Maine Hunting License: Cost, Requirements & How to Buy

A Maine hunting license costs $26 for a resident adult and $115 for a non-resident adult (fees verified 2026-09-11).

Maine's big-game hunting license is the base credential; deer, bear and turkey each take a species permit on top. First-time hunters must show hunter education. A resident combination hunt-and-fish license is $48 if you will do both in the same year.

What a Maine hunting license costs

The resident big-game hunting license (age 16+) is $26; non-residents pay $115. Junior hunting is $8 resident / $35 non-resident. A resident combination hunting and fishing license is $48. Super Pack, for residents only, is a much higher flat price that bundles hunting, fishing, turkey, muzzleloader, bear and several other privileges. Deer, bear and turkey permits stack on the base license; moose is a lottery.

Hunter education

First-time hunters must show proof of hunter education before IFW will issue the license. Maine accepts equivalent courses from other states. Apprentice licenses exist as a supervised on-ramp.

How to buy your Maine hunting license

IFW's MOSES system (the Maine Online Sportsman's Electronic System) sells licenses 24/7. Authorized agents statewide (sporting goods stores, many town clerks, turnpike service centers) sell them in person. Non-resident licenses are not issued by every town clerk, so online is the reliable path for visitors.

Hunting in Maine: what to expect

Northern Maine (the North Woods, industrial timberland with public access, and Baxter on the edge of it) is the state's deer, moose and bear country, with lower deer densities and more public access than the southern farm-and-woodlot counties. Downeast and western Maine hunt a middle ground. Moose hunting is a draw with a small number of permits; it is not something the $26 license includes. Bear baiting and hounding are regulated seasons with their own permit, not a general-license afterthought.

Public land

Maine's public-access story is as much large private timberland under recreational-use arrangements as it is state public reserved land. North Maine Woods checkpoints on some roads charge an access fee that is separate from the hunting license. Southern Maine hunters without land lean on IFW Wildlife Management Areas, which are smaller and more scattered.

Deer, bear, turkey permits and the $48 combo

Maine's $26 resident or $115 non-resident hunting license is the base. Deer, bear and turkey each need a species-specific permit on top. First-time hunters must show proof of hunter education. Residents who also fish should look at the $48 combination hunt and fish license before buying the two annuals separately; it is the better math for anyone who will do both in the same year.

Any-deer permits in some Wildlife Management Districts are limited. A hunting license plus a deer permit still may not mean an antlerless tag in the district you wanted. Read the current-year any-deer permit allocations before you plan a November trip around a freezer you have not filled yet.

North Maine Woods, IFW land and posted mill ground

A lot of "public" hunting in Maine is large industrial forest with a gate fee (North Maine Woods and similar). That is not a state Wildlife Management Area, and the gate ticket is on top of the IFW license. IFW regional management areas and some state lands are the true public pieces; they are smaller and get hunted harder near the southern population centers.

Licenses are sold statewide (sporting goods stores, many town clerks, turnpike service centers). The IFW MOSES system is the online route. Carry a paper or screenshot copy in November when a North Woods checkpoint has no signal. Night hunting and baiting rules for bear are specific and enforced; do not import a practice from Pennsylvania or New Hampshire without reading Maine's current bear page.

If you will fish as well as hunt, residents should buy the $48 combination instead of $26 plus $30. Non-residents buy the two licenses separately. Any-deer permit allocations by Wildlife Management District post before you should spend on a camp week in a district that has no antlerless leftover. Read that table. A hunting license plus a deer permit in a bucks-only district is still a legal hunt; it is not the doe hunt you may have planned.

How to renew a Maine hunting license

There is no separate renewal process in Maine. 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.

The fastest route is the official Maine 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 Maine 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.