🫐 Can I pick berries and mushrooms anywhere in Finland?

Yes

Quick answer

Yes — this is the heart of everyman's rights. Wild berries, mushrooms and non-protected plants may be picked on anyone's land, without permission and without quantity limits — even for sale, and a picker's income from self-collected wild berries and mushrooms is tax-exempt when the picking isn't done in an employment relationship. The right does not reach yards, cultivations or restricted zones of protected areas. Here is where people trip: the line runs between what is loose and what is growing attached — berries, mushrooms and fallen cones are in, but moss, lichen, branches and damaging trees are not. Protected plants may not be collected at all.

📋 The rules

Picking wild berries, mushrooms and non-protected plants is allowed under everyman's rights wherever you may walk — no permission, no limits.
The right excludes yards, cultivations and special sites (e.g. restricted parts of nature reserves) — keep distance from homes.
Picking for sale is allowed, and a picker's wild berry and mushroom income is tax-free (when not employment-based).
Damaging trees, cutting branches and collecting moss or lichen are NOT everyman's rights — they need the landowner's permission.
Collecting protected plants is banned under the Nature Conservation Act.

🔓 Exceptions

National parks generally allow picking, but restricted zones may ban even entry — check the park's rules.
Northern cloudberry bogs run on the same everyman's rights — no separate picking bans are currently in force.
Protected plants are outside the right everywhere — Nature Conservation Act protection applies in ordinary commercial forest too, not only in reserves.

⚠️ Penalties

Ordinary forest picking carries no penalty — it is expressly allowed, and the landowner cannot forbid it. Penalties begin at the boundaries: picking from a yard or a cultivated field can be treated as unlawful occupation or petty theft, and taking protected species as a conservation violation. Removing moss, lichen or branches without the landowner's permission is a different matter from berry picking: it can bring liability to compensate the owner. In a restricted zone of a protected area even walking may be banned, so the rules break before the first berry is picked.

📎 Sources

Verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked questions

Can I pick berries in my neighbour's forest?

Yes — forest is not yard, and everyman's rights cover picking on anyone's land without permission. Neighbourly peace still appreciates you not stripping the patch beside their house: the line runs where domestic peace begins.

Is berry income taxed?

A picker's income from self-collected wild berries and mushrooms is made tax-free by the Income Tax Act when the picking isn't done in an employment relationship. Picking as an employee is wage income and taxed normally.

Can foreigners pick commercially?

Everyman's rights belong to everyone regardless of nationality, commercial pickers included — picking for sale is allowed. Picker companies, however, face their own legislation on pickers' working conditions.

Can I collect moss or lichen?

Not without the landowner's permission — the right covers only loose natural products such as berries, mushrooms and fallen cones. Moss, lichen and branches need permission, as does anything that damages a tree.

Can I pick berries in a national park?

Usually yes — picking berries and mushrooms is allowed in national parks by default. Restricted zones may forbid even walking, so check the park's regulations before a picking trip.

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