Selling Firewood and Logs from Tree Work (UK): Moisture, Volume and the Rules

How Do You Sell Firewood Legally in the UK?

In England, you can only sell or supply wood fuel for burning at home in amounts under 2 cubic metres if it's certified Ready to Burn, which confirms a moisture content of 20% or less. For 2 cubic metres or more, no certificate is needed, but you must give the buyer the government's notice on drying, storing and checking the wood (GOV.UK). Wherever you sell, buyers want two things in the advert: how dry the wood is, as a moisture reading taken on a split face, and how much there is, in cubic metres, loose or stacked.

Key facts (checked 11 October 2026):

• Under 2 m³ (England): Ready to Burn certification, for retail bags and for loose bulk deliveries under 2 m³ (GOV.UK).
• 2 m³ or more (England): no certificate, but give the buyer the government's customer notice. This applies to small-scale producers too.
• Smoke control areas (England): tell buyers they can only burn the wood in an exempt (approved) appliance in a smoke control area. Don't deliver it to a home in a smoke control area unless you've good reason to think it has one: selling for delivery there is an offence (GOV.UK; Clean Air Act 1993 s.19B).
• Fines: the council enforces the rules and can issue a £300 fixed penalty; the courts can fine more (GOV.UK).

Say How Dry It Is

"Seasoned" means different things to different sellers, so give a number. Use a moisture meter on a freshly split face, not the outside of the log, and give your reading. 20% or less is ready to burn.

Describe it plainly:

• Kiln-dried: dried in a kiln;
• Seasoned (air-dried): dried in the open or under cover;
• Needs drying: not ready to burn yet, sold for the buyer to dry. In England, only in loads of 2 m³ or more, with the government's notice (below).

Say How Much There Is

A "load" varies, so give the volume in cubic metres (m³) and say whether it's loose (thrown in) or stacked. A cubic metre of stacked logs holds more wood than a cubic metre thrown in loose.

Bags vary too: a bag 80cm on each side holds about half a cubic metre (0.8 × 0.8 × 0.8 = 0.51 m³), not a full one. Either way it's well under 2 m³, so in England, logs sold in it to burn at home must be Ready to Burn certified.

Ready to Burn (England)

To sell or supply wood fuel in amounts under 2 m³, you need it certified Ready to Burn. To get certified, you apply to the scheme with a fuel sample and evidence of how you control moisture, and pay application, registration and testing fees; certification lasts 12 months and is renewed each year (GOV.UK).

When you sell certified wood, show the Ready to Burn logo, your company name and the certification number on the packaging, next to it or next to the price. Online, show the logo where the fuel is advertised. Store the wood indoors, off the ground or under cover so it doesn't get wet before you sell it.

Loads of 2 Cubic Metres or More (England)

No certificate is needed for 2 m³ or more, but you must give each customer the government's notice explaining how to dry, store and check the wood before it's burned. You can also include a note saying it's dry.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The Ready to Burn and smoke control rules above are England's. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules on fuel and smoke control areas (in Wales, selling fuel for delivery to a home in a smoke control area can be an offence too), so check with the council where you sell.

Where the Wood Comes From

• Garden trees: trees in private gardens don't need a felling licence. Outside gardens, felling more than a small amount of timber can need one: see our licence guide.
• Waste: firewood you sell isn't a waste transfer (our licence guide).
• Red diesel: HMRC's firewood rules for red diesel are forestry rules and don't cover logs from garden or street jobs (our red diesel guide).

Selling on TreeBay

List it in Logs, Timber & Firewood and choose Firewood. The form asks how dry it is, your moisture reading and the volume, loose or stacked, and buyers can filter by how dry the wood is. Every firewood listing shows the smoke control notice. If your wood is Ready to Burn certified, show the logo and your certification number in the listing, for example in a photo and in the description.

FAQ

Do you need a licence to sell firewood?

There's no firewood licence as such, but in England there are rules on what you sell. Wood for burning at home sold in amounts under 2 m³ must be certified Ready to Burn, a certification you apply and pay for each year; for 2 m³ or more you give the buyer the government's notice instead (GOV.UK). Outside gardens, the timber itself can need a felling licence. In England and Wales, selling from your own yard or drive isn't street trading, but a stall on a road, verge or lay-by can need the council's street trading consent or licence. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules on firewood, so check with the council where you sell.

Do I need Ready to Burn to sell logs from tree work?

In England, yes, if you sell or supply them in amounts under 2 m³. For 2 m³ or more you don't, but you must give the buyer the government's notice on drying and storing the wood.

What moisture content is ready to burn?

20% or less. Measure it on a freshly split face.

What's the difference between seasoned and kiln-dried logs?

Seasoned logs are air-dried; kiln-dried logs are dried in a kiln. Either way, the moisture reading is what tells a buyer whether it's ready to burn.