Published June 10, 2026 · Last updated June 10, 2026

Certificate of Insurance for a Tree Service: What HOAs, Cities, and GCs Actually Require

What do HOAs, cities, and general contractors actually require before a tree service can start work? Almost always the same stack: a certificate of insurance showing general liability (commonly $1 million per occurrence), workers’ comp with employer’s liability, often commercial auto - plus the parts that are not really about the certificate at all: additional insured status, primary and noncontributory wording, and a waiver of subrogation. The certificate is the easy part. The endorsements behind it are what gets checked, and what holds up your start date when they are missing.

What is an ACORD 25 certificate of insurance?

The ACORD 25 is the standard certificate of liability insurance form in the US - one page, listing a contractor’s insurers, policy numbers, effective dates, and limits, with a certificate holder named at the bottom. The broker issues it; a tree service almost never fills one out itself. The part most certificate holders skip is the form’s own disclaimer. The ACORD 25 states on its face, “THIS CERTIFICATE IS ISSUED AS A MATTER OF INFORMATION ONLY AND CONFERS NO RIGHTS UPON THE CERTIFICATE HOLDER.” It goes on to say the certificate “does not affirmatively or negatively amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies.”

In plain terms: the certificate is a snapshot, not a contract. It proves policies existed on the day it was issued. It does not give the holder any claim on those policies. If you remember one thing from this article, make it that sentence, because the entire COI negotiation between a tree contractor and an HOA or city is really about the gap between what the certificate says and what the policies actually do.

Certificate holder vs additional insured: which one has rights?

Being listed as the certificate holder means you receive the certificate. That is all. Information only, no rights - the form says so.

Being an additional insured means the policy itself has been extended to cover you, by endorsement, for liability arising out of the named insured’s work. An HOA named as additional insured on a tree company’s GL policy can tender a claim to that policy if a felled limb crushes a carport.

The ACORD 25 addresses this directly: if the certificate holder is an additional insured, “the policy(ies) must have ADDITIONAL INSURED provisions or be endorsed.” A statement typed on the certificate does not confer rights in lieu of the endorsement. So when a property manager’s template says “name us as additional insured,” typing those words into the description box of the certificate accomplishes nothing. The endorsement has to exist on the policy. Sophisticated certificate reviewers - and cities often have them - will ask for a copy of the endorsement itself, not just the certificate.

For tree contractors on commercial work, two ISO endorsements come up constantly, per IRMI (the insurance research publisher) and government contract guides like Sonoma County’s additional insured reference:

• CG 20 10 - additional insured for liability arising out of your ongoing operations. Since ISO’s 1993 revision, it excludes completed operations.
• CG 20 37 - additional insured for the products-completed operations hazard. Routinely paired with CG 20 10 in construction contracts.

Why both matter for tree work specifically: trees fail late. A pruning job that weakens a leader can produce a claim months after your crew left. That is completed operations territory - CG 20 37, not CG 20 10. A GC or city that knows what it is doing asks for both; a tree contractor whose policy only supports ongoing-operations AI status will fail that review. Worth knowing too, per IRMI: the 2013 ISO editions limit additional insured coverage to what the written contract requires and to the extent permitted by law.

Endorsements come in two flavors - scheduled (the entity is named) and blanket (status applies automatically wherever a written contract requires it). Blanket endorsements are what let a broker turn certificates around quickly instead of going back to the carrier for every new HOA. If your policy lacks them, every cert request becomes a mid-term endorsement request.

What do “primary and noncontributory” and a waiver of subrogation mean?

Primary and noncontributory. Standard language in city and GC insurance requirements. It means your policy pays first, without seeking contribution from the certificate holder’s own insurance. Without it, your carrier could argue the city’s program should chip in - which is precisely what the city’s risk manager is paid to prevent. This lives in policy wording or an endorsement, not on the certificate.

