Standards of Professional Practice

Every Certified Forester (CF®), Candidate Certified Forester (CCF®), and applicant agrees to:

  1. Follow all applicable regulations governing environmental quality and management of forest resources.
  2. Inform prospective clients or employers of the importance of conserving forest resources.
  3. Maintain environmental quality in management recommendations to prospective clients or employers.
  4. Refrain from misrepresenting or pursuing business or management practices that are detrimental to the goals of a prospective client or employer.
  5. Refrain from providing professional opinions or recommendations for areas of expertise in which the Certified Forester is not qualified and refer clients or employers to qualified professionals when such expertise is lacking.
  6. Use only truthful and clear statements in any advertising or statement of qualifications.
  7. Refrain from misrepresenting certification from SAF, or one's individual certification status, including misuse of application status, trademark, certificate, or other related credentials.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) .
  8. Meet all requirements to maintain certification.

Further, every CF and CF 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 Administrative Rules of the Certification Review Board (CRB), and that:

  • Certification may be suspended, and may be revoked pending review by the CRB, following final action resulting in revocation or suspension of a CF'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 misdemeanor that relates directly to forestry practices, is 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.

Adopted by the SAF Board of Directors in 1994. Document revised April 2003; September 2005; and March 2010 by the Certification Review Board.