How Much to Charge for a Tree Surgery Job in 2026
"Take that tree down" sounds like one job over the phone and can turn out to be almost anything on site — a twenty-minute deadwood removal, a full day rigged dismantle over a conservatory roof, or a job you legally can't start until the council says so. Most tree surgeons underquote because they price by gut feel from a driveway glance, and most lose work to an unlicensed competitor without ever mentioning the two things that actually separate a professional operator from someone with a chainsaw and a ladder: whether they checked if the tree is protected before touching it, and whether whoever's up it is actually certified to be there.
This guide covers what a proper tree surgery quote needs to include, how UK tree surgeons price the work by job type in 2026, the Tree Preservation Order and chainsaw certification rules that catch out unlicensed operators, and a worked example.
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What a tree surgery quote needs to include
"Tree work, £400" tells the customer almost nothing and leaves you exposed the moment the job turns out bigger, more restricted, or more dangerous than it looked from the pavement. Cover these ten things and there's nothing left to guess at:
- 1Business details and confirmation you carry public liability insurance — tree work is one of the few domestic jobs genuinely capable of writing off a conservatory or a car if it goes wrong.
- 2Customer name and site address, with access noted — overhead cables, a narrow side return, a shared boundary, or a tree overhanging a neighbour's garden.
- 3The tree named by species and location — "the large sycamore by the back fence", not just "the big tree" — so there's no ambiguity for you, the customer, or the council if consent is needed.
- 4The work specified precisely: fell, crown reduce (with a percentage), crown lift, crown thin, pollard, or deadwood removal — not just "tidy it up".
- 5Whether the tree has a Tree Preservation Order or sits in a conservation area, and who's responsible for checking and, if needed, applying for consent.
- 6Stump treatment as its own line — ground out, left as-is, or treated — since it's very often skipped and then argued about afterwards.
- 7Waste and timber disposal — chipped and removed, left as logs for the customer, or an agreed split.
- 8Access equipment needed — climbing kit, rigging, or a MEWP (cherry picker) hire — since this changes both the time on site and the price significantly.
- 9Estimated time on site, and any parking suspension or access permit needed for larger equipment.
- 10Payment terms and how to accept — a deposit is reasonable for a job requiring MEWP hire booked in advance.
Two things decide the price — and the risk — more than anything else
Every other trade in this series has a rule about what you're allowed to do to someone's property. Tree work has two, stacked on top of each other: whether the tree itself is legally yours to cut, and whether the person cutting it is legally allowed to.
Price by job type, height and access — not a flat "per tree" rate
As a working guide for 2026: day rates run £240–£400, or £30–£50 an hour for shorter jobs. Full removal is priced mainly by height — £240–£340 up to 25ft, £410–£590 up to 30ft, £670–£960 up to 40ft, £1,190–£1,720 up to 50ft, and £1,700–£2,450 for anything over 60ft. Pruning and crown work (reduction, lifting, thinning) is priced by scale rather than height alone: £250–£360 small, £420–£600 medium, £750–£1,080 large. Stump grinding runs £160–£220 for a small stump under 6 inches across, £290–£420 medium, £500–£710 large. A standalone survey or consultation is typically £300–£420. Access is the multiplier most quotes underweight — overhead cables, a tree leaning over a conservatory or a neighbour's shed, or a side return too narrow for a chipper, can push any of these figures up considerably, and it's worth walking the site rather than quoting from a phone description alone.
The check that comes before the chainsaw: is this tree actually yours to cut?
Most garden trees aren't protected and can be pruned or felled freely. But a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) — checkable on your local planning authority's public register — means written consent is needed for anything beyond removing dead branches or genuine emergency work on a dangerous tree, which still has to be reported to the council afterwards. Cutting down, topping, lopping or wilfully damaging a TPO tree without consent is an either-way offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the fine is unlimited — courts must specifically weigh any financial benefit gained, which is how one case, R v Chamdal, ended in a £200,000 fine for felling 132 protected trees. Breaching the conditions of a consent you did have is a lesser offence, capped at £2,500. Even an unprotected tree isn't automatically clear if it's in a conservation area — a "section 211 notice" giving the council six weeks' warning is required before work starts, so they can place a TPO on it if they think it warrants one. None of this needs to alarm a customer on the quote. It's a reason to put one honest line on it: TPO and conservation area status checked, consent obtained where needed. Most competitors won't have thought to say it, which makes it free differentiation.
Who's actually allowed up the tree
Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), anyone using a chainsaw at work must have received adequate training and be able to demonstrate competence — it's a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have. NPTC/City & Guilds units CS30 and CS31 cover ground-based maintenance, cross-cutting and felling small trees; CS38 and CS39 cover aerial work from a rope and harness, a separate and more advanced ticket needed before anyone climbs. Membership of the Arboricultural Association's ARB Approved contractor scheme goes further still, since it's independently audited rather than self-certified, and it's worth naming on a quote as a genuine trust signal. Public liability insurance isn't a separate legal requirement, but professional tree surgeons typically carry £5m–£10m of cover, given how much damage a single falling limb can do to a house, a car, or a passer-by — stating your cover level on the quote costs a line and reassures a customer who has no other way to judge it.
