The UK Forestry Standard
The UKFS defines the government requirements for forestry in the UK. It provides a basis for regulation and monitoring, including national and international reporting.
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The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) is the technical standard for sustainable forest management across the UK, and applies to all woodland, regardless of who owns or manages it.
The 5th edition applies from 1 October 2024 for all woodland creation and management activity in England. This followed a 12-month transition period to allow relevant guidance to be updated and draft woodland plans to be finalised.
Updated good forestry practice requirements will be applied to existing woodland plan approvals at the time of their next renewal.
The UKFS 5th edition was published on 3 October 2023 following the completion of an extensive review process. Read further information on the review process, including consultation responses at Scottish Forestry UK Forestry Standard.
Background and purpose of the UKFS
The UKFS is based on sustainable forest management criteria agreed internationally and implemented in a way that is appropriate to the UK. It also reflects biodiversity and climate change related commitments. It is aimed at professional foresters, such as forest owners, managers and practitioners, regulators and advisers. It will also be of interest to other land managers and stakeholders.
Internationally agreed criteria on sustainable forest management stems from the 1992 ‘Rio Earth Summit’ and the resulting UN Statement of Forest Principles. This has now evolved into the globally agreed Global Forest Goals and Targets 2030, agreed by the UN Forum on Forests.
The UK, through Forest Europe, (previously known as the ‘Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe’), recently signed ministerial declarations reaffirming our commitment to sustainable forest management and protection. These provide a framework and policy tools (through operational level guidelines, criteria and indicators) for countries to implement, leaving room for national adaptation. In the UK, the UKFS carries out the framework and guidelines.
The UKFS covers important elements of sustainable forest management, including:
- biodiversity
- climate change
- historic environment
- landscape
- people
- soil
- water
Supporting guidance from Forest Research
Read Forest Research’s technical and practice guides and notes in UKFS tools and resources.
Implementing the UKFS
The main bodies responsible for regulating, monitoring and implementing the UKFS are:
- Forestry Commission (England)
- Scottish Forestry
- Natural Resources Wales
- Northern Ireland Forest Service
These bodies assess forestry proposals against the UKFS before giving approval and carry out checks to ensure woodland owners and managers comply with forestry regulations. Arrangements for implementing and monitoring the standard will vary between the 4 countries.
UKFS 4th edition
Read the previous UK Forestry Standard (4th edition) at The National Archives.
Updates to this page
Published 21 December 2017Last updated 6 March 2025 + show all updates
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The section 'Purpose of UKFS' has had content added to provide context for the UK's international commitments. This includes links to the UN Forum on Forests, Forest Europe and Forest Research's UKFS tools page. A new section has been added 'Background to the UKFS.
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Added a note to emphasise that approvals received before 1 October 2024 will be assessed using the 4th edition.
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The 4th edition has been removed and a link to this added to The National Archives website.
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Addition of the UK Forestry Standard 5th edition.
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Additional information on the review process for the current UKFS.
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First published.