** For Regulations to export American wild ginsengs, please click here

NEVER:  Take anything from public land or parks. All animals, plants, seeds, trees, herbs, and everything else belongs to the public and it is illegal to remove anything. If you get caught you will probably get the maximum fine.

NEVER:  Dig ginseng outside of the harvest season. Find out the harvest season for your state and only take it in this time frame.

TENNESSEE      

70-8-203  Dates of harvest season.  The harvest season for wild ginseng shall be from August 15 through December 31 inclusive of each year.

70-8-204  Prohibited activities.  (a) It is unlawful for any person to dig, harvest, collect or remove wild ginseng from any land for the purpose of sale or export, on any date not within the wild ginseng harvest season established be #70-8-203.  (b) It is unlawful for any person to dig, harvest, collect or remove from any land, for the purpose of sale or export, any wild ginseng plant that has green berries or that has less than three (3) prongs.  (c) It is unlawful for any person who has dug, harvested, collected, or removed wild ginseng from any land for the purpose of sale or export: (1) To remove the berries of the wild ginseng from the approximate location from which the wild ginseng was dug, harvested, collected, or removed; or (2) To fail, immediately after such digging, harvest, collection or removal, to plant the berries of the wild ginseng in the approximate location from which the wild ginseng was dug, harvested, collected, or removed. (d) It shall be unlawful  to sell or offer for sale wild or cultivated ginseng that was harvested or collected from any state other than Tennessee unless such ginseng has been certified or otherwise approved for export be the state from which the ginseng was harvested, collected, or removed. A certificate shall accompany all wild and cultivated ginseng from other states showing that is has been certified and approved for export. (e) It shall be unlawful for any person, without permission of the landowner, to enter the property of the landowner and dig, harvest, collect, or remove wild or cultivated ginseng. This subsection shall not apply to any employee or contractor of the federal government or of the state of Tennessee or of any political subdivision of the state engaged in any type of planning, construction, or maintenance work upon any proposed or existing federal, state, county, or other public road or highway, or highway right-of-way, while performing such work in the course of his employment or contract work with the federal, state, or local government.

70-8-205  Penalties.  Any person violating the provisions of this part shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished be a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and shall forfeit all ginseng harvested, collected, removed, or sold in violation of this part.

KENTUCKY      

246.660 Regulations.  Department to administer program for wild American ginseng.
The department shall administer a program for wild American ginseng in Kentucky  which provides a framework, including a limited harvesting season, in which wild American ginseng shall be eligible for exportation in compliance with federal requirements. The department shall promulgate regulations to carry out this program and cooperate with and enter into agreements with any other agency of this state, any other state, or the federal government to carry out this program. Any regulation promulgated under this section shall be no more restrictive than minimum federal requirements.

KRS 246.660   NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: Authorized the Department of Agriculture to adopt rules and administrative regulations relating to the administration of a program for Wild American Ginseng. This administrative regulation sets forth general provisions which apply in this chapter with regard to definitions, harvest season, and cooperative agreements.

Section 1. (1) "Ginseng Dealer" means any person engaged in the business of buying ginseng roots from ginseng collectors, ginseng cultivators, and other ginseng dealers for resale to ginseng exporters or to other ginseng dealers or any person who sells ginseng in any form in interstate commerce.
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture.
(3) "Department" unless otherwise specified means the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.
(4) "State" means the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Section 2. Registration. (1) No person shall be a ginseng dealer without first obtaining a certificate of registration issued by the department. No registration shall be renewed until the ginseng dealer has met all requirements of recordkeeping and reporting as required by the department.
(2) Certificates of registration will be issued for a period of one (1) year, and will expire on the 30th day of April each year.
(3) Completed applications for certification of registration, issued by the department, must be returned prior to June 30th of each year.
Section 3. Recordkeeping. (1) All ginseng dealers shall keep records, on forms furnished by the department, of all purchases and sales of ginseng. These records will include month purchased, month dug, county where dug, weight of purchase, and signature and address of digger or seller. Ginseng dealers shall also keep records of purchases from other dealers. These records shall include the month each purchase from a dealer is made, the weight of purchase, and the signature and registration number of the dealer from whom the purchase is made. All purchase records shall be submitted to the department on a monthly basis. No ginseng shall be certified until the purchase records are recorded by the department. (2) Retention. All persons required to maintain records under this section shall retain the records for a period of three (3) years.
(3) Availability. Records required under this section shall be made available to the department upon request.

