This Certified Arborist cheat sheet squeezes ISA's 10-domain exam into a printable rundown of the facts that get tested most, ordered by how heavily each domain is weighted. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Pair it with the rest of your free ISA toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
Certified Arborist exam at a glance
- Certifying body: International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
- Questions: 200 multiple-choice (about 180 scored plus unscored pretest items)
- Time: 3.5 hours (210 minutes)
- Passing score: About 76% of scored questions (roughly 137 of 180; scaled)
- Delivery: Computer-based at a proctored testing center (Prometric / PSI)
- Eligibility: About 3 years of arboriculture experience (a related degree can substitute for part)
- Recertification: ISA Continuing Education Units (CEUs) every 3-year cycle
What’s on the Certified Arborist cheat sheet
- Safe Work Practices (~17%) — ANSI Z133, line-clearance rules, chain-saw PPE and kickback, drop-zone control, and staying tied in aloft — the single most-tested area.
- Pruning (~16%) — branch-collar removal cuts, reduction cuts to an adequate lateral, the 25% crown limit, and why topping and lion-tailing are unacceptable.
- Tree Biology (~12%) — phloem down, xylem up, the cambium adds a ring, CODIT compartmentalization, and why girdling kills.
- Tree Risk (~12%) — risk = likelihood of failure x likelihood of impacting a target x consequences, the three assessment levels, and TRAQ ratings.
- Identification, Selection & Installation (~20% combined) — opposite-vs-alternate leaves, 'right tree, right place,' trunk flare at grade, and a hole 2-3x as wide as the root ball.
- Diagnosis, Construction, Soil & Urban Forestry (~35% combined) — biotic vs abiotic clues, the disease triangle, protecting the critical root zone, loam and mulch rules, and canopy-cover benefits.
How to use it in your final week
- Front-load the two heaviest domains — Safe Work Practices and Pruning together make up roughly a third of the exam, so drill them until the facts are automatic.
- Chant the CODIT rule: trees wall off decay, they never 'heal' wounds — and girdling the bark severs the phloem and kills the tree.
- Lock in the pruning cuts — remove just outside the branch collar (no flush cuts, no stubs), reduce back to a lateral at least one-third the parent's diameter, and never top.
- Read the sheet the morning of the test, then take one short timed practice set so your pacing for ~200 questions in 3.5 hours stays sharp.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your Certified Arborist practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
Certified Arborist cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the Certified Arborist cheat sheet is a free PDF download with no account or sign-up required. It sits alongside Career Employer's free practice test, study guide, and flashcards for the ISA exam.
It condenses the highest-yield facts from all 10 ISA content domains — tree biology, soil, identification and selection, installation, pruning, diagnosis, construction, tree risk, safe work practices, and urban forestry — into a fast review sheet organized by exam weight.
No. The cheat sheet is a memory-jogging review layer, not a full course. Use it to lock in facts, then confirm your readiness with full-length practice tests, since the exam runs about 200 questions across broad arboriculture content.
It is built from ISA's current exam content outline and official arboriculture guidance, and we review it against those sources regularly. Always verify the current passing standard, fees, and eligibility directly with ISA before you test.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it back up for a final pass the morning of your exam.
References
- 1.International Society of Arboriculture. “ISA Certified Arborist Credential.” isa-arbor.com, 2026. ↑
- 2.International Society of Arboriculture. “Become ISA Certified — Application & Eligibility.” isa-arbor.com. ↑
- 3.International Society of Arboriculture. “Prepare for the Exam — Content Outline & Domains.” isa-arbor.com. ↑
- 4.International Society of Arboriculture. “Pruning Mature Trees.” TreesAreGood.org. ↑
- 5.USDA Forest Service. “Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees.” fs.usda.gov. ↑
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