Florida Hunting License: Cost, Requirements & How to Buy
A Florida hunting license costs $17 for a resident adult and $151.50 for a non-resident adult (fees verified 2026-09-11).
Florida's base hunting license is among the cheapest in the country for residents, but it's genuinely a base: most Florida hunters end up adding a Wildlife Management Area permit, deer permit, or turkey permit depending on what and where they hunt.
- Non-resident 10-day $46.50
Youth 8-15 need hunter safety completion for the optional youth license; required more broadly for taking game by methods other than trapping. Non-resident 10-day option is $46.50 (not valid for turkey).
Fee last verified 2026-09-11.
Heading out for Florida 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 a Florida hunting license costs
The resident annual hunting license is $17. Non-residents pay $151.50 for the annual license, or $46.50 for a 10-day license, though the 10-day option isn't valid for turkey hunting, a restriction that trips up some visiting hunters planning a short trip around spring gobbler season.
Hunter safety and youth requirements
Florida requires hunter safety course completion for anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, and the optional youth license (ages 8-15) requires the young hunter to have completed hunter safety education first. The requirement generally applies to anyone taking game by methods other than trapping.
License validity
A Florida hunting license is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase or a start date you select at checkout, useful for hunters who want their license to align precisely with an upcoming trip rather than starting the clock the day they buy.
How to buy your Florida hunting license
Go Outdoors Florida (gooutdoorsflorida.com) is the state's official online licensing portal. Licenses are also sold by phone, at license agents and tax collector offices statewide, and through the free Fish/Hunt FL mobile app.
Hunting in Florida: what to expect
Florida's Wildlife Management Area system gives hunters access to millions of acres of public land, but most WMAs require a separate WMA permit on top of the base license. Check the specific area's requirements before you go. Florida's alligator hunting season, run through a competitive permit lottery each summer, is a genuinely unique opportunity not available in most states. Whitetail deer season varies by zone (Florida splits the state into four hunting zones with different season dates), and wild hog hunting is essentially unrestricted year-round on private land, since hogs are classified as an invasive species rather than managed game.
Four hunting zones and season timing
Because Florida stretches over 500 miles from the Panhandle to the Everglades, a single statewide season date wouldn't make ecological sense: deer breed at different times across that range, so the state splits into four zones (A, B, C and D) each with its own archery, muzzleloader and general gun season windows. A hunter used to a single fixed season elsewhere should double-check zone-specific dates before planning a Florida trip, since a date that's mid-season in one zone can be weeks before opening in another.
The 10-day non-resident license and four zones
Resident hunting is $17; non-resident annual is $151.50. A non-resident 10-day license is $46.50 and is not valid for turkey, which is the fine print that wrecks a spring trip if you only read the price. Licenses run 12 months from purchase or from a start date you choose, so a license bought in June can be timed to cover the fall deer season you actually care about.
Florida hunts on four zones with staggered dates. A season that is open in the Panhandle can be closed in the south. Quota hunts on Wildlife Management Areas are the other gate: many of the public deer and hog hunts people want are drawn, not walk-on. Apply on the FWC calendar months ahead, then buy the license. Doing it in reverse is how you own a $151.50 receipt and a weekend with nowhere legal to park.
Youth 8 to 15 need hunter safety completion for the optional youth license, and hunter safety is required more broadly for taking game by methods other than trapping. Bring the certificate to Go Outdoors Florida. A 10-day non-resident license at $46.50 is the visitor default for hog or deer on a WMA that you already drew, and it is not valid for turkey. Spring turkey visitors need a different product. Licenses run 12 months from purchase or a start date you choose; pick the start date so the license covers the season you actually came for.
How to renew a Florida hunting license
There is no separate renewal process in Florida. 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. 12 months from purchase or a selected start date.
The fastest route is the official Florida 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 Florida fishing license and the Florida boating license pages 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.