• No license is required to dig wild ginseng on private land in Ohio, but diggers are required to have written permission to harvest, and to keep accurate harvest records by county and collection date.
• The harvest season for wild ginseng in Ohio is September 1 to December 31. Fresh ginseng may be sold beginning on September 1, and dried ginseng may be sold from September 16 to March 31.
• Ohio requires that all harvested plants have at least 3 prongs, and that seeds be planted at the place where the plant was collected.
• An Ohio Ginseng Dealer’s Registration Permit is required to buy ginseng for resale or export from the state. Dealers must be informed of and comply with all state laws.
• Harvest of ginseng is prohibited on all state-owned lands in Ohio.
• The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, serves as the state’s ginseng coordinator. This office can be contacted by calling (614) 265-6300, or:
Ohio Division of Wildlife
Ginseng Coordinator
2045 Morse Road, Building G
Columbus, OH 43229
• A permit is required to collect ginseng in Wayne National Forest. Contact any of the Forest’s offices for information:
Nelsonville: (740) 753-0101
Marietta: (740) 373-9055
Pedro: (740) 534-6500
Provided by the American Herbal Products Association, in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and United Plant Savers
1501:31-40-01 Ginseng harvesting season.
No person shall dig, harvest, cut, root up, gather, or otherwise collect wild ginseng from its natural habitat except during the season of September first through December thirty-first of each year without written authorization from the chief of the division of wildlife.
1501:31-40-02 Harvesting ginseng.
No person shall harvest wild ginseng plants which have not reached maturity and which have unripened berries, or which have less than three-leaf stems (prongs).
1501:31-40-03 Reseeding plants.
No person harvesting wild ginseng shall fail to immediately replant the seeds at the place where the plants where collected, provided such seeds are present.
1501:31-40-04 Harvesting on public and private property.
No person shall harvest wild or cultivated ginseng from private or public property without first obtaining written permission from the landowner or his agent.
1501:31-40-05 Required collecting records.
Any person collecting ginseng is required to keep accurate records showing the number of pounds and ounces of ginseng, both green and/or dry weight, collected in each Ohio county by date of collection.
1501:31-40-06 Providing collecting data.
No person collecting wild ginseng shall fail to provide the information required by rules 1501:31-40-05 and 1501:31-40-09 of the Administrative Code to buyers or dealers with whom the collector does business or, upon demand, to any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction.
1501:31-40-07 Buying ginseng.
No person shall buy or otherwise acquire or possess Ohio dry uncertified wild or dry uncertified cultivated ginseng from April first through September fifteenth of each year, or green uncertified wild or green uncertified cultivated ginseng from April first through August thirty-first without written authorization from the chief of the division of wildlife. Live immature cultivated ginseng plants and seeds from cultivated ginseng plants sold by commercial growers for propagation purposes within the United States are not regarded as harvested and are exempt from the certification requirement and may be possessed at any time provided any person possessing such cultivated ginseng supplies proof of purchase, upon demand, to any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction.
1501:31-40-08 Records to obtain upon purchase.
No person within Ohio shall acquire ginseng from any collector, buyer, dealer or grower without making and retaining an accurate legible record of the seller’s name and address; dealer’s state registration permit number and ginseng lot state certification of legal taking number when applicable; number of pounds and ounces green and/or dry weight of ginseng collected or cultivated in each Ohio county, compiled separately for wild and cultivated lots; year of harvest; and the date of the transaction. These records as well as the accompanying ginseng shall be open to inspection to any authorized employee of the division of wildlife and/or any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction at all reasonable hours.
1501:31-40-09 Records to provide upon selling.
No person shall sell ginseng without providing to the purchaser an accurate record of his name and address; dealer’s state registration permit number and ginseng lot state certification of legal taking number when applicable; number of pounds and ounces green and/or dry weight of ginseng collected or cultivated in each Ohio county, and compiled separately for wild and cultivated lots; and year of harvest.
1501:31-40-10 Distribution of educational materials.
Dealers and buyers of ginseng shall display and distribute educational materials about ginseng, ginseng regulations, and the Ohio ginseng management program as provided by the chief of the division of wildlife.
1501:31-40-11 Dealer state registration permit.
Dealers and buyers shall acquire a state dealer’s registration permit each year prior to purchasing or otherwise acquiring Ohio ginseng legally harvested in that year. The dealer state registration permit is nontransferable and shall expire annually on August thirty-first of each calendar year.
1501:31-40-12 Certification of ginseng.
Dealers and buyers shall obtain certification from a state inspector of the division of wildlife certifying that any Ohio ginseng collected or grown in Ohio and being exported from the state has been legally acquired, collected or cultivated, provided that Ohio ginseng taken out of the state prior to being certified must be returned by the dealer or buyer to Ohio for certification within 14 calendar days of it’s receipt by the dealer or buyer. Only Ohio ginseng legally acquired, collected, cultivated or possessed shall be certified. Ohio ginseng acquired by any dealer not in possession of a current state dealer registration permit shall not be conveyed to another person or certified at any time.
1501:31-40-13 Ohio certification.
Dealers and buyers shall provide proof of state certification of legal taking to any out-of-state purchaser for Ohio ginseng collected or grown in Ohio which is the sold out-of-state.
1501:31-40-14 Dealer sales transaction records.
