Legality
Kratom law by state: bans, consumer-protection acts, age rules and local layers
The ten statutory bans, the de facto bans, leaf-only and licensed-only states, the KCPA states with caps and label rules, the 21+ states, and the local layer.
Written by: Author pendingReviewed by: Reviewer pendingUpdated:
How many states ban kratom?
Ten states prohibit it by statute or regulation. DEA's October 2026 notice counts them: "ten states (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin) have prohibited 7-hydroxymitragynine consumption," and lists nineteen states with consumer-protection statutes (91 FR 65370).
Four of the ten are old: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Vermont and Wisconsin scheduled the alkaloids between 2014 and 2016. Five are from the last eighteen months. Louisiana's Act 41 placed mitragynine and 7-OH in Schedule I effective 2025-08-01. Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection regulation, approved 2026-02-24 and effective 2026-03-25, lists "Mitragyna speciosa (kratom), including its leaves, stem and any extracts" plus 7-OH (Connecticut DCP). Kansas signed HB 2365 on 2026-04-10 and SB 430 on 2026-04-27, placing 7-OH and then mitragynine in Schedule I from 2026-07-01. Tennessee's Public Chapter 950 took effect 2026-07-01. Massachusetts placed kratom in Schedule 1 by emergency regulation 105 CMR 726.000, effective 2026-08-28 for up to one year (Mass.gov).
Which states are closed without a statute?
California is closed by enforcement. The Department of Public Health told licensees that selling or marketing kratom or 7-OH "in any form for consumption" is not permitted under Health and Safety Code section 110555, that such products are adulterated and illegal to sell to people of any age, and that the department may "embargo, seize, and impound" them (CDPH letter). State agents had visited more than 2,600 retail sites by 2026-02-08.
North Dakota is closed by executive order. Executive Order 2026-04 banned the sale, use and possession of kratom from 2026-08-05; HB 1628, signed 2026-09-04, creates a 21+ licensed framework for natural leaf with a 7-OH cap, but no sales are lawful until the Attorney General adopts licensing rules (North Dakota governor's office). The District of Columbia lists 7-OH, not the leaf, among novel psychoactive substances in 22-B DCMR § 1201; published trackers disagree on what that means for retail, and most sellers exclude it (Noble Tea & Kava). This store excludes it as a precaution.
Which states allow leaf but not extract?
Ohio and Utah. Ohio's Board of Pharmacy rule OAC 4729:9-1-01.1, permanent from May 2026, places mitragynine-related compounds in Schedule I "in the resinous extractives of mitragyna speciosa" and excludes "kratom in its natural, vegetative form" (Ohio Board of Pharmacy). Sellers ship crushed leaf only to Ohio.
Utah's S.B. 45, enforced from 2026-05-06, bans "any kratom product that is not 'pure leaf kratom'," states that extracts "cannot be sold," and limits even leaf to registered Retail Tobacco Specialty Businesses (Utah Attorney General). An out-of-state online seller therefore cannot ship either format to Utah.
Which states allow sales only through in-state licensees?
Rhode Island reversed its ban on 2026-04-01 under the Rhode Island Kratom Act, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 21-28.12, but only through dealers licensed by the Department of Health and distributors licensed by the state: "Kratom sold by an unlicensed distributor or dealer is prohibited," product is contraband, a 15 percent tax applies and buyers show photo ID (RIDOH). Utah's tobacco-specialty rule and North Dakota's pending licensing scheme work the same way. None of the three is open to a mail-order seller without an in-state license, so all three sit in this store's exclude column.
Which state closes next?
Kentucky. HB 757 (2026 Acts ch. 161 § 114) bans statewide sales, and HB 869 moved the date from 2027-01-01 to 2027-07-01; until then KRS 217.2201 to .2209 and 902 KAR 55:015 govern, the latter making 7-OH above 400 ppm dry weight a state Schedule I substance from 2026-03-12 (Recording Law, Kentucky). The research notes that a press report gave the January date while the statute history gives July; the manufacturer Botanic Tonics has sued. This store's table ships to Kentucky through 2027-06-30 and excludes it from 2027-07-01, applied automatically by date.
Maryland is open by statute but closed in this store's table: the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission requires the label to state "affirmative amounts of BOTH mitragynine and 7-OH" and says ranges, less-than signs and similar expressions are noncompliant (Maryland ATCC). A not-detected 7-OH result does not satisfy that, so Maryland waits for a report with a number.
What do the consumer-protection states require?
The nineteen KCPA states DEA names are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia (91 FR 65370). Delaware, Minnesota and Wyoming have joined with 2026 statutes. Their rules fall into four groups: an alkaloid cap, a label content rule, a synthetic-alkaloid ban, and an age.
Caps: 7-OH at 2 percent of the alkaloid fraction in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming; 1 percent of alkaloids or 1 mg per serving in Virginia (Va. Code § 59.1-200); 0.5 mg per gram and 1 mg per serving plus 150 mg mitragynine per serving in Georgia (Georgia Department of Law); 1 percent of alkaloids or 0.5 mg per container in Mississippi (HB 1077); and, in Florida, the June 2026 emergency rule's 1 mg per gram or milliliter with 100 times more mitragynine by mass.
