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Arborist report template, section by section.
A plan reviewer, an insurer, or a homeowner reads an arborist report looking for the same twelve things in the same order: who asked, who assessed, which tree, what was seen, what it means, what to do, and what could not be checked. This template is those twelve sections with a line on what goes in each, a printable version, and the same structure the PHC Rx report generates from a diagnosis or a risk assessment.
Download the blank version, or skip the paper and fill it in the app.
Field by field
What goes in each box, and why
1. Assignment
Client, property address, site visit date, report date, reference number, the scope the client asked for, and the assessment level (Level 1, 2, 3, diagnosis only, condition or inventory).
Scope is the sentence that keeps a report from being used for something it was not. "Assess the pin oak over the driveway" is not "assess every tree on the lot."
2. Assessor and credentials
Name, company, arborist certification number, risk assessment credential, pesticide license number and category, state, tools used.
A plan reviewer looks for the certification number before reading the finding. A treatment recommendation with no pesticide license on the report is a question mark.
3. Tree identification
One row per tree: species common and botanical, DBH, height, crown spread, location or GPS, photo numbers.
The tree has to be findable by someone who was not there. Tree tags, GPS, or a sketch; species by botanical name so "maple" does not become an argument.
4. Site and history
Soil, drainage, grade changes, construction, irrigation, prior treatments and dates, prior failures.
A root cut three years ago explains the dieback today. History is where the cause usually is.
5. Observations
Symptoms (what the tree shows) and signs (what the cause left behind), separately. Vigor and foliage condition. Root collar, trunk, crown.
Keeping symptoms and signs apart is what makes the diagnosis defensible. "Thinning crown" is a symptom of a dozen things; "D-shaped exit holes" is a sign of one family of borers.
6. Findings
The primary diagnosis or condition and a confidence level. Secondary issues. Risk rating, work priority, residual risk, and inspection interval if a risk assessment was done. How the finding was reached and what was ruled out.
The confidence line is the one most reports leave out and the one that makes a report honest. Below about 70 percent, say so and say what would raise it: a lab sample, a resistance drill, a second visit in leaf.
7. Recommendations
Numbered actions: treat, prune, cable, remove, monitor, refer. Timing window, priority, estimated cost.
The client acts on this section. Numbered and priced, it becomes a quote; unnumbered prose becomes a phone call.
8. Treatment products
Product and manufacturer, EPA registration number, active ingredient, rate or dose per tree, method, label window, REI.
Rates from the label table by DBH band, not from memory. This section is what a state inspector reads if there is a complaint, and what the crew reads on the day.
9. Prognosis and follow-up
What to expect over the next one to five years with and without the recommendations. Re-inspection date. Who to call if the condition changes.
Prognosis is the conversation about a bacterial leaf scorch oak or a Diplodia pine in writing, so the client remembers what was said in the driveway.
10. Limitations and disclaimer
What was not done: ground level only, no root excavation, no aerial inspection, foliage absent, access restricted, weather. A statement that trees are living organisms and conditions change.
The limitations list is the report's protection. A reviewer reads it as professionalism, not evasion.
11. Photos and attachments
Photo list with number, subject, and direction. Lab results, maps, prior reports.
A photo numbered and referenced in section 5 is evidence. A folder of photos is not.
12. Signature
Assessor signature, credential number, date.
The point at which it becomes a document.
How to complete it
Step by step
1
Fill sections 1 to 4 before the visit
Assignment, credentials, the tree list from the client, and whatever history they can give you on the phone. Ten minutes at the desk, and the visit starts with the tree instead of the paperwork.
2
Observations in the field, symptoms and signs apart
Section 5 gets filled on site. Photograph each observation and write the photo number next to it. In the app, the five-step diagnosis is this section with the weighting done.
3
Findings with a confidence
Section 6 is written at the truck or the desk. The diagnosis, how sure you are, what you ruled out, and what would change it. If a sample went to a lab, the report is preliminary until it comes back.
4
Recommendations as numbered lines with prices
Section 7 and 8 together are the prescription. Product, rate, method, window, price. In PHC Rx the prescription is generated from the diagnosis and the client approves it from a link.
5
Prognosis, limitations, photos, signature
Sections 9 through 12. The limitations list is not optional. Sign it, date it, and send it as a link, not an attachment, so it can be updated when the lab result comes back.
About the download
The template is two pages: assignment, credentials, tree identification, site, and observations on page one; findings, recommendations, products, prognosis, limitations, photos, and signature on page two. It is a PHC Rx layout built to match the diagnosis and risk reports the app generates, so a report written on the template and a report generated from the app read the same way to a reviewer. The tree inspection report template covers the multi-tree condition survey; this one is a single-tree or single-finding report.
The report the app writes for you
The PHC Rx report is built from the five-step diagnosis or the nine-step risk assessment. Tree identification, observations, findings with a confidence, products with rates from the label, and the assessor's credentials come from the record; branding comes from settings. It goes to the client as a link with a default message you wrote once, and they accept or decline from the report page. The template here is for the reports that still need to be paper, and for seeing what the app is going to produce.
FAQ
Questions arborists ask
What should an arborist report include?
Assignment and scope, assessor credentials, tree identification, site history, observations split into symptoms and signs, findings with a confidence level, numbered recommendations with timing and cost, treatment products with rates and EPA numbers, prognosis and follow-up, limitations, photos, and a signature. The template has one section for each.
Is this a certified arborist report?
It is the structure a certified arborist report uses. The certification is the assessor's, and it goes in section 2. Many municipalities require a certified arborist's report for tree removal permits and construction near protected trees; check the local ordinance for any required wording.
How long should an arborist report be?
Two to four pages for a single tree with photos. A report that runs longer is usually padding the observations; a report that runs shorter is usually missing the limitations or the prognosis.
Can I use this for a tree removal permit?
Usually, with the municipality's required statements added. Most permit reviewers want the tree identification, the finding with its evidence, the recommendation, and the credential number, which are sections 3, 5, 6, 7, and 2. Check whether the city requires its own form.
What is the difference between this and the risk assessment form?
The risk assessment form is the field record of a Level 2 assessment. The report is what the client and the reviewer read: it summarizes the form, adds the recommendations and prognosis, and carries the credentials. In the app, the form generates the report.
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