Sri Lanka Timber Transport Permit Checker
Pick the species, district, council area and form. You get a yes or no, the gazette row behind it, and who can issue the permit.
How it works
Nothing here is arithmetic. The answer is a decision over three gazetted instruments, and the order matters, because the later instrument governs.
Regulation 2 of the Forest Regulations No. 01 of 2008 (gazette 1548/29 of 09.05.2008, made under s.24(1) of the Forest Ordinance, Chapter 451, in force 01.06.2008) is the source of the requirement. It says no person shall transport, within, into or out of any area in Column I of the First Schedule, any timber of a species in Column II, except under a permit from an officer in Column III. Column I is the 25 administrative districts, one row each.
Column II is written as a negative list: “other timber species except” the ones the row names. So the first question is not what is banned, it is what that district lets through. The lists differ, and the differences are the whole reason this page exists. Colombo's row 1 names Satinwood, Mahogany, Teak and Margosa among its exceptions. Gampaha's row 2 does not, so teak is controlled there and free in Colombo.
Gazette 1762/1 of 11.06.2012 then repealed regulation 3 and the 2008 Second Schedule, and substituted two new schedules with effect from 25.06.2012. The new Second Schedule, 4 rows, exempts by Divisional Secretary's Division: Ginisapu sawn timber everywhere, finished furniture outside Colombo, and a wider list inside Colombo other than Hanwella and Padukka. The new Third Schedule, 17 rows, exempts inside named council limits: every Municipal Council limit in the island, plus 27 named Urban Councils. Both are reproduced in full further down this page.
The checker evaluates in this order:
- Is the species in that district's Column II at all? If the row names it among its exceptions, regulation 2 never engages and no permit is needed, in any form, in any direction. Thirty entries, coconut and rubber among them, are excepted in all 25 rows.
- Is it one of the 4 species no exemption reaches? Ebony, Calamander, Nadun and Sandalwood are excepted from the Column III of every row of both 2012 schedules. For those, the answer is settled here.
- Does a 2012 exemption row cover this area, this form and this species? Each row names forms, not loads. Sawn timber, timber items, round poles, firewood and finished furniture appear. A log appears in no row at all, which is why an unsawn trunk of a controlled species is treated more strictly than planks cut from it.
- Does the journey stay inside the area the row names? Regulation 3 exempts transport “within” those areas, so an exemption earned inside an Urban Council limit does not license carrying the load out. Second Schedule rows 1 and 4 are written across all Divisional Secretary's Divisions instead, so they survive a longer journey, though row 4 stops at the Colombo district boundary.
- Otherwise a permit is required, and the checker prints the Column III officers for that district.
Two drafting quirks are kept as printed, not tidied: Colombo's Column III names the Forester of the Kalutara Division, and Nuwara Eliya's names ranges in Colombo district. Both are flagged in the output. The worked cases below re-run against the engine on every build, 7 of 7 agreeing with the hand reconciliation.
Worked examples
Always need a permit, in all 25 districts
These four are excepted from the Column III of every row of both 2012 exemption schedules, and named in no district's First Schedule exempt list.
| Species | Trade name | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ebony | Kaluwara | Excepted from every exemption row, gazette 1762/1 |
| Calamander | Kalumediriya | Excepted from every exemption row, gazette 1762/1 |
| Nadun | Nedun | Excepted from every exemption row, gazette 1762/1 |
| Sandalwood | Sandun | Excepted from every exemption row, gazette 1762/1 |
| Satinwood | Burutha | Excepted from Third Schedule rows 3 to 17 and Second Schedule row 4, but named in Colombo's First Schedule row, so the answer turns on where you are |
First Schedule: what each district lets through
Column II of each row, in printed order. A permit is required for every other timber species in that district. The first thirty entries are identical in all 25 rows; what differs is the tail, shown in bold.
| Row | District | Also excepted in this district |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo | Satinwood, Mahogany, Teak, Margosa, Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 2 | Gampaha | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 3 | Kalutara | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 4 | Kandy | Ginisapu |
| 5 | Matale | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 6 | Nuwara Eliya | Nothing beyond the common thirty |
| 7 | Galle | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 8 | Matara | Toona |
| 9 | Hambantota | Toona |
| 10 | Jaffna | Toona |
| 11 | Mannar | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 12 | Vavuniya | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 13 | Mullativu | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 14 | Kilinochchi | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 15 | Ampara | Toona |
| 16 | Batticaloa | Toona |
| 17 | Trincomalee | Toona |
| 18 | Kurunegala | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
| 19 | Puttalam | Toona |
| 20 | Anuradhapura | Toona |
| 21 | Polonnaruwa | Toona |
| 22 | Monaragala | Toona |
| 23 | Badulla | Nothing beyond the common thirty |
| 24 | Ratnapura | Eucalyptus species |
| 25 | Kegalle | Eucalyptus species, Toona |
The common thirty: Coconut, Rubber, Arecanut, Cashew, Cultivated Cinnamon, Kottamba, Gadumba, Gansuriya, Pulun, Cultivated Mango, Kitul, Albizia Moluccana, Ambarella, Katuimbul, Gliricidia, Hawarinuga, Lunumidella, Sabukku, Rambutan, Ipilipil, Kenda, Wanasapu, Gonkaduru alias Welkaduru, Erabadu, Rukattana, Avacardo, Plywood, Plywood products, Cane products and Imported sawn timber. Source: Forest Regulations No. 01 of 2008, gazette 1548/29 of 09.05.2008, First Schedule.
