The CF (Certified Forester) credential, awarded by the Society of American Foresters (SAF), is the premier professional certification for foresters in North America. Earning the CF designation demonstrates mastery across all core forestry disciplines and signals your commitment to ethical, science-based land stewardship.
This free practice test PDF covers the full range of competencies tested on the CF examination, including forest management planning, silviculture, forest measurements, forest ecology, forest policy and law, forest economics, and professional ethics. Use it to identify your weak areas before sitting for the official exam.
The CF examination tests candidates across seven major competency areas. Forest Management covers planning, stand structure, regeneration methods, and multi-resource management. Silviculture includes even-aged and uneven-aged systems, site preparation, species selection, and stand tending operations like thinning and prescribed burning.
Forest Measurements tests your ability to cruise timber, calculate basal area, use dendrometers, and apply statistical sampling methods. Forest Ecology covers ecosystem function, succession, disturbance regimes, soils, hydrology, and biodiversity. Forest Policy and Law includes federal statutes (NFMA, NEPA, ESA, Clean Water Act), state forestry regulations, and land ownership patterns.
Forest Economics addresses valuation, stumpage pricing, financial maturity, present net value analysis, and market structures. Finally, Professional Ethics is examined through the SAF Code of Ethics and real-world scenario questions that test your judgment in conflicts of interest and public trust situations.
Candidates pursuing the CF credential typically work in timber management, conservation forestry, government land management agencies such as the USFS or BLM, consulting firms, and university extension services. The SAF recommends at least 120 hours of focused preparation before the examination.
Print this PDF and work through the questions under timed, exam-like conditions. The CF exam is known for scenario-based questions that require you to apply multiple domains simultaneously — for example, a question might ask you to evaluate a silvicultural prescription while weighing watershed impacts and policy compliance. Practice recognizing these multi-domain prompts.
After completing the practice questions, review each answer explanation carefully. Focus extra study time on any domain where you missed more than 20% of questions. Return to the SAF's official study resources and your state's forestry practice guidelines to reinforce weak areas before your scheduled exam date.