ISA TRAQ

No. This is an independent study resource and has no affiliation with, endorsement by, or sponsorship from the International Society of Arboriculture. TRAQ and ISA are ISA's marks. Use ISA's own credential and events pages for registration, scheduling, and any official policy question.

ISA's Exam Information page states that candidates sit certification exams either as paper-based exams offered by a chapter or affiliated organization, or as computer-based exams at a Pearson VUE testing facility. TRAQ includes a field component, so the practical setting depends on the host offering. Confirm the format with whoever runs your session.

ISA's public credential pages do not publish TRAQ item counts, time limits, or a passing score, so no figures appear here. Treat any number you see on a third-party site as unverified until ISA or your course provider confirms it in writing. Plan for a written section plus field exercises.

Expect to assess trees and defend a risk rating: identifying defects and targets, estimating likelihood of failure and likelihood of impact, rating consequences, and assigning an overall risk category. You should also be able to write findings and recommendations clearly enough for a client or manager to act on them.

The common failure modes are procedural, not botanical. Candidates skip the target assessment, confuse likelihood of failure with likelihood of impact, use inconsistent matrices, or write vague recommendations such as "monitor" with no interval. Practicing full assessments end to end, with the manual's forms, closes most of that gap.

Start with the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Manual and the current field forms, since the rating language and decision flow come from there. Then move to tree biology, defect recognition, and decay indicators, and finish with report writing and verbal justification. Practice on trees you can revisit so you can compare your ratings over time.

ISA's public credential pages do not state a TRAQ retake policy, so this page does not invent one. Ask your course provider or ISA directly about retake eligibility, waiting periods, and any fee before you sit the assessment, and get the answer in writing so you can plan.

The source material does not state a TRAQ validity period or renewal requirement, so no number is given here. ISA does maintain a Continuing Education section describing CEUs earned through continuing education and training, and credential renewal generally runs through that system. Verify your specific renewal cycle with ISA.

ISA's events calendar lists a session titled "TRAQ 3.0" on 11–13 November 2026 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The source does not state that this label reflects any change to exam format, content weighting, or scoring. Treat 3.0 as a course offering name until ISA publishes otherwise.

ISA's events calendar lists scheduled offerings, including the November 2026 TRAQ 3.0 session at Oakland Community College. Chapters and affiliated organizations also host sessions and administer paper-based exams. Check ISA's events page and your local chapter, and register early because field seats are limited.