A few very important words about licensing . . . . We’ve urged you, the homeowner, to ask prospective tree service providers if they are licensed and insured. If you haven’t visited our page on Workers’ Compensation insurance, we will repeat here that hands down, Workers’ Compensation is the single most important credential that any tree service company has. Be sure that whoever you hire to take care of your trees carries a current Workers’ Compensation policy. What about licensing, you ask? Well, compared to Workers’ Comp, it’s unfortunately just not that big of a deal. This is because anyone can walk into a county courthouse, plop down about 25 bucks, and walk out with an occupational license to do tree work. You don’t have to pass any testing or demonstrate any ability to get a tree service license. This is in contrast to tradespeople such as plumbers, roofers, or building contractors. Those folks have to jump through lots of hoops, including state testing and a demonstration of their ability to perform work in compliance with best practices and code requirements, to get their licenses and their titles. If that were the case with tree service licensing, the oversight would rid the industry of much of the unprofessionalism that’s out there. Since it doesn’t, just remember that Workers’ Compensation insurance is the most important thing to ask about when you’re vetting tree service providers. Any truly qualified Orlando tree service will be licensed AND will carry Workers’ Compensation.