Mushroom foraging laws in Montana
Compiled from official sources; not legal advice. Rules change. Confirm with the land manager or the agency before you pick.
Summary
On state trust land, general recreation needs a recreational use license, and the rules do not name mushrooms. Commercial or organized activity needs a special recreational use license, and state health guidance says commercial pickers need written permission from DNRC. Selling wild mushrooms at retail needs a state license. Federal lands follow their own rules.
Public land
Montana state trust land (DNRC) is open to "general recreational use," defined as non-concentrated, non-commercial recreational activity. The definition excludes things like gathering firewood or trees, and it does not mention mushrooms or other plants, so it is unclear whether picking is covered. In state parks, FWP's 2023 adopted rules bar damaging, destroying or possessing "natural features, developed features, or vegetation"; whether that covers mushrooms is unclear, so ask the park. Federal lands follow their own rules.
Permits
DNRC rules require a recreational use license for anyone 12 or older for general recreational use of state trust land. Commercial or concentrated activity needs a separate special recreational use license.
Limits
State health guidance refers to a "personal harvest allowance" on state land, but the documents I found do not give a number. Ask DNRC.
Selling
DNRC rules say no special recreational use (commercial or concentrated activity) of state trust land may happen without a special recreational use license, issued at DNRC's discretion. State health guidance says pickers who harvest more than the personal allowance for commercial purposes from state land need written permission from DNRC's Trust Land Management Division.
Morel sales
Montana adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code, which bars food establishments from offering wild-picked mushrooms unless approved. A DPHHS guidance document (2017) says anyone selling or serving wild mushrooms at retail needs an annual state license, and it lists morels (Morchella) on its approved species list. It also recommends harvest logs and a trained identifier. That document is guidance, not a rule; confirm with your local health authority.
Sources
- Montana DNRC - ARM 36.25.1201-1212 Recreational Use of State Trust Land (rule text, eff. 11/8/25)
- Montana FWP - Notice of Adoption, MAR 12-603 public use rules (Dec 2023)
- Montana FWP - Notice of Proposed Rules, MAR 12-603 (definition of public use sites)
- Montana DPHHS - Wild Mushrooms guidance document RF170301 (March 3, 2017)
- Montana DPHHS - Retail Food Establishments rule, ARM 37.110 subchapter 2
- FDA Food Code 2013, section 3-201.16 Wild Mushrooms
Last verified: November 11, 2026