Forestry Commission
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Only someone with an interest in land, such as a freeholder, leaseholder or tenant (or any agent acting on their behalf) can apply for a felling licence.
Find out more about tree felling regulations and when to apply for a licence.
How to apply
Read the Felling Licence Online: user guides. Theres a quick guide and detailed guide to help you apply online.
Get involved: test our new licence service
Were looking for a small group of people to test our new Felling Licence Online service. You can help shape the new service by testing it and telling us what you think.
Submit your expression of interest online.
This pilot will run from January 2025 to April 2025.
Licencing periods
Licences are typically granted for:
- 5 years: a standalone licence
- 10 years: if associated with a Forestry Commission approved woodland management plan
What youll need to apply online
To apply online youll need:
- details about the land youre interested in felling trees on
- a completed agent authority form (if youre an agent applying for your client), this only needs to be done once per landowner
- map information: a land map showing trees and woodland and the areas for proposed felling (this can be reused for new licence applications)
- details of the felling work types
- details of the tree species to be felled
- your proposals for restocking where restocking is required, learn more about the definitions of felling and restocking options
Have you applied for a felling licence since January 2018?
Contact us before you apply for another licence using Felling Licence Online. We can save you time by transferring your land profile (mapping and property profile data) to your user account.
Email us at fellinglicenceonline@forestrycommission.gov.uk.
Watch the video guides
Access Felling Licence Online
Watch the Access Felling Licence Online video
Create a property profile
Watch the Create a property profile video
Add a compartment to a property profile
Watch the Add a compartment to a property profile video
Apply for a felling licence using the online service
Watch the Apply for a felling licence using the online service video
Contact us for support
If you experience problems with the system email us at fellinglicenceonline@forestrycommission.gov.uk.
The benefits of applying online
We recommend using Felling Licence Online, as you can:
- create your own property profile, you can use this and your maps when you re-apply in the future
- monitor the progress of your application
- print the approved licence whenever you need a copy
What to do if you can not apply online
You can request a paper felling licence application if:
- you can not access the internet
- you have access restrictions preventing you using the online service
Contact us by telephone or in writing:
Forestry Commission
620 Bristol Business Park
Bristol
BS16 1EJ
Telephone: 0300 067 4420
We will need your postal address to post the paper felling licence application form.
Do not apply online if you have requested a paper application form.
Post your signed and dated application form to us with:
- 2 signed and dated copies of a map showing the boundary of the tree felling proposals
- supporting checklists, such as European Protected Species, or evidence of planning and stakeholder engagement that is required as part of your application
Updates to this page
Last updated 13 November 2024 +show all updates
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Updated to reflect that the felling licence application pilot will now run from January 2025 to April 2025.
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Added a notice for a user testing callout.
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Added link to 'Definitions of felling and restocking options' page.
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Removed a note regarding the temporary downtime for maintenance work.
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Added a note about the service being offline for maintenance work between 4pm 22 March to 9am on 23 March.
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The Forestry Commission are undertaking some maintenance work within the Felling Licence Online system , we are expecting the Online system to be back up tomorrow (30 November 2022).
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Removing downtime notice.
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