A worked example
A mixed job with one TPO tree and one unprotected tree in the same garden, priced and itemised the way described above:
| Item | Detail | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Crown reduction — TPO horse chestnut (25%) | Rigged and lowered; consent confirmed in writing before works started | £850 |
| TPO consent application & council liaison | Handled on the customer's behalf ahead of the works | £150 |
| Fell & section — leylandii (35ft, not protected) | Dismantled in sections; no TPO or conservation area restriction | £720 |
| Stump grinding — medium | Removed leylandii, ground to 300mm below grade | £340 |
| Chip & remove all arisings | Chipped on site and taken away same day | £140 |
| Total | £2,200 | |
TPO consent confirmed in writing before any work started on the horse chestnut. NPTC CS38/CS39-qualified climber for the aerial crown reduction, CS30/CS31 for the ground-based felling and cross-cutting. £10m public liability cover held. Approx. 1.5 days on site with a 3-person crew, weather permitting. 25% deposit to secure the booking date, balance on completion. To accept, tap Accept on the quote.
Five details that get tree surgery quotes accepted faster
- State the TPO / conservation area check on the quote, even when the answer is "not protected". It shows the customer — and, if it ever comes up, the council — that you checked before you cut, not after. It's the single biggest differentiator from an unlicensed operator with a chainsaw and a van.
- Name the certification doing the actual climbing. A line like "NPTC CS38/CS39-qualified climber" costs nothing to add and reassures a customer who has no real way of judging competence themselves beyond trusting your word.
- Price stump grinding and waste disposal as their own lines. Both get argued about once the tree's already down if they were never priced separately. Do it upfront and there's nothing left to negotiate on the driveway.
- Photograph the tree and mark up the proposed work before you start. Especially for crown reduction and pruning, where "better" is subjective. A marked-up photo on the quote shows exactly what the customer is agreeing to, and protects you if a neighbour later asks why a boundary tree looks different.
- Quote access equipment honestly rather than absorbing it. A MEWP hire for a tree over a conservatory roof is a real, sometimes four-figure cost. Fold it in silently and you've either underquoted the job or quietly priced yourself out of ever using one again.
The fastest way to do all of this
Tree surgery is genuinely difficult to price from a phone call — "the big tree at the back" could be a twenty-minute deadwood removal or a two-day rigged dismantle needing a MEWP — and the two checks that actually protect you, whether it's protected and whether whoever's climbing is qualified, rarely make it onto a scrawled invoice pad.
This is what QuoteRocket is for. Describe the job in plain English — "TPO horse chestnut, 25% crown reduction, rigged lower, plus felling and stump grinding a non-protected leylandii" — and it turns that into a branded, itemised PDF quote in under a minute, with your TPO check, certifications and access equipment listed every time. Your customer accepts it with one tap on their phone, and an accepted quote becomes an invoice in one click, so a job that took two days up a tree doesn't also take a week to get paid for.
Whichever way you produce the quote, the principles hold: name the work precisely, check and state the tree's protected status before you touch it, name who's actually qualified to climb, and price access equipment and stump grinding as their own lines.
Skip the guesswork — build an itemised tree surgery quote in 60 seconds with QuoteRocket.
TPO checks, certifications and access equipment priced consistently, every time. Free trial, no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does tree surgery cost in the UK in 2026?
It depends heavily on what you're actually doing to the tree, not just its size. As a working guide for 2026: day rates run £240–£400, or £30–£50 an hour for shorter jobs. Full tree removal is usually priced by height — around £240–£340 for a tree up to 25ft, £410–£590 up to 30ft, £670–£960 up to 40ft, £1,190–£1,720 up to 50ft, and £1,700–£2,450 for anything over 60ft. Pruning and crown work is priced by scale rather than height alone: £250–£360 for a small tree, £420–£600 medium, £750–£1,080 large. Stump grinding runs £160–£220 for a small stump under 6 inches across, £290–£420 medium, £500–£710 large. A standalone arborist survey or consultation is typically £300–£420. Access — overhead cables, a tight side return, a tree overhanging a neighbour's roof or a shed — pushes all of these up, sometimes considerably.
Do I need permission to cut down a tree in my garden?
Sometimes, and it's the tree surgeon's job to check before touching anything, not to find out afterwards. Most garden trees aren't protected and can be pruned or felled freely. But if the tree has a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) — check your local planning authority's public TPO register — you need written consent for anything beyond removing dead branches or genuine emergency work on a dangerous tree, which still has to be reported to the council afterwards. Cutting down, topping, lopping or wilfully damaging a TPO tree without consent is an either-way offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and the fine is unlimited — courts are specifically required to factor in any financial benefit gained from the work, which is how one case, R v Chamdal, ended in a £200,000 fine for felling 132 protected trees. Breaching the conditions of a consent you did have is a lesser offence capped at £2,500. Even an unprotected tree isn't automatically clear if it's in a conservation area — you must give the council six weeks' notice, a 'section 211 notice', before doing any work, so they have the chance to place a TPO on it if they think it's worth protecting.
Do tree surgeons need a specific qualification to use a chainsaw?
Yes, and it's a legal requirement, not just good practice. Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), anyone using a chainsaw at work must have received adequate training and be able to demonstrate competence. In practice that means NPTC/City & Guilds units: CS30 and CS31 cover ground-based maintenance, cross-cutting and felling small trees, while CS38 and CS39 cover aerial work from a rope and harness — a separate, more advanced ticket needed before anyone climbs. Membership of the Arboricultural Association's ARB Approved contractor scheme goes a step further, since it's independently audited rather than self-certified, and is worth naming on a quote — most customers won't know to ask for it, but it's a genuine trust signal against an unlicensed operator competing on price alone. Public liability insurance isn't a separate legal requirement, but professional tree surgeons typically carry £5m–£10m of cover, given how much damage a single falling limb can do to a house, a car or a passer-by.