Ohio Hunting License Cost 2026: Residents, Non-Residents and Deer Permits
An Ohio hunting license is $19 for a resident adult and $180.96 for a non-resident adult in the 2026-27 license year. That base license covers small game, furbearers and wild turkey. It does not cover deer. Add the either-sex deer permit ($31.20 resident, $218.40 non-resident) if you are hunting whitetails, and confirm the checkout total on ODNR's HuntFish OH portal before you pay.
- Non-resident 3-day tourist (not valid for deer, turkey or furbearers) $40.56
Base license covers small game, furbearer and wild turkey. Deer, waterfowl and fur taker each need a separate permit. The non-resident 3-day tourist license is not valid for deer, turkey or furbearers. Published prices include the writing fee.
Fee last verified 2026-10-30.
Heading out for Ohio 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.
See also the Ohio deer hunting license, tags and 2026-27 seasons .
| Add-on | Resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Either-sex deer permit | $31.20 | $218.40 |
| Deer management permit (antlerless) | $15 | $15 |
| Fall or spring turkey permit | $31.20 | $38.48 |
| Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp | $15 | $15 |
What an Ohio hunting license costs
Resident adults 18-64 pay $19 for the 1-year hunting license. Youth 17 and under pay $10, resident or not. Resident seniors 65 and older who were born on or after January 1, 1938 pay $10. Residents born on or before December 31, 1937 hunt free. Ohio also sells resident multiyear licenses ($54.08 for 3 years, $90.14 for 5, $180.27 for 10) and a $449.28 resident lifetime license. Those totals already include the writing fee.
The base license buys small game, furbearers and wild turkey. Deer, waterfowl and fur taker each need a separate permit from the table above. A typical resident deer hunt is the $19 license plus the $31.20 either-sex deer permit, $50.20 before any extra antlerless tags.
Ohio hunting license cost for non-residents
Non-resident adults pay $180.96 for the 1-year hunting license. That is the 2026-27 figure on ODNR's license page, not a range. The 3-day tourist license is $40.56 and is not valid for deer, turkey or furbearers, so it is a small-game weekend, not a deer trip.
A non-resident who wants to hunt deer also buys the $218.40 either-sex deer permit. License plus deer permit is $399.36 before a deer management permit or a wetlands stamp. There is no Super Combo-style bundle that folds those together at a discount.
Deer, turkey and waterfowl add-ons
The either-sex deer permit is $31.20 for resident adults and $218.40 for non-resident adults. Youth either-sex is $16. Resident seniors pay $12, or nothing if they qualify for the free senior license. A deer management permit (antlerless only) is $15 for residents and non-residents. Fall and spring turkey permits are $31.20 resident and $38.48 non-resident. Waterfowl hunters 18 and older also need the $15 Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp plus a $25 federal duck stamp.
Season dates, bag limits and CWD rules for whitetails live on the Ohio deer hunting license page, because they change by year and by county. The table on this page is the fee stack only.
Who needs a license, and hunter safety rules
Anyone hunting or trapping in Ohio must carry a hunting license, with limited exemptions for resident landowners and their families on their own land. First-time buyers need a hunter education card from Ohio or another state, or they buy an apprentice license and hunt with a licensed adult 21 or older. The course is free through ODNR-approved instructors, in person or as a hybrid online plus field day.
License year and deadlines
Ohio's annual hunting license is valid from March 1 through the last day of February, not for 365 days from the day you buy it. A license bought in January covers only a few weeks before you need the next year. Multiyear resident licenses run from the purchase date. Deer and turkey permits follow the season, not the license year, so buying the base license early does not lock a deer tag.
How to buy your Ohio hunting license
Buy online at huntfishoh.gov, in the HuntFish OH app, or at authorized vendors (sporting goods stores, bait shops and some county offices). You will need a customer record and a Social Security number the first time. A phone copy is legal if you can open it when a warden asks. Reprints are free online and $4 at a vendor.
Hunting in Ohio: what to expect
Ohio's whitetail deer herd is the draw for most out-of-state hunters, with the southeastern hill country (Adams, Scioto and Muskingum counties among them) consistently producing the state's biggest bucks thanks to a mix of hardwood ridges and smaller hunting pressure than the farm-belt counties further north. Wild turkey season splits into spring and fall, and Ohio's flock has rebounded enough that most counties now support both. Squirrel and rabbit hunting remain a genuine tradition here rather than an afterthought, particularly in the state's many wildlife areas open to public hunting.
Public hunting land in Ohio
Ohio's Wildlife Areas program (more than 130 properties covering roughly 200,000 acres) is the backbone of public hunting access for residents without their own land. Zaleski, Tar Hollow and Shawnee State Forest in the southeast hold some of the best public deer hunting in the state, while Killdeer Plains and Big Island in north-central Ohio are known instead for waterfowl and pheasant. Ohio also leases private farmland to the public through its Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District partnership in the east-central part of the state, effectively expanding public access well beyond what the state itself owns outright.
Because Ohio's public land is smaller and more scattered than in states like Michigan or Pennsylvania, competition for the best public tracts on opening weekend is real. Scouting a property well before the season, rather than showing up cold, makes a meaningful difference here. If you do not have a Wildlife Area nearby, look at ODNR's Walk-In Hunting Access parcels, which open private farms on a walk-in basis and change year to year, so download the current map before you drive. County park districts also hold smaller hunts that never show up on a statewide "best public land" list and are worth a call if you live next to one.
How to renew a Ohio hunting license
There is no separate renewal process in Ohio. 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. Ohio annual hunting licenses are valid from March 1 through the last day of February. Multiyear licenses run from the purchase date.
The fastest route is the official Ohio 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 Ohio fishing license and the Ohio 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.