Standards of Professional Practice

Standards of Professional Practice

Every certified professional or applicant for the Certified Forester (CF®) or Candidate Certified Forester (CCF®) or the Certified Urban and Community Forester (CUCF™) or the Candidate Certified Urban and Community Forester (CCUCF™) credential agrees to: 

1. Follow all applicable regulations governing environmental quality and management of forest resources;

2. Follow all applicable state and local legislation regarding registration and licensing requirements;

3. Inform prospective clients or employers of the importance of conserving forest resources;

4. Maintain environmental quality in management recommendations to prospective clients or employers; 

5. Refrain from misrepresenting or pursuing business or management practices that are detrimental to the goals of prospective clients or employers;

6. Refrain from providing professional opinions or recommendations for areas of expertise in which the individual is not qualified and agrees to refer clients or employers to qualified professionals when such expertise is lacking;

7. Use only truthful and clear statements in any advertising or statement of qualifications;

8. Refrain from misrepresenting certification, or one’s individual certification status, including the misuse of application status, trademark, certificate, or other related credentials;

9. Refrain from any misrepresentation on an application; willful submission of incorrect information in recertification; or failure to include relevant information in any communication to the Certification Review Board (CRB); and to

10. Meet all requirements to maintain certification.

Further, every applicant agrees that violation of the standards listed above may be a basis for adverse action, including denial or revocation of certification or recertification in accordance with the Administrative Rules of the Certification Review Board, and that: 

●  Certification may be suspended, and may be revoked pending review by the CRB, following final action resulting in revocation or suspension of an individual’s state forestry registration or licensing credential, or related professional credential or professional membership;

●  A conviction of, plea of guilty to, or plea of nolo contendere to a felony related to forestry practices or to public health or welfare or a misdemeanor that relates directly to forestry practices may be grounds for denial, revocation, or suspension of certification; and that 

●  The individual shall report any revocation, suspension, conviction, or plea as described above to SAF within thirty (30) days of the final action. An individual convicted of such a felony or misdemeanor may be ineligible to apply for certification or recertification for a period of three (3) years from the exhaustion of appeals, probation, parole, or final release from confinement (if any), whichever is later.

The Council of the Society of American Foresters adopted the Standards of Professional Practice in 1994. Modified by the Certification Review Board in April 2003, September 2005, March 2010, and November 2023.