Is Kratom Legal in New York?

What law covers kratom in New York?

Two laws name it. Both passed in 2025, and both were rewritten in early 2026.

The first is Public Health Law section 1399-xx. It bars any person or kratom business from knowingly selling or giving kratom to anyone under 21. The second is General Business Law section 398-g. It sets what a kratom package has to say. The state’s own law site lists its start date as December 19, 2026.

Both laws define kratom broadly. The definition covers any part of the Mitragyna speciosa plant and anything made from it. It also covers lab-made and partly lab-made forms of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, the leaf’s two main alkaloids.

New York lists its controlled substances in Public Health Law section 3306. Kratom isn’t on that list, and neither alkaloid is. So the state has no possession offense for kratom.

What does New York require of a kratom seller?

Since June 17, 2026, the age law has required every seller to:

• refuse sales to anyone under 21
• check a photo ID, unless the buyer reasonably looks 25 or older (looking older is no defense if the buyer turns out to be under 21)
• post the sentence “Sale of kratom to persons under twenty-one years of age is prohibited by law.” In a store, it goes on a white card in red letters at least half an inch (about 13 mm) tall. On a website or app, it appears in red letters of at least 12 point on every page that offers kratom for sale.
• keep only four facts from a scanned ID (name, birth date, ID number and expiration date) and never sell or share them

A broken sales or sign rule can bring a fine of up to $500 after a hearing. Each day a seller goes without the sign counts as a separate violation. Misusing scanned ID data can cost up to $1,000.

From December 19, 2026, the label law reaches anyone who makes, distributes or sells kratom at retail in New York. Every package will need:

• the maker’s or distributor’s name and business address
• the full list of ingredients
• warnings that sale to anyone under 21 is prohibited, that kratom isn’t advised during pregnancy or breastfeeding, that buyers should consult a healthcare professional first, that kratom may be addictive, and that it may interact with medications, drugs and controlled substances
• whether the product holds any lab-made or partly lab-made kratom compound
• the amount of mitragynine and of 7-hydroxymitragynine in the product
• the standard FDA statement that the label’s claims haven’t been evaluated, and “Keep out of reach of children.”

Fines run up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for each one after.

How did New York get its kratom laws?

It took nearly a decade. The first kratom bills arrived in January 2016. Senate Bill 6345, filed by Senator David Carlucci, would have banned kratom sales outright. Over the next nine years, lawmakers filed bills to ban kratom, to set a buying age of 18 or 21, and to pass a Kratom Consumer Protection Act. None passed either chamber.

That changed in June 2025, when two bills passed both chambers.

• Senate Bill 4552-A, filed by Senator Patricia Fahy, set the buying age at 21. The Senate passed it 59 to 0 on June 11. The Assembly passed it two days later.
• Assembly Bill 5852-A, filed by Assemblymember Phil Steck, required a warning label and barred calling kratom “all natural.” The Assembly passed it on June 4. The Senate passed it 59 to 0 on June 12.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed both on December 19, 2025, as chapters 690 and 655 of that year’s laws. Her office announced them three days later.

Both came with agreed changes, called chapter amendments, which the governor signed on February 13, 2026.

• Chapter 81 of 2026 (Senate Bill 8814) moved the age rule into its own article. It added the website and app sign, spelled out fines and hearings, and dropped a planned health department study. It also set the start date at 180 days after the original law. The Senate passed it 55 to 1.
• Chapter 12 of 2026 (Assembly Bill 9443) rewrote the label rule. The 2025 version required one warning listing side effects, among them liver damage and death. That version never took effect. The new version asks for the ingredients, the alkaloid amounts and the warnings above. It also dropped the ban on “all natural.” The Senate passed it 60 to 0.

Which other New York kratom bills are pending?

One has passed both chambers. Senate Bill 8925-A, filed by Senator Christopher Ryan, would bar businesses, online sellers included, from knowingly selling products whose 7-hydroxymitragynine runs above 2 percent of total alkaloids or above 1 milligram per serving. The Senate passed it 61 to 0 on June 2, 2026. The Assembly passed it on June 5.

On the date at the top of this page, the Legislature’s record showed no delivery to the governor. If signed, it would take effect 90 days later. The Attorney General would collect fines of up to $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each one after.

The bill’s limits apply to any product, leaf included. Its sponsor’s memo aims it at 7-OH products sold in gas stations and smoke shops. The memo says those products hold far more 7-OH than natural kratom does. We have never sold 7-OH products and we do not defend them.

