Felling licences in Wales: when you need one from Natural Resources Wales

Published 25 October 2026

Most people who ask us about felling licences don’t need one. Trees in a garden are exempt, and so is pruning. But if you own a paddock, a field with hedgerow trees, a strip of woodland or a smallholding around Swansea, Neath Port Talbot or Llanelli, the rules are different, and felling without a licence is an offence. This guide explains when a licence is needed in Wales, how the application works and what usually comes with it. For the wider checks on garden trees (TPOs, conservation areas and nesting birds), see our guide to whether you need permission to cut down a tree in Swansea.

Who issues felling licences in Wales?

In Wales, felling licences are issued by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), not the Forestry Commission, which covers England. You’ll still see the Forestry Commission named on older pages and in some English guidance, so make sure any advice you’re reading applies to Wales. The legal basis is the Forestry Act 1967.

NRW says owners, agents, timber merchants and contractors must make sure the correct licence has been issued before any felling starts. So responsibility doesn’t sit only with the landowner. A contractor who fells without one is also at risk.

When you don’t need a licence

NRW lists these exemptions:

• Gardens, orchards, churchyards and public open spaces. Fruit trees and trees in an orchard are exempt too.
• Lopping and topping, which includes pruning, crown reduction, crown lifting and pollarding.
• Small trees, measured at 1.3 metres from the ground: 8cm diameter or less, 10cm or less when thinning, and 15cm or less when cutting coppice.
• Small volumes: less than five cubic metres in a calendar quarter. Neath Port Talbot Council adds that this applies where no more than two cubic metres is sold.
• Dangerous trees, where there is a “real and immediate danger”, not just a perceived one.
• Fully windblown trees that are entirely on the ground.
• Felling needed for planning permission, or required under an Act of Parliament (for example, a notice from a highway authority).
• Utility work near gas, electricity or water services.
• Work under a Statutory Plant Health Notice issued by NRW.

Some plants don’t count as trees at all for these rules, including gorse, rhododendron, sea buckthorn and laurels.

These exemptions only cover the felling licence. They don’t override a Tree Preservation Order or a conservation area, so a garden tree can still need the council’s consent or notice.

When you probably do need one

Outside a garden, a licence is needed to fell growing trees unless one of the exemptions applies. NRW is clear that this covers hedgerow trees and trees outside woodland, not just woods. Scattered trees in a field may not count as woodland, but felling them can still need a licence.

Situations where we’d advise checking with NRW first:

• Clearing a line of mature ash, sycamore or oak from a field boundary.
• Taking out a block of trees to open up a paddock.
• Felling a run of ash with dieback across a farm or smallholding. Diseased trees aren’t automatically exempt unless they are dangerous or covered by a plant health notice.
• Storm-damaged trees that are still standing, even at an angle. NRW says these need a licence, as does felling back to a wind-firm edge, although the dangerous-tree exemption may apply to some.

If your land is on Gower, see our guide to tree work on Gower for hedgerow and SSSI rules.

How to apply

Applications go through NRW’s online form. Before you start, NRW says you’ll need:

• Names and contact details of the landowners or leaseholders (and the agent, if someone is applying for you).
• The woodland name, nearest town or village, county and grid reference.
• Details of the felling: tree age, number of trees, estimated volume, start and finish dates, and the type of felling.
• A map of the felling and restocking areas, made in NRW’s interactive map viewer, at a scale no greater than 1:10,000, with the access point and grid references marked.
• Restocking details: the area to be replanted, the number of trees, species and the planting method.

Depending on the site, you may also need a habitats assessment form, a deep peat assessment, or advice from Cadw if there is a scheduled monument.

What happens next

NRW’s published timescales are:

• Acknowledgement within three working days.
• A site visit, if needed, within three weeks.
• Four weeks on the public register. Most applications are listed on NRW’s felling licence register, and NRW can’t issue a licence until that period has ended. Thinning-only applications and sites containing larch aren’t added to the register.
• A decision within 13 weeks.

NRW may consult the local council and other organisations. If any of the trees have a TPO, the Welsh Government’s guidance says NRW deals with the application in consultation with the council. If the council objects, the application is referred to the Welsh Ministers.

So for anything beyond a few trees, allow about three months between applying and felling.

Restocking and conditions

A felling licence normally comes with conditions, and the main one is usually restocking: replanting the felled area, or another agreed area, and looking after the new trees. That’s why the form asks for species, numbers and planting method up front. If you don’t plan to restock, NRW asks for either an Environmental Impact Assessment decision letter or evidence that you’ve discussed it with its regulatory woodland officer.

NRW’s applicant guidance also describes standard environmental conditions on every licence, with extra conditions in sensitive areas. Licence holders can ask to extend a restocking deadline.

If trees are felled without a licence

NRW can seek an unlimited fine on conviction, and selling illegally felled timber is an offence too. NRW can also serve a restocking notice requiring the land to be replanted and the trees maintained for 10 years. Appeals against NRW decisions go to the Welsh Government and must be made within three months.

Managing woodland over the long term

If you have a larger wood that needs regular thinning or felling, NRW offers a forest management plan instead of separate licences. It covers felling over a ten to twenty-year period.

How we help

Our teams work across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire, on farm and smallholding boundaries as well as gardens. When we quote for felling outside a garden, we look at whether a licence is likely to be needed and tell you before any work is booked. If one is needed, we won’t start felling until it has been issued. Pruning, crown reduction and other work that doesn’t need a licence can often go ahead in the meantime. See our tree removal and felling service, or get a free quote.