Labels: manufacturer identity and address and a full ingredient list in Colorado and Mississippi, with Mississippi adding a telephone number (Colorado SB25-072; HB 1077); the amounts of both alkaloids in Georgia, Maryland and New York; directions and a serving size in Georgia and Texas (Texas SB 497); a verbatim warning in Virginia; and seven disclosures plus two statements in New York (GBL § 398-g). Colorado also bans candy-like forms and vapes; Georgia and Rhode Island ban vape forms.
Which states set 21, and which 18?
Statute sets 21 in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota (from 2026-08-01), Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, with North Dakota's future framework also at 21 (FOX 9 on Minnesota; Governor Hochul on New York). Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas set 18; a tracker reports 18 for New Hampshire.
Two states go further than an age. Florida's rule 5K-4.030 says kratom "may not be mailed, shipped, or otherwise delivered to a purchaser unless, before the delivery to the purchaser, the Food Establishment obtains confirmation that the purchaser is 21 years of age or older" (Fla. Admin. Code 5K-4.030), and Georgia sellers must "verify that the buyer is at least 21" (Georgia Department of Law). This store applies 21 and a database identity check to every state; see how this store verifies age.
What is in the city and county layer?
Local bans recur across every published seller list: Sarasota County, Florida; Union County, North Carolina; San Diego, Oceanside, Newport Beach and Jurupa Valley, California; Denver, Parker, Monument and Greenwood Village, Colorado; about 26 Illinois municipalities including Alton, Edwardsville, Granite City and Jerseyville; about 67 Mississippi localities; Franklin and Salisbury, New Hampshire; Hines, Oregon; Angleton, Anna, Baytown and Manvel, Texas; and Spokane, Washington (Top Tree Herbs).
No seller list cites an ordinance number, and the research did not read the municipal codes, so every local row in this store's table carries a review flag until the ordinance is read. The checkout compares the validated city and county of the shipping address against the layer.
What does a seller's exclusion list look like in October 2026?
The most current published list, verified 2026-10-04, excludes Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Utah and the District of Columbia plus Sarasota County, ships crushed leaf only to Ohio, and ends Kentucky shipping on 2026-12-31 (Noble Tea & Kava). This store's list matches it, adds Maryland for the label reason above, and keeps Kentucky open to the statutory date. The live table, with every citation and a dated change log, is the legality hub.
General information, not personalized guidance.
Sources
- 91 FR 65370, notice of intent (DEA's count of ban states and KCPA states) Federal Register via GovInfo (accessed 2026-10-20)
- CDPH letter to processed food registrants and licensees on kratom California Department of Public Health (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Connecticut DCP: recent controlled substance regulation changes Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (accessed 2026-10-20)
- 105 CMR 726.000, temporary placement of kratom in Schedule 1 Massachusetts Department of Public Health (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Ohio Board of Pharmacy consumer and retailer notice Ohio Board of Pharmacy (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Utah Attorney General: new kratom law now in effect Utah Attorney General (accessed 2026-10-20)
- North Dakota governor's office: executive actions on kratom Office of the Governor of North Dakota (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Rhode Island Department of Health: kratom licensing Rhode Island Department of Health (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Kentucky kratom laws Recording Law (secondary) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Fla. Admin. Code r. 5K-4.030 Cornell Legal Information Institute (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Georgia Kratom Consumer Protection Act summary Georgia Department of Law (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Colorado SB25-072 Colorado General Assembly (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Va. Code § 59.1-200 Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-10-20)
- N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 398-g New York Public Law (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Governor Hochul signs legislation on kratom (December 22, 2025) Office of the Governor of New York (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Maryland ATCC retailer notice Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Texas SB 497 (88R), enrolled Texas Legislature Online (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Mississippi HB 1077 conference report Mississippi Legislature (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Kratom purchase age rises to 21 in Minnesota (August 1, 2026) FOX 9 (secondary) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Top Tree Herbs restricted shipping locations (local layer as published by a vendor) Top Tree Herbs (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Noble Tea & Kava kratom legality by state (vendor list, verified October 4, 2026) Noble Tea & Kava (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
Related questions
Is kratom legal in my state?
In 33 states and nothing else, as of 2026-10-20. Ten states ban it by statute or rule, California by enforcement, North Dakota by executive order, and Rhode Island and Utah allow...
Which states does this store not ship kratom to?
Seventeen jurisdictions as of 2026-10-20: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Dakota...
Why does this store not ship to California?
Because California's Department of Public Health has told retailers that selling kratom "in any form for consumption" is not permitted under Health and Safety Code 110555, that...
When does the Kentucky kratom ban take effect?
On 2027-07-01. HB 757 (2026 Acts ch. 161 § 114) enacted a statewide sales ban, and HB 869 moved the date from 2027-01-01 to 2027-07-01; until then Kentucky's 2024...
Why does Ohio allow kratom leaf but not extract?
Ohio's Board of Pharmacy rule, permanent since May 2026, places mitragynine-related compounds in Schedule I "in the resinous extractives of mitragyna speciosa" while excluding...
Can I order kratom in Florida?
Yes, if you are 21 and the identity check at checkout passes, and not to Sarasota County. Florida rule 5K-4.030 requires the seller to obtain "confirmation that the purchaser is...