Mushroom and Truffle Foraging in Le Marche: Rules and Permits
Under the mushroom and truffle foraging rules in Le Marche, and so also in the Sibillini Mountains, picking mushrooms requires a qualification permit card (tesserino di abilitazione). Truffles instead require a different certificate of eligibility (tesserino di idoneità), obtained after an exam. Le Marche has its own rules, and Sibillini National Park, which spans Le Marche and Umbria across four provinces, may impose additional conditions.
Mushrooms and chestnuts are among the area's traditional food products. The list also includes honey, chickpeas, cicerchie (grass peas, an old legume), freshwater trout, flours and wood-fired bread. Before heading into the woods, it is worth understanding which document is needed and where foraging is allowed.
Mushroom and truffle foraging rules in Le Marche: what to know
Mushrooms. The picking of wild epigeous mushrooms, meaning those that grow above ground, is governed by a regional law of July 28, 2022 (no. 18), updated in 2023 and 2026. Foraging is open to anyone who is at least 16, holds the qualification and has the right to forage. Picking is allowed from dawn to dusk. Exempt from the qualification are, among others, holders of a mycologist certificate.
The qualification is documented by the permit card, issued by the competent body (usually the Unione Montana, the local mountain community authority). Foraging also requires paying for a permit. The process for obtaining the card involves a training course and, depending on the body, an exam. For this reason, timelines and forms should be requested directly from the Unione Montana. Non-residents of Le Marche pay an additional amount that varies with the length of the permit and is set by each Unione Montana. Here too, it is best to check the conditions with the body before setting out.
The picking limit is 3 kg per person per day. Anyone exceeding the limits risks fines and confiscation of the mushrooms collected.
Truffles. Searching for and digging truffles requires the "certificate of eligibility," which attests to the qualification and is issued by the Regione Marche or the Unione Montana after an exam. The reference law is regional law no. 5 of April 3, 2013. The certificate is valid for ten years from the date of qualification. An annual regional fee is also due, to be paid before issue and then by January 31 of each year.
The law also sets the search methods. Searching and digging are done with the help of one or two dogs. Only the vanghetto or vanghella, a small spade 50 to 80 centimeters long with the blade fixed to the handle and at most 7 centimeters wide, may be used for digging.
Sibillini National Park. Foraging in protected areas follows special rules. In Le Marche the law prohibits picking mushrooms in protected natural areas, except as established by the respective managing bodies. Sibillini National Park was established in 1993 and covers about 70,000 hectares. The Park's regulations are still awaiting approval. Before entering an area of the park, it is therefore best to ask the Ente Parco (the Park authority) whether foraging is allowed and under what conditions.
Mushroom and truffle foraging in Le Marche: when to go
The main foraging season is usually fall. For mushrooms the law allows picking only in daylight, from dawn to dusk, so it pays to plan the day around the hours of light.
For truffles the dates are not uniform. Searching and digging are allowed only in the periods shown in the table attached to the regional law. The calendar should be checked before going out with the dog, because a day outside the season is not allowed even for certificate holders.
Mushroom and truffle foraging rules in Le Marche: practical tips
- Permit card first. The card cannot be obtained on the same day. Mushrooms require a course or an exam and payment for the permit; truffles require an exam. Anyone coming from outside the region should inquire well in advance.
- Documents on hand. It is best to carry the permit card and an ID. In other parts of Italy the rules require showing them on request by enforcement staff. For mushrooms in Le Marche, the card must be shown on request to the landowner or tenant and to enforcement authorities.
- Private property and state-owned land. The permit card does not guarantee access to every wood. To hunt for truffles in some regional state forests, for example those of the Unione Montana del Catria e Nerone, a paid concession is also required in 2026. In the woods of the Sibillini, whether state-owned or private, the conditions should be requested from the body that manages them.
- Where to get information. For the rules on access to the protected area, the reference is the Ente Parco. Permit cards and permits are handled by the Unioni Montane and the Regione Marche.
- Other activities. For those who want to combine foraging with a guided hike, the page guided hikes and guides in the Sibillini Mountains is a starting point. Other options are collected in things to do in the Sibillini Mountains.