Section 4. Annual Report. All ginseng dealers will file an annual report with the department by April 30th. The annual report shall include the listing of each purchase and sale of ginseng made by the dealer since July 1 the previous year.

Section 5. All ginseng dealers will file a report with the department at least every calendar-year quarter if the dealer has any commerce in ginseng originating from any state other than Kentucky. The report must be sent within fifteen (15) days of the end of any calendar-year quarter and shall list each purchase and sale of out-of-state ginseng made by the dealer during that quarter.

Section 6. Harvest Season. Beginning September 1, 1988 and each year thereafter, wild ginseng will only be dug between August 15th and December 1st of each year. Any seeds adhering to a plant taken during the season shall be planted within fifty (50) feet of the location of the plant with no tool used other than the finger.

Section 7. All sales of ginseng by dealers shall be certified for sale during the ginseng selling season beginning September 1st of each year and extending until March 31st of the following year.

Section 8. All ginseng unsold by March 31st of the year after harvest must be weighed by the department and the dealer given a weight receipt. Any future export certification of this stock will only be issued against the weight receipt.

Section 9. (1) All ginseng dealers holding a certificate of registration hereunder must obtain a certificate of legal taking issued by the department after inspection by an official of the department identifying the origin, year of taking, and weight of any shipment of ginseng to a destination outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The certificate shall also state whether the ginseng is Wild American Ginseng or whether the ginseng has been cultivated or propagated by a grower. Such certification shall be issued to the dealer on triplicate forms issued by the department. A copy of such certification must be enclosed with the shipment subject of the certification. A copy of such certificate shall be retained for a minimum of three (3) years by the licensed ginseng dealer and a copy of the certificate shall be retained by the certifying agent of the department and submitted in accordance with internal procedures of the department. (2) At the time of issuance of the certificate, the department official shall receive from the ginseng dealer copies of all purchase records covering the amount of ginseng certified. Records of ginseng purchased from other dealers shall be recorded with the department prior to a certificate being issued.

Section 10. No ginseng dug outside the borders of Kentucky which is uncertified in its state of origin shall be allowed to enter Kentucky.

Section 11. (1) Any ginseng which is obtained in contravention of laws for the protection of the species or in violation of any other law shall not be purchased, sold, shipped, or transported within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (2) The Kentucky Department of Agriculture may enforce the provisions of Section 11 of this administrative regulation herein as provided in KRS 260.030. (9 Ky.R. 292; Am. 572; 917; eff. 1-6-83; 13 Ky.R. 1713; 14 Ky.R. 431; eff. 8-5-87; 18 Ky.R. 743; 1840; eff. 11-26-91.)

INDIANIA

14-31-3-3    Enacted 1995

(a) As used in this chapter, "ginseng dealer" means a person who buys ginseng roots from ginseng harvesters or other

ginseng dealers for resale or exportation.  (b) The term does not include a person who sells solely for domestic consumption.

14-31-3-4   Enacted 1995

As used in this chapter, "harvest season" means August 15 through December 31 of each year.

14-31-3-7   Enacted 1995

A person must have a license issued by the department to be a ginseng dealer in Indiana.

14-31-3-8   Enacted 1995

(a) To obtain a ginseng dealer's license, a person must do the following:
     (1) Apply to the department for the license in the manner prescribed by the department.
     (2) Pay a license fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) before August 15 of each year.
(b) A ginseng dealer's license expires annually on August 31.

14-31-3-9    Enacted 1995

(a) As used in this section, "selling season" means September 1 of one (1) year through March 31 of the following year.
(b) Each ginseng dealer shall submit a summary of all ginseng purchased and sold by the ginseng dealer during the selling season to the department within thirty (30) days of the last day of the selling season. The summary must also contain other information and be prepared in the manner required by the department by rule.