(A) Dealers and buyers shall keep accurate legible records on all ginseng sold and purchased. These records shall be submitted to the chief of the division or his agent on a monthly or quarterly basis or as otherwise required; shall include purchases of ginseng to be sold on separate sheets from actual sales; and shall include:
(1) The purchaser’s and/or seller’s name and address;
(2) The other dealer’s permit number and lot certification when applicable;
(3) The number of pounds and ounces dry and/or green weight of ginseng collected or cultivated in an Ohio county, compiled separately for wild and cultivated lots;
(4) The year of harvest; and
(5) The date of the transaction of all Ohio ginseng sold.
These records as well as the accompanying ginseng shall be open to inspection by any authorized employee of the division of wildlife and/or any law enforcement officer having jurisdiction at all reasonable hours and must be available to support the origin of ginseng being certified for sale and shipment.
1501:31-40-15 Year-end receipt for uncertified stock.
Dealers, buyers or any other person shall submit for weighing all uncertified wild and/or cultivated ginseng on hand as of March thirty-first of each year. The chief of the division or his agent shall weigh and receipt the number of pounds and ounces of uncertified ginseng on hand. Such uncertified stock is to be documented as to the source, the date harvested, the weight and date of transaction, as is required in the regular certification process. These records as well as the accompanying ginseng shall be open to inspection by any authorized agent of the division of wildlife at all reasonable hours. Future export certification will be based upon these weight receipts in a drawdown process until all documented stock has been certified. Any uncertified stock acquired from April first through August thirty-first of each year requires prior written approval of the chief of the division of wildlife.
1501:31-40-16 Out-of-state ginseng purchases.
No person shall possess ginseng from states other than Ohio unless those states have a ginseng management program approved by the federal wildlife permit office of the U.S. fish and wildlife service and the seller meets the legal requirements established by the state for selling ginseng originating there and said out-of-state ginseng is legally certified in accordance with rules established by the state’s ginseng management program or is returned to the state of origin within 14 calendar days for certification. Evidence of certification shall accompany the ginseng lot in successive sales within or out-of-state and be reported as to the dealer’s number, the lot certification number, the weight of dry or green, wild or cultivated roots, and the date of transaction in reporting sales to the chief of the division or his agent.
1501:31-40-17 Fees.
A fee of three dollars per pound or any fraction of a pound dry and/or green weight, payable to the “division of wildlife” shall be charged for certifying Ohio ginseng.
1501:31-40-18 Failure to comply.
In addition to other penalties provided by law, the chief of the division of wildlife may refuse to issue a state registration permit to any person who fails to comply with the requirements listed in rules 1501:31-40-01 to 1501:31-40-29 of the Administrative Code. A person denied a permit is entitled to a hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
1501:31-40-19 Suspension of registration permit.
In addition to other penalties provided by law, the chief of the division of wildlife may suspend the registration permit issued to any person who fails to comply with the requirements listed in rules 1501:31-40-01 to 1501:31-40-29 of the Administrative Code. The opportunity for a hearing pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code shall be afforded to the person prior to the decision to suspend the permit.
1501:31-40-20 Statement of legal collecting.
All collectors or sellers under whose direction the root was collected shall sign a statement certifying that the ginseng roots being sold by him or her, have been collected or cultivated in Ohio by him or her or at his or her direction in accordance and in compliance with all state and federal laws governing such collection or cultivation.
1501:31-40-21 Possession of wild green ginseng.
No person shall buy, or otherwise acquire, sell, transport or possess green wild ginseng collected from property other than their own from April first through August thirty-first of each year without written authorization from the chief of the division of wildlife. Wild ginseng collected from one’s own property from April first through August thirty-first of each year must be for personal use only and must not be entered into commerce, or sold, transported, or given to another person.
1501:31-40-22 Possession of certified ginseng.
Ginseng roots legally certified by the state of Ohio or any other state with a ginseng management program approved by the federal wildlife permit office of the U.S. fish and wildlife service, may be purchased, sold, transported or exported within and out-of-state throughout the year only by dealers registered by the chief in accordance with Chapter 1501:31-40 of the Administrative Code.
1501:31-40-23 Maintaining state lots of ginseng.
Ginseng collected or grown in Ohio must be kept separate from out-of-state ginseng until the ginseng collected or grown in Ohio has been certified by a state inspector.
1501:31-40-24 Uncertified Ginseng.
No person shall export ginseng collected or grown in Ohio from the state until it has first been certified by a state inspector for the division of wildlife. Provided that ginseng taken out ot the state prior to being certified must be returned by the dealer or buyer to Ohio for certification within 14 calendar days of its receipt by the dealer or buyer.
1501:31-40-25 Unlawful export of ginseng.
No person shall export ginseng collected or grown in Ohio using an out-of-state issued state certification of legal taking for which the weight in ginseng roots certified exceeds the weight of out-of-state ginseng actually purchased or otherwise acquired with that state certification of legal taking.
1501:31-40-26 Recertification.
No person shall have cause to have all or any part of the same lot of ginseng to be certified by the state of Ohio or any other state more than one time without written authorization from the chief or his designated agent.
1501:31-40-27 Unlawful conveyance of surplus state certification.
No person shall convey or otherwise provide any dealer, exporter or other person an Ohio-issued state certification of legal taking for which the weight in ginseng roots stated to be legally certified exceeds the weight of ginseng actually being sold or otherwise exchanged.
1501:31-40-28 Unlawful conveyance of state certification.
No person shall convey or accept a state certificate of legal taking from any person without the weight in ginseng roots so specified in that document accompanying the state certification of legal taking.
1501:31-40-29 Falsification.
No person shall knowingly provide incorrect or false information on any dealer application, reports, export certificate or other document required by rules 1501:31-40-01 to 1501:31-40-29 of the Administrative Code.