Ten Questions to Ask
Before You Hire a Faller

This isn't a pitch. It's the list we'd want a family member to use before letting anyone near a tree over their house. Print it, take it to every quote.

1. Are you a BC Forest Safety Council Certified Faller, certified to the BC Faller Training Standard? Can I see the card?
   WorkSafeBC requires certification for anyone felling a tree over six inches in diameter. Cards run on a three-year cycle. “I've been doing this thirty years” is not the same answer.
2. Do you hold Wildlife/Danger Tree Assessor certification, and which modules?
   If they're assessing a dangerous tree, this is the credential WorkSafeBC names. Ask which modules, Forest Activities, Parks & Recreation, or Wildland Fire Safety. Valid four years. If your tree is fire-damaged, the Wildland Fire Safety module is the one that matters.
3. Is your S-100 current?
   Only relevant if wildfire or fuel mitigation work is involved, but if a contractor is selling you FireSmart work, ask. It requires annual recurrency, so it lapses easily.
4. Can you provide a WorkSafeBC clearance letter addressed to me?
   This is the big one. If you hire a contractor who isn't paying their WorkSafeBC premiums, you can be held liable for those premiums on the work they did for you. A clearance letter addressed to you, confirming they were active and in good standing for the whole contract period, is what clears you of that. It's free. You can also request one yourself at worksafebc.com, and honestly, you should.
5. What's your commercial general liability limit, and will you send a certificate?
   Ask for the number and the coverage period in writing. A tree through a roof is a six-figure event. “We're insured” without a number is not an answer.
6. Will I get a written scope before you start?
   What comes down, what stays, the method, and what happens to the wood and the slash. In writing, before any work. This one question prevents about 80% of tree-job disputes.
7. Who's responsible for debris, chipping and haul-away, and is it in the quote?
   The single most common surprise on a tree bill. Get it priced explicitly, not implied.
8. How will you protect the structures, fences, septic field and driveway?
   Listen for a specific method, rigging, sectional takedown, ground protection, plywood over the septic field. A shrug is a bad sign.
9. Have you notified BC Hydro if anything is within striking distance of a line?
   Nobody should be improvising around energised conductors. This is a call the contractor makes, not you.
10. Are you working under written safe work practices?
    OHS Regulation s.26.23 requires written safe work practices for falling and bucking, escape routes, control of the falling tree, handling of dangerous trees, and worker check-ins. Ask whether they have them. The answer tells you what kind of outfit you're dealing with.

Two more worth asking

• “Will you top this tree?” If the answer is yes on a healthy tree, walk away. Topping produces weak regrowth off a decaying stub. In five years you have a worse tree and a bigger bill.
• “Do I actually need this down?” A contractor who will occasionally tell you no is worth keeping. One who has never talked a customer out of a removal is selling, not assessing.

What a good answer sounds like

Specific. Fast. Slightly bored, because they've been asked before and the paperwork is already in the truck. Vagueness on any of the first five questions is the signal.