14-31-3-11    Enacted 1995

(a) The department may, after notice and a hearing, revoke or suspend the license of a person who violates this chapter. All proceedings under this chapter to revoke or suspend a license shall be conducted in the manner prescribed by IC 4-21.5-3. (b) If a court determines that a person has violated this chapter, the court may, in addition to any other penalty, do the following: (1) Suspend or revoke the license of the person for any period of time for which the license was issued. (2) Order that a license not be issued to the person for a period not longer than five (5) years.

14-31-3-12    Enacted 1995

The department may carry out scientific research on ginseng to determine the following: (1) The distribution and abundance of ginseng throughout Indiana. (2) The effects of current and future harvesting and cultivation practices on the survival of ginseng in Indiana.

14-31-3-13   Enacted 1995

The department may establish ginseng harvesting quotas based on the results of research and data collection.

14-31-3-15    Enacted 1995

A ginseng dealer who: (1) purchases ginseng without a license; or (2) obtains a license because of a false or an incorrect statement; commits a Class B misdemeanor.

14-31-3-16    Enacted 1995

A person who harvests ginseng out of a harvest season in violation of section 10 of this chapter commits a Class B misdemeanor.

14-31-3-17    Enacted 1995

A person who possesses unprocessed ginseng out of a harvest season in violation of section 10 of this chapter commits a Class B misdemeanor.

14-31-3-18    Enacted 1995

A person who harvests ginseng in an amount greater than a quota established under section 13 of this chapter commits a Class B infraction.

14-31-3-19    Enacted 1995

Amended 1995

A ginseng dealer who buys, sells, or possesses ginseng in violation of section 10 of this chapter commits a Class B misdemeanor.

14-31-3-20    Enacted 1995

A person who, without written authorization from the department, takes or sends from Indiana ginseng that is harvested in Indiana in violation of section 9 of this chapter commits a Class A misdemeanor.

14-31-3-21    Enacted 1995

A person who knowingly or intentionally: (1) takes or sends from Indiana ginseng that was harvested in another state for export from the United States; or (2) receives ginseng that was harvested in another state for export from the United States; without written authorization to export the ginseng under the laws of the state in which the ginseng was harvested commits a Class A misdemeanor.

VIRGINA    

3.1-1027

Wild ginseng declared threatened plant species; license; harvesting season.

The indigenous plant, Panax quinquefolius L., of the Araliaceae family, commonly referred to as ginseng, is hereby declared a threatened plant species when it occurs in the wild. All persons buying wild ginseng or otherwise accepting this plant or part thereof for resale shall be licensed to do so and shall acquire wild ginseng or parts thereof in accordance with this chapter and the rules and regulations established by the authority of this chapter. The wild ginseng harvest season shall be August 15 to December 31 annually. If any person takes wild ginseng, other than from his own land, on any other date it shall be deemed a violation of this chapter.

3.1-1026

License required to buy threatened species; records of purchases

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to buy any threatened species or part thereof, which is listed in this chapter or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, without first obtaining a license to do so from the Commissioner. Provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the purchase or sale of real property upon which such threatened species or part thereof may be located. Application forms shall be provided by the Commissioner and shall be completed and returned with a fee of ten dollars made payable to the Treasurer of Virginia. Licenses shall expire on December 31 annually and there shall be no abatement in the annual fee. Licenses may be revoked at any time by the Commissioner for good cause.

B. The buyer of any threatened species or part thereof shall maintain and keep records of all purchases for the preceding twelve months on forms prescribed by the Commissioner. Records shall be sent or otherwise provided to the Commissioner within thirty days following the expiration of the license. Records shall be made available to the Commissioner or his assistants during normal business hours for examination or information.

3.1-1027.1

Export certificate required for export of ginseng; exception; records

All persons who have ginseng either wild or artificially propagated in any quantity and who wish to export any amount out of the Commonwealth shall obtain an export certificate from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to persons exporting ginseng for personal or individual use in quantities not exceeding eight ounces in any calendar year. To obtain an export certificate, an individual shall keep accurate records of the year of harvest and the county of origin of the ginseng. In the case of dealers, a person shall keep accurate records of purchases, quantity purchased, whether the ginseng was wild or cultivated, county of origin, and the name of the seller. Such records shall be presented to the Commissioner or his assistants for inspection.

3.1-1030

Penalty

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated thereto shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.