89B-9. General requirements for registration.

(a) An applicant for registration shall be registered upon satisfactory proof to the Board that the applicant is of good moral character and meets one of the following requirements:

(1) Graduation with a bachelors or higher degree in a forestry curriculum from a school or college of forestry approved by the Board, passage of a comprehensive written examination, and the completion of two or more years' experience in forestry.

(2) Passage of a comprehensive written examination designed to show knowledge approximating that obtained through graduation from a four-year curriculum in forestry in a university or college approved by the Board and the completion of six or more years of active practice in forestry work immediately prior to the application. The work must be of a character acceptable to the Board. Graduation with an Associate Applied Science degree in a forestry curriculum in a school or college approved by the Board is the equivalent of one year of experience. The completion of the junior year of a curriculum in forestry in a college or school approved by the Board is the equivalent of two years of experience. The completion of the senior year of a curriculum in forestry in a school or college approved by the Board is equivalent to three years of experience.

(3) Registration in good standing as a registered forester with the Board as of January 1, 1999.

(4) Practice of urban forestry for six years immediately prior to January 1, 1999, if the applicant meets all of the following conditions:

a. The applicant is a North Carolina resident at the time of filing the application.

b. The applicant practiced under the title "urban forester" during the six-year period.

c. The applicant, prior to June 30, 1999, applies to the Board for registration and submits an affidavit under oath to the Board showing experience and education equivalent to that of a forester, as determined by the Board.

(b) Registration shall be determined upon the basis of individual personal qualification. No firm, company, partnership, corporation or public agency shall be registered as a registered forester.

(b1) The Board may issue a forester-in-training certificate to an applicant who has completed the educational requirements under subdivision (a)(1) of this section.

(c) A nonresident of North Carolina may become a registered forester under this Chapter by complying with its terms, and by filing a consent as to service of process and pleadings upon the Board secretary. In connection with the practice of forestry by such nonresident in North Carolina, the consent as to service of process and pleadings shall be held binding and valid in all courts, as if due service had been made personally upon said nonresident by the Board, when such process has been served upon the Board secretary.

(d) A nonresident or person who has moved to North Carolina recently and who is registered as a registered forester in another jurisdiction may be registered under this Chapter, by written application to the Board, if that jurisdiction provides for the same or substantially the same registration for North Carolina foresters who are registered under this Chapter.

(e) A nonresident of North Carolina may use the term "registered forester" or other titles otherwise prohibited by this Chapter in North Carolina without becoming registered under this Chapter if registered in another state which will reciprocate with the provision of this Chapter.