Accreditation FAQ's

Can anyone apply for TCIA Accreditation?

Any commercial tree care company in the United States and Canada can apply for accreditation, but TCIA members save money on enrollment and workshop costs. Learn more about what TCIA membership can do for you.

Where can I find the fee schedule?

The application form lists the fee schedule.

Will accreditation work for a small company too?

Yes, the program was tested with small companies.  The cost of the program is related to company size.  In fact, companies with more than one location must have each individual facility accredited and its employees trained.  This means small companies could actually have an advantage, resulting in quicker accreditation.

How can TCIA help our company complete the program?

The Accreditation program is designed to be not only a credential that sets your business apart, but also a helpful process that takes a look at your company and offers suggestions.

There is a list of TCIA-approved Accreditation Auditor/Consultants on our website. They are available for consulting to help your company implement the accreditation program. If an auditor consults with your company, they will not be able to audit it.

TCIA staff can answer your questions and will help any way we can over the phone and by email. The accreditation USB drive has resources to help you meet each item in the accreditation checklist as well.

How is the program marketed to consumers?

There are many marketing initiatives and a full marketing plan has been developed with a marketing budget line specific for TCIA Accreditation.

Upon accreditation:

• Your company will be listed on TCIA’s website as accredited
• Your company will be given permission to use the accreditation logo
• Your company will receive 15 free zip codes in our zip code search for consumers
• A press release from TCIA will be issued
• You will receive a marketing kit and CD 

The marketing kit contains sample Accreditation decals for your truck, equipment, and helmet decals (additional are available for purchase), a deluxe, customized accreditation plaque for your office, and samples of our accreditation.

The marketing CD includes additional press releases, various logo formats, web banners, sample yellow-pages ads, a white paper you can customize and send to your insurance company announcing your accreditation, a brochure for residential clients, and a brochure for commercial clients.

The company is free to print as is or to customize brochures with company names and contacts.  TCIA can create and print customized brochures for you as well. 

In addition, our website prominently features accreditation with an accredited company search feature for consumers.

We also have outreach campaigns to municipalities and communities. The Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) has included TCIA accreditation as an item in their accreditation program for municipal and community forestry programs. They ask that preference for TCIA Accredited companies when awarding bids be given and documented in a municipality’s forestry plan.

Is the Accreditation logo different from the TCIA member logo?

Yes, this is a distinct logo for consumers to identify accredited companies.

The EHAP, Aerial Rescue Training Program, and Tree Care Academy® training programs are copyrighted training programs that have registered trademarks filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Only those individuals, or companies with employees who hold valid certificates for a given program are allowed to advertise affiliation with these programs. TCIA does not provide or encourage advertising of the program logos, however displays of valid certificates and wallets cards as well as depictions of helmets decals and uniform patches in photos of individuals and employees is permitted.