This paper proposes an analytical framework for forest law compliance to advance scholarly investigations of an important and growing problem. An inductive approach is taken to integrate the existing research on compliance in forestry with multiple theoretical models of rule compliance. Specific compliance models are drawn from economic, socio-institutional and psychological perspectives on compliance behaviour. The proposed framework highlights the individual as a decision-maker that is influenced by multiple motivations, which are in turn affected by external context specific variables. In general, the motivations that are proposed to influence the compliance decision include: instrumental benefits and costs, social and personal norms, and legitimacy. The degree to which each of these is incorporated in the decisionmaking process depends upon the social, political and economic variables that characterize the external environment. The analytical framework lays the groundwork for a structured research agenda on compliance in the forest sector.