Fourteen more never reached a floor vote:

• Senate Bill 9322 would add 7-hydroxymitragynine to Schedule I, New York’s strictest drug category.
• Assembly Bill 4034 and Senate Bill 7379 would add kratom itself to Schedule I.
• Senate Bill 10514 and Assembly Bill 10969, the “Synthetic Kratom Kills Act,” would ban lab-made kratom compounds and products above 2 percent 7-hydroxymitragynine, and require testing and labels for natural kratom.
• Senate Bill 8686 and Assembly Bill 9114 would ban food and drinks containing kratom.
• Senate Bill 9445 and Assembly Bill 10482 would bar kratom ads in store windows near schools.
• Senate Bill 8136 and Assembly Bill 8693 would pass a New York Kratom Consumer Protection Act.
• Senate Bill 3426 and Assembly Bill 2699 would bar anyone under 21 from buying or having kratom.

A last bill, Senate Bill 9053, asks the health department for a study of kratom.

What have New York health agencies said about kratom?

The Department of Health began tracking 7-hydroxymitragynine in June 2025, the governor’s office said. In December 2025, the department posted safety information for the public and guidance for doctors.

That page says 7-hydroxymitragynine can be made partly in a lab from mitragynine and added to products without appearing on the label. It warns that products labeled “natural leaf” can carry added 7-hydroxymitragynine too.

On May 20, 2026, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports published a fact sheet. It says kratom is legal but not approved by the FDA. It quotes the state health commissioner saying kratom can cause liver toxicity and dependence, and that those risks may rise when a product holds concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine.

Who enforces New York’s kratom laws?

In New York City, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene enforces the age law. Everywhere else, the state Department of Health does. Either can hold a hearing, set a fine and go to court to make a seller comply.

County bans carry their own enforcement. Albany County’s order lets health inspectors enter stores, seize products and fine sellers. Nassau County makes a sale a misdemeanor.

Could New York kratom law change?

Yes. Senate Bill 8925-A needs only the governor’s signature.

New bills can follow quickly. The state constitution has the Legislature meet each year on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January. In 2027, that’s January 6.

Federal action sits above all of it. On October 14, 2026, the DEA published a federal proposal on 7-hydroxymitragynine. It’s a proposal, not a rule, and this page doesn’t state federal law. Our page on whether kratom is legal federally tracks it, and the Kratom Legality hub carries every state.

If a New York bill moves, the Legislature’s own site shows it first. Not a store’s website. Ours included.

Can you order kratom online in New York?

Yes, if you’re 21 or older and your address isn’t in Albany, Nassau or Oneida County. We don’t ship to those three counties.

We’re based in Arlington, Texas, and New York is the sixth-largest state for our orders. We verify age at checkout. Every lab report we publish for our Whole Earth line measures 7-hydroxymitragynine, and you can read them on our lab tests page. We carry kratom powder and kratom capsules from Whole Earth and other brands.

Is kratom legal in the states around New York?

In two of the five. Pennsylvania and New Jersey allow kratom at the state level. The three New England states on New York’s border ban it.

• Connecticut lists kratom in Schedule I by state rule.
• Massachusetts has listed kratom in Schedule I by emergency health rule since August 28, 2026. The rule is temporary, and retailers have sued.
• Vermont lists mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine as regulated drugs.

That makes the drive east the one that catches people out. Kratom bought legally in New York falls under Connecticut, Massachusetts or Vermont drug law the moment you cross the line. The law reaches you where you are, not where you bought it. Traveling with kratom covers what that means on a drive and in an airport.

Can a city or county in New York ban kratom?

Yes. We’ve confirmed three county bans in the counties’ own records, and each one reaches the whole county.

• Nassau County. The County Legislature passed Local Law 3 of 2026 on March 9, 2026, and it was approved on March 24. It bars any person or retailer, online sellers included, from selling or distributing kratom in the county.
• Oneida County. A county health order banned the sale of kratom throughout the county on June 5, 2026. The Board of Legislators then approved a local law, and the County Executive signed it on August 19, 2026.
• Albany County. The county health commissioner signed Emergency Public Health Order No. 1 of 2026 on August 24, 2026. Since September 1, it has barred anyone, online sellers included, from selling, distributing or delivering kratom in the county. The order is interim. It lasts until the commissioner ends it or a local, state or federal law takes its place.

Our shipping page keeps the full list of places we don’t ship.

This page covers state law. Cities and counties can add rules of their own, and those rules differ and change.

There’s no reliable way to track every local rule in the country, and we are not going to pretend there is. Check your own city and county before you buy, carry or travel.