Waiver of subrogation. After a workers’ comp claim, your comp carrier normally has the right to recover from a third party who contributed to the injury - including, potentially, the property owner or GC you were working for. A waiver of subrogation gives up that right as to the named entity. In California workers’ comp, the endorsement is WC 04 03 06, “Waiver of Our Right to Recover from Others,” available scheduled or blanket, per State Fund. Carriers typically charge for it; the amount varies by carrier, so be skeptical of anyone quoting you a standard fee.

What insurance do HOAs, cities, and GCs require from a tree service?

There is no statute setting COI limits for private tree work - these are contract terms. (California does not generally require tree contractors to carry general liability insurance by law; the exception is LLC licensees, which must carry at least $1 million in liability coverage under B&P §7071.19.) But the pattern is consistent enough to describe: general liability (commonly $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate), workers’ comp with employer’s liability, often commercial auto, plus additional insured, primary and noncontributory, and waiver-of-subrogation endorsements, with demands stepping up from homeowner jobs to city permits to municipal contracts and GC subcontracts. A few California cities publish their requirements, which makes them useful anchors.

The CSLB baseline. Before any HOA asks for anything, California tree contractors already live in certificate-land. Per CSLB’s workers’ compensation requirements, every active tree service contractor (C-61/D-49, now C-49) must carry workers’ comp even with no employees, and the certificate on file must list CSLB as the certificate holder, with the business name, license number, policy number, dates, and an authorized signature. A lapse triggers automatic license suspension, per CSLB. Notably, CSLB lists “not listing CSLB as certificate holder” among the most common filing mistakes. The baseline cert gets botched routinely. Full detail in our guide to workers’ comp with no employees.

Homeowners and HOAs. Typically a COI showing GL and workers’ comp; $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate GL is the commonly requested benchmark. HOAs and property managers increasingly add additional insured status and primary/noncontributory wording, borrowing language from commercial templates.

Cities - permit level. Two real examples, both from the cities’ own published requirements. The City of Sunnyvale requires, for a street tree work permit: proof of workers’ compensation insurance, property damage insurance, and liability insurance “in the amount of at least $1 million,” plus an ISA Certified Arborist credential, a Sunnyvale business license, and a D-49 or C-27 contractor license, per the City of Sunnyvale’s street tree work permit page. The City of San Marino requires parkway tree pruning to be performed by a state-licensed tree contractor (C-61/D-49) with documented workers’ comp and liability coverage “naming the City of San Marino as an additional insured,” per the City of San Marino’s permit FAQ - additional insured status demanded for a routine pruning permit, not a multi-year contract.

Cities - contract level, and GCs. Municipal maintenance contracts and general contractors typically step up from there: higher GL limits, commercial auto, employer’s liability, AI endorsements on both ongoing and completed operations, primary/noncontributory, waiver of subrogation, and notice-of-cancellation provisions. Treat every number here as “commonly requested” rather than universal - the contract in front of you governs, and limits vary by city and by job.

If a contract demands limits above what you carry, that is a conversation with your broker before you sign, not after. Umbrella and excess options exist; our general liability page covers how the layers fit.

How does a sloppy COI delay a tree job?

A certificate of insurance problem rarely kills a tree job. It stalls it, which on a tight calendar is nearly as bad. The recurring failures, from a broker who issues these weekly:

1. “Additional insured” typed in the description box, no endorsement behind it. Rejected by any reviewer who reads the ACORD disclaimer. The fix requires the carrier to issue an endorsement - days, not minutes, if the policy has no blanket AI wording.
2. Ongoing operations only. The GC’s checklist says CG 20 10 and CG 20 37; the policy supports only the first. Back to the carrier.
3. Wrong or misspelled entity name. Cities and HOAs want the exact legal entity. “Sunnyvale” is not “City of Sunnyvale.” Reissue.
4. Expired or about-to-expire policy dates. A cert showing a policy that lapses mid-project triggers a renewal-evidence request before mobilization.
5. No waiver of subrogation on the comp policy. Mid-term endorsement, possible carrier charge, more waiting.
6. Class code and operations mismatch. Less common, more serious: a certificate describing landscape operations submitted for a removal job invites questions about whether the policy actually rates the work being done. Classification is its own minefield - see our breakdown of class code 0106 vs 0042.

