Mushroom picking and the free mushroom check in Vaud
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Autumn is mushroom season in the Vaud forests. Picking is allowed, but the canton sets a daily limit and protects threatened species. Before you eat anything you picked, have it checked for free by an official mushroom controller (contrôle des champignons). Only a few dozen of the more than 1,500 species in Switzerland are considered edible (Ville de Lausanne).
Key facts
- Do not eat mushrooms that have not been checked.
- Limit: up to 2 kg per person per day, picking allowed every day of the month from 7:00 to 20:00 (vd.ch; RLPrPNP, BLV 450.11.1, art. 12).
- No closed days since 1 Jan 2025: the former ban on the first seven days of each month was dropped (vd.ch).
- Protected species: threatened species are strictly forbidden to pick (vd.ch).
- Free check: official VAPKO-certified controllers check your harvest for free. As of 2 Sep 2026, the City of Lausanne announced that its own check is closed for an indefinite period (Ville de Lausanne).
- Poisoning: call 145 (Tox Info Suisse); in an emergency call 144.
1. Picking rules in Vaud
- Picking is allowed throughout the canton every day of the month, from 7:00 to 20:00, within 2 kg per day and per person. Picking to sell is limited to 6 kg per day and needs an authorisation and training (vd.ch).
- Destroying mushrooms on purpose is forbidden (vd.ch).
- Protected species: OFEV priority fungi and species listed as vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered or possibly extinct are protected and may not be picked. For species in annex 2 of the regulation, you may only take a handful, and only outside protected sites (vd.ch). To verify: a plain-language list of protected species; the canton refers to the VAPKO Romandie picking advice.
- For forest safety, see Hiking and mountain safety, and after a day in the woods check yourself for ticks: Ticks, Lyme disease and TBE.
- Mushroom season overlaps with the hunting season: see Hunting season in Vaud: what walkers need to know.
2. The free official mushroom check
Controllers are certified by VAPKO, the Swiss association of official mushroom control bodies (Association suisse des organes officiels de contrôle des champignons). Find the nearest one on the VAPKO map of control points. Times change through the season; always check the VAPKO page or call ahead. No checks from photos.
Near Lausanne and EPFL (VAPKO listings as of 11 Oct 2026; all free):
- Lausanne: the City's check is currently closed for an indefinite period (Ville de Lausanne).
- Chavannes-près-Renens, Avenue de la Gare 94 (fire station room): Sundays 18:00 to 19:00 from 7 Sep to 9 Nov; otherwise by phone appointment at the controller's home in Ecublens. No check on the Federal Fast (Jeûne fédéral) weekend.
- Bussigny, Rue St-Germain 1: by phone appointment, Mondays (16:00 to 17:00 from July to October); no check from 10 to 18 October. English spoken.
- Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Route du Jorat 5: 1 Jul to 30 Nov, Monday to Saturday by phone, Sunday 18:00 to 19:00 (Commune du Mont-sur-Lausanne).
- Other nearby points include Echandens, Echallens and Cossonay (VAPKO).
- To verify: whether these points also serve non-residents of the commune (Le Mont-sur-Lausanne describes its service for residents); dates and year of the VAPKO listings.
3. Suspected poisoning
- Call Tox Info Suisse on 145 (24/7). If someone is unconscious, has trouble breathing or is seriously ill, call 144.
- All emergency numbers in one place: Emergency contacts (ICE sheet).