Tree Felling Licences

Forestry in Ireland operates within a legal and regulatory framework. This is necessary in order to protect forests and also to ensure that forestry operations and activities are carried out in compliance with the principles of sustainable forest management.

A felling licence granted by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides authority under the Forestry Act 2014 to fell or otherwise remove a tree or trees and to thin a forest for silvicultural reasons.

Fees

The Forestry (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (SI No. 417 of 2020) introduced fees for forestry licence applications made from 07/10/2020. Fees are €20 per licence application and payment can be made by sending a valid cheque, bank draft, postal order or money order by post with your application. Do not send bank notes in the post. Such payments must be made payable to Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. An application accompanied with payment by cheque, bank draft, postal or money orders, that is found to be invalid, will not be accepted. Third party cheques, bank drafts, postal or money orders cannot be accepted.

Information

The documents below aim to provide a clear understanding of the circumstances where tree removal or felling is permitted.

Standards of Felling and Reforestation

Tree Felling and Reforestation Policy

Tree Felling Requirements

Exempted Tree Information Note

Frequently Asked Questions

Application Form

Supplementary Application Forms

Guidance Notes

Example Application Forms

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