The 2012 exemption schedules in full
Second Schedule: by Divisional Secretary's Division
| Row | Column I | Column II | Column III |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Administrative Districts | Within all Divisional Secretary's Division | Sawn timber and timber items of Ginisapu |
| 2 | Colombo Administrative District | Within all Divisional Secretary's Divisions except Hanwella and Padukka Divisional Secretary's Divisions | Sawn timber and timber items, wooden finished furniture, round poles and fire wood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamandar, Nadun woods and Sandal wood |
| 3 | Colombo Administrative District | Within Hanwella and Padukka Divisional Secretary's Divisions | Finished furniture of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Woods and Sandalwood |
| 4 | All Administrative Districts except Colombo District | Within all Divisional Secretary's Divisions | Finished furniture of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Sandalwood, Stain Wood and Nadun Wood |
Third Schedule: inside named Municipal and Urban Council limits
| Row | Column I | Column II | Column III |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All Administrative Districts | Within all Municipal Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles Wooden finished furniture firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood and Sandal wood. |
| 2 | Colombo District | Within Seethawakapura Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood and Sandal wood |
| 3 | Gampaha District | Within Wattala - Mabola, Katunayake - Seeduwa, Ja-ela, Minuwangoda, Peliyagoda Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 4 | Kalutara District | Within Panadura, Beruwala, Kalutara Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 5 | Kandy District | Within Wattegama, Kadugannawa Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 6 | Galle District | Within Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 7 | Matara District | Within Weligama Urban Council limits | Sawn timber and timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 8 | Hambantota District | Within Tangalle Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 9 | Jaffna District | Within Point Pedro, Welwetithure, Chawakachcheri Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 10 | Mannar District | Within Mannar Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 11 | Ampara District | Within Ampara Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 12 | Batticaloa District | Within Kattankudi Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 13 | Tricomalee District | Within Kinya Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 14 | Kurunegala District | Within Kuliyapitiya Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 15 | Puttlam District | Within Puttlam, Chilaw Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 16 | Rathnapura District | Within Embilipitiya Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
| 17 | Kegalle District | Within Kegalle Urban Council limits | Sawn timber, timber items round poles and firewood of all the other species of timber except Ebony, Calamander, Nadun Wood, Sandal wood and Satin Wood |
Council names are reproduced as the gazette prints them, so Column II reads “Welwetithure”, “Chawakachcheri”, “Kattankudi”, “Kinya” and “Puttlam”. The checker's picker uses the modern spellings. Source: gazette 1762/1 of 11.06.2012, Second and Third Schedules, in force 25.06.2012.
Felling is a different Act, and a different offence
Everything above is about moving timber. Cutting a tree down is controlled by the Felling of Trees (Control) Act, under which the Minister may by Order prohibit or regulate the felling of trees of a specified description, and may forbid it except under a licence from a specified officer. The consolidated text of that Act is headed Chapter 284, while gazette 2232/33 cites the same Act as Chapter 452. Different revised editions number it differently, so both are printed here rather than one being quietly preferred.
The operative instrument is the Felling of Trees (Control) Order 1962, whose Schedule lists the controlled species. One item of that Schedule can be proved from a source this page can read:
- Item 4: Coconut tree (Cocos nucifera), inserted by gazette 2232/33 of 18.06.2021
Items 1 to 3 of that Schedule are not published in any source this page can read, so they are not listed here. Ask the Divisional Secretariat before felling a tree that is not a coconut.
Penalty, under s.4 as substituted by the Felling of Trees (Control) (Amendment) Act No. 1 of 2000: on summary conviction before a Magistrate, a fine of not less than Rs 5,000 and not more than Rs 50,000, or imprisonment of either description for not less than 6 months and not more than 12 months, or both. On conviction the tree or part of it is forfeited to the State, and an officer designated by the Conservator of Forests takes charge of it.
That fine range is the felling penalty. The penalty for transporting without a permit sits in the Forest Conservation Ordinance itself, which has not been transcribed for this page, so it is not stated anywhere here.
Frequently asked questions
Sources & references
- Gazette Extraordinary 1762/1 of 11.06.2012: the Second and Third Schedules now in force (PDF)
- Department of Government Printing, Extra Gazette index: the publisher of Forest Regulations No. 01 of 2008
- Gazette Extraordinary 2232/33 of 18.06.2021: coconut added to the felling Schedule (PDF)
- Felling of Trees (Control) (Amendment) Act No. 1 of 2000: the felling penalty (PDF)
- Department of Government Printing, Acts index
One honest gap in that list. Forest Regulations No. 01 of 2008 is cited by its full legal reference, gazette 1548/29 of 09.05.2008 (L.D. B 203/33 III), because the Department's online extra-gazette index does not carry it: its earliest Forest Department entry is 1689/16 of 20 January 2011, re-checked on 2026-10-26. The First Schedule reproduced above was read from the gazette text itself, and the 2012 amending gazette that governs the exemptions links directly. Schedules last read against the gazette text on 2026-10-26. This page is a reading of the regulations, not legal advice.
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