Alaska Hunting License: Cost, Requirements & How to Buy
A Alaska hunting license costs $45 for a resident adult and $160 for a non-resident adult (fees verified 2026-09-12).
Alaska hunting is unlike anywhere else in the Lower 48: the base license is cheap by national standards, but the real cost of a hunt lives in the big game tags and, for a non-resident going after moose, caribou or Dall sheep, a required guide or transporter. The license itself just gets you in the door.
- Combination hunting + sport fishing license, resident $60
- Combination hunting + sport fishing license, non-resident $260
Base license covers most species; big game tags (moose, caribou, Dall sheep, bear, etc.) and duck stamps are separate. Alaska has no single statewide hunter-education mandate, but anyone born on or after Jan 1, 1986 must show a hunter education card to hunt in Units 7, 13, 14, 15 and 20. Non-resident aliens (non-U.S. citizens) pay $630. Military stationed in Alaska qualify for resident rates.
Fee last verified 2026-09-12.
Heading out for Alaska hunting? Game wardens require carrying physical or digital license proof and valid tags. Equip yourself with a waterproof license and tag pouch, rechargeable wide-beam LED headlamp, and corrosion-resistant multi-tool pliers before your trip.
What an Alaska hunting license costs
Alaska residents pay $45 for the annual hunting license; non-residents pay $160, and non-resident aliens (non-U.S. citizens) pay $630. Those figures buy the base license only. Big game tags for species like moose, caribou, Dall sheep, mountain goat and brown bear are each a separate purchase, and duck stamps are extra for waterfowl. A combination hunting and sport fishing license is available for $60 resident or $245-260 non-resident, which is the better deal if a hunt and a fishing trip are both on the itinerary.
Hunter education by game management unit
Alaska does not have one statewide hunter education mandate the way most states do. Instead, anyone born on or after January 1, 1986 must carry a hunter education card to hunt in specific Game Management Units, currently 7, 13, 14, 15 and 20, all of which sit in the road-accessible Southcentral region where hunting pressure is highest. Hunt outside those units and the requirement doesn't apply, though carrying the card anyway avoids an argument with a trooper who doesn't have the unit boundaries memorized.
License year
Alaska licenses run on the calendar year and expire December 31 no matter when during the year they were purchased. A license bought in October covers only a few months, which matters for anyone planning a winter trapping season that spans the new year: a second license for the following year is required on January 1.
How to buy your Alaska hunting license
The ADF&G online store at store.adfg.alaska.gov sells the license, tags and stamps in one checkout, and is the fastest route for anyone who already has an Alaska customer number. Licenses are also sold at license vendors statewide, including many sporting goods stores and air taxi operators in hunting-heavy communities.
Hunting in Alaska: what to expect
Most non-resident big game hunting in Alaska legally requires a licensed guide or, for some species and units, a family member who is an Alaska resident, because state law requires non-residents to be guided for brown bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat and recommends it heavily for moose and caribou in remote terrain. Road-accessible hunting near Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and the Denali Highway is realistic for a self-guided resident or an experienced non-resident with a transporter, mostly for moose, caribou and black bear. The state's roadless interior and Arctic units are a different proposition entirely, reachable only by bush plane, and that access cost usually dwarfs the license and tag fees combined.
Guides, transporters and the real budget
The $160 non-resident license and a few hundred dollars in tags are a rounding error next to what most non-resident hunts actually cost once air charter and, where required, a guide are added. Brown bear, Dall sheep and mountain goat hunts by non-residents require a licensed Alaska guide by law; moose and caribou do not require one everywhere, but self-guided access to good units usually still means a bush plane drop-off running well into four figures. Budget the transportation, not the license, as the number that determines whether the hunt happens.
Alaska's calendar-year license expiration catches people who buy in the fall expecting a full 12 months. A license bought in September is void on December 31 regardless, so a hunt that spans a New Year's trapping season or a late fall/early winter combined trip needs two license years covered, not one.
How to renew a Alaska hunting license
There is no separate renewal process in Alaska. A hunting license is not extended in place; when it expires you buy a new one for the next license year through the same system you used the first time, and your customer profile, hunter or angler ID and any saved payment details carry over so the second purchase takes a couple of minutes. Alaska licenses run on the calendar year and expire December 31 regardless of purchase date.
The fastest route is the official Alaska online licensing portal, which also lets you print or download the new license and add any stamps, tags or endorsements in one transaction. In-person license agents (sporting goods stores, bait shops and, in many states, county clerks) sell the same license at the same price, so use whichever is closer. Buying before the old license lapses is not required, but it avoids an accidental gap if a season opens before you get round to it.
Planning more than one? See the Alaska fishing license page too, see how much a hunting license costs in every state, compare non-resident hunting fees across states, browse every state, or use the state license finder.