenance practices, safety, as identified through periodic job task analyses. Hiring an ISA Certified Arborist Utility Specialist® provides tree owners and government decision makers the opportunity to become better informed about proper tree care and their selection of services based on the expertise represented by your credential.

Prerequisites for this certification:

• You must be an ISA Certified Arborist
• Have at least 2,000 hours of verifiable work experience directly within electric utility vegetation management over the past two years or one of the following:
• Full-time employment as an electric utility arborist, forester, or vegetation manager for at least 36 cumulative months during the past 10 years; or Full-time employment on a project as an electric utility vegetation management contract employee/consultant for at least 36 cumulative months during the past 10 years.

Examples of experience sources include, but are not limited to, the following:

• System Forester
• vegetation management inspector, planner, or specialist
• transmission/distribution forester
• vegetation management instructor or researcher
• municipal employee performing relevant tasks
• vegetation management consultant
• division, district, or regional forester
• utility contractor supervisor or manager
• utility contractor or technical support service employee
• utility arborist

The written exam content for the ISA Certified Arborist Utility Specialist® is divided into five areas of knowledge, and the percentage next to each area below reflects the percentage of questions associated with that area.

1. Electric Utility Pruning—12%
2. Program Management—19%
3. Integrated Vegetation Management—31%
4. Electrical Knowledge—23%
5. Customer Relations—15%

ISA’s Utility Specialist Certification Study Guide is intended to serve as a recommended program of study: Follow this link to purchase the guide.

To read more about this certification and to apply for the exam click here.