The pattern across all six: the certificate is fast to fix only when the policy already contains what the certificate needs to show. A policy built for tree work - blanket AI for ongoing and completed operations, blanket waiver, primary/noncontributory wording - turns COI requests into a same-day email. A policy bought on price alone turns each request into a mid-term negotiation with the carrier while your crew waits. That, in my view, is the real argument for placing coverage with someone who works tree care accounts all day: not a better certificate, a better-built policy underneath it. It is also the kind of thing we check in a renewal review.

One more tier worth flagging: utility line-clearance work is its own category. ANSI Z133, the arboricultural safety standard, distinguishes qualified line-clearance arborists working for utilities from arborists who merely work near electrical hazards, and utility vegetation management programs impose their own contractor standards on top. If you are bidding utility work, expect requirements beyond anything an HOA will ever send you - and get the specific program’s requirements in writing, because they are not standardized.

What should a tree contractor do about COI requirements?

Three practical moves.

First, get the endorsements onto the policy at placement, not per-request. Blanket additional insured (ongoing and completed ops), blanket waiver of subrogation, primary and noncontributory. Ask your broker which of these your current policy actually has. If they cannot answer from memory, that tells you something.

Second, keep a requirements file. Every city permit and GC subcontract you work under, save the insurance exhibit. Patterns emerge fast, and your broker can build the policy around the strictest recurring demand instead of reacting to each one. The full regulatory backdrop - what California actually mandates versus what contracts demand - is in our pillar guide to California tree service insurance requirements.

Third, never let a requester accept a typed description-box promise in place of an endorsement, even if they would. It papers over a gap that surfaces exactly when a claim does.

If certificates are currently the thing standing between your crew and a start date, get in touch. Issuing correct COIs fast is a solved problem when the policy underneath is built right.

FAQ

What is the difference between a certificate holder and an additional insured?

A certificate holder just receives the certificate - the ACORD 25 states it “confers no rights upon the certificate holder.” An additional insured is actually covered under the policy, by endorsement, for liability arising from the named insured’s work. Only the endorsement grants rights; words typed on the certificate do not.

What insurance does an HOA typically require from a tree service?

Commonly: general liability at $1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate, workers’ compensation, and often commercial auto, shown on an ACORD 25 - plus additional insured status and sometimes a waiver of subrogation. These are contract demands, not legal requirements, so read the HOA’s specific vendor requirements; they vary.

What does “primary and noncontributory” mean on a COI request?

It means your policy responds first to a covered claim and will not seek contribution from the certificate holder’s own insurance. Cities and GCs require it so their insurance programs sit untouched behind yours. The wording must exist in your policy or by endorsement - the certificate only reports it.

What is a waiver of subrogation on a workers’ comp policy?

Normally your comp carrier can recover claim payments from third parties who contributed to an employee’s injury - including the property owner or GC. The waiver endorsement (WC 04 03 06 in California, per State Fund) gives up that recovery right as to the named entity. It comes scheduled or blanket, and carriers typically charge for it.

What COI do I need before pulling a city tree permit in California?

It depends on the city - and they publish real requirements. Sunnyvale requires proof of workers’ comp, property damage, and liability insurance of at least $1 million for a street tree work permit, per the City of Sunnyvale. San Marino requires a licensed tree contractor with workers’ comp and liability coverage naming the city as additional insured, per the City of San Marino. Pull the city’s current requirements before bidding.

Why do GCs ask for both CG 20 10 and CG 20 37?

CG 20 10 covers the additional insured for your ongoing operations only; since ISO’s 1993 revision it excludes completed operations, per IRMI. CG 20 37 adds the products-completed operations hazard. Tree work can produce claims after the job ends - a pruned tree failing later - so contracts pair the two endorsements to cover both windows.

Related: California insurance requirements · Class code 0106 vs 0042 · General liability