How Much Is a Hunting License? Cost by State

A basic hunting license costs between $10 (Hawaii) and $64.54 (California) a year for a resident, with a median of $25. Non-residents pay far more: $50 to $411.95, median $142. Those are the base licenses only. Deer, elk, turkey and waterfowl are almost always separate tags or stamps, which is where the real cost of a hunt sits.

The table lists all 50 states alphabetically with the resident and non-resident base fee and the cheapest short-term non-resident license we have on file, each taken from the state wildlife agency's fee page. Click a state for the full breakdown of tags, hunter education rules, license year and the official buy link.

Why the base license is only the start

The fee in the table is the license that makes you a legal hunter in that state, usually covering small game and sometimes furbearers. Big game is extra everywhere. A resident deer tag runs from about $15 to $60 on top of the license; a non-resident deer tag from $100 to more than $400; non-resident elk in the western states from $600 to over $1,000, often by limited draw. The state page for each row lists the permits that stack on top of the base fee.

The cheapest resident licenses are Hawaii ($10), Montana ($10), Arkansas ($10.50), Michigan ($11), Missouri ($11.50). The most expensive are California ($64.54), Washington ($55.13), North Carolina ($49), Alaska ($45), Utah ($40). Several states bundle instead: Texas residents mostly buy the $68 Super Combo rather than the $25 base, and states like Alabama and Arkansas sell an all-game annual whose price already includes deer and turkey.

Resident vs non-resident

Non-resident hunting licenses carry the steepest markup of any outdoor license, from about four times the resident fee to more than ten. The reason is partly funding (visitors do not pay state taxes into the wildlife agency) and partly access management: high fees and draw quotas keep out-of-state pressure off public land. Montana has the cheapest non-resident base at $50; Alabama the dearest at $411.95. The non-resident hunting license comparison sorts every state by visitor price.

Hunter education is a cost too

Nearly every state requires a hunter education certificate for anyone born after a cutoff date (1970s to 1990s depending on the state) before selling a first license. Online courses cost $15 to $50; in-person classes are usually free or under $20. The certificate from one state is accepted in all the others, so it is a one-time cost. Some states sell an apprentice or mentored license that waives the requirement for one or two seasons.

Short-term and trip licenses

13 states in the table sell a short-term non-resident hunting license, usually three to ten days, and they are often limited to small game. For a one-off pheasant or dove trip they cost a fraction of the annual. For deer or turkey, most states require the full non-resident license plus the tag, so the short-term option does not apply. The dash in the trip column means no short-term hunting license is on file for that state, not that none exists.

Federal stamps

Waterfowl hunters aged 16 and over also need the federal Duck Stamp, $25 a year in every state, on top of the state license and any state waterfowl stamp. Migratory bird hunters must register with the free HIP program in each state they hunt. Neither appears in the table because they are the same everywhere.

Open a state above for the full guide, sort visitors' prices on the non-resident hunting license comparison, or use the license cost calculator to total up the license and permits for a specific trip.