How many mushrooms may I forage in Liechtenstein?
You may forage — but not without limit, not at any time and not anywhere. Under the official rules, Liechtenstein has a closed season: mushrooms may be collected only from the 11th to the last day of the month, and the first ten days of every month are closed. Collecting is allowed only between 8am and 8pm. Per person and day the limits are at most 1 kg for porcini, chanterelles and morels and at most 2 kg for other edible mushrooms. The myth: "In the forest everything belongs to everyone, I may collect as much as I like." Wrong — there are quantity limits, a closed season, collecting hours and a group size of at most three people (families excepted). In nature reserves and forest reserves an absolute picking ban applies.
📋 The rules
- Closed season — the first ten days are shut: collecting is allowed only from the 11th to the last day of each month. This closure protects the mycelium from which the mushrooms regrow, and it is the point foragers most often overlook.
- Daily quantities (per person and day): at most 1 kg of porcini, chanterelles and morels plus at most 2 kg of other edible mushrooms. These are two separate allowances, not a single combined ceiling of 2 kg.
- Collecting hours: collecting is allowed only between 8am and 8pm. Anyone out at dawn or after dark is collecting outside the permitted time.
- Group size: collecting in groups of more than three people is prohibited — with the exception of families. Organised mass forays are thereby ruled out.
- Absolute no-go zones: in nature reserves and forest reserves a complete picking ban applies, regardless of quantity and closed season. The mushroom conservation areas can be viewed in the country's public geodata portal.
🔓 Exceptions
- Families: the three-person limit does not apply to families. A family may therefore collect together without breaching the group size — but the daily quantities still apply per person.
- Noble versus other mushrooms: the 1 kg for porcini, chanterelles and morels and the 2 kg for other edible mushrooms are two separate allowances. Anyone hunting only porcini is still at the limit at 1 kg.
- Reserves know no exception: in nature reserves and forest reserves neither the closed season nor a small quantity helps — the picking ban is absolute. Before a trip, a glance at the geodata portal pays off.
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Unlike forest or fisheries law, we have no quantified fine from a primary source for breaches of the collecting rules — and we do not invent one. The framework is nonetheless clear: anyone who picks in a nature reserve or forest reserve breaches nature-conservation law, which provides its own sanctions and the confiscation of what was collected; anyone who exceeds the daily quantity, closed season, collecting hours or group size risks a report and seizure by the Office of the Environment and its mushroom inspectors. Not obvious is the second, health-related strand: wrongly identified mushrooms can be lethally poisonous, and the official mushroom inspectors are available for checking from 11 April to 31 October — anyone who skips that carries the poisoning risk alone. The closed season from the 1st to the 10th of the month is therefore not a nuisance date but protects the mycelium, and with it the harvest of the coming years.
📎 Official sources
- National Administration — Office of the Environment, foraging, mushroom control and conservation areas (home page) →
- LILEX — Nature Conservation Act and the Swiss food ordinance (VLpH) applicable via the customs treaty →
- Geodata portal of Liechtenstein — mushroom conservation areas in the public section (home page) →
❓ Frequently asked
How many mushrooms may I collect per day?
Per person and day, at most 1 kg of porcini, chanterelles and morels, plus a further maximum of 2 kg of other edible mushrooms. These are two separate allowances, not a single combined ceiling of 2 kg.
Is there a closed season?
Yes, collecting is allowed only from the 11th to the last day of each month, so the first ten days are closed. This closed season protects the mycelium and is the point foragers most often overlook.
At what times may I forage?
Collecting is allowed only between 8am and 8pm, so the pre-dawn or after-dark forage is out. Anyone out before 8am or after 8pm is foraging outside the permitted time and risks being challenged and reported by an inspector.
Can I forage with a large group?
No, collecting in groups of more than three people is prohibited, with families being the exception. Even within a permitted group the daily quantities still apply per person, not per group.
Where is foraging completely forbidden?
In nature reserves and forest reserves an absolute picking ban applies, regardless of quantity and closed season. The mushroom conservation areas can be checked in advance in the country's public geodata portal.
🔎 Common searches
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