Alabama Hunting License: Types, Costs, and Hunter Education

To hunt legally in Alabama, residents ages 16 through 64 need an Alabama hunting license from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR); a resident All Game license costs $34.35, and non-residents pay from $173.90 for a three-day trip up to $399.50 for an annual All Game permit.¹² Depending on what you hunt and where, you may also need a Wildlife Management Area license, a bait permit, state and federal duck stamps, and Harvest Information Program registration.

Who Needs a License

Alabama counts you as a resident after 90 continuous days of living in the state.³ Non-residents need a license no matter how short the trip. Active-duty military stationed in Alabama get resident pricing without waiting out the 90 days.

Several groups are exempt from the hunting license itself:

Residents under 16. Youth hunters must stay within 30 feet of a supervising adult age 21 or older (or a parent), with no more than two youth per adult.⁴
Residents 65 and older. Carry a driver’s license or other proof of age and residency when you hunt, because an officer has no other way to verify it.
Resident landowners, their immediate family living on the property, and tenants residing on the property, when hunting that land. Guests and relatives who live elsewhere are not covered.⁵
Alabama residents on active military duty who are home on leave, if they carry proof of leave and military ID.⁶

One trap catches people every year: the hunting license exemption does not exempt you from the Bait Privilege License if you hunt deer or feral swine over bait. The statute says so directly.⁷

License Types and Current Prices

Resident

Most residents pick one of two:¹

All Game, $34.35. Covers every legal species, including deer and turkey.
Small Game, $22.75. Covers squirrel, rabbit, quail, and similar species, but not deer or turkey.

Residents 65 and older can buy an optional senior All Game ($34.35) or Small Game ($22.75) license if they want a license number for Game Check reporting.

Non-Resident

Non-residents choose by duration, and all three options cover every legal species:²

Annual All Game: $399.50
10-Day Trip: $246.60
3-Day Trip: $173.90

A single-weekend hunter saves real money with the 3-Day Trip over the annual.

Lifetime

Lifetime hunting licenses are priced by your age at purchase and remain valid even if you later move out of state. Prices rise each September 1. Recent tiers have run from about $413 at the youngest and oldest brackets up to roughly $690 for purchasers between 12 and 49. Check Outdoor Alabama for current figures before buying.¹

Add-On Permits You May Need

Wildlife Management Area License

Hunting deer, turkey, or waterfowl on any state-managed WMA requires a WMA license on top of your regular hunting license. Residents pay $22.75. Hunters 65 and older and those 15 and under are exempt. Small game hunters on WMAs do not need it unless they are also pursuing deer, turkey, or waterfowl.⁸

Bait Privilege License

Hunting whitetail deer or feral swine over bait on private or leased land is legal only with a Bait Privilege License. Residents pay $18.45; non-residents pay more. License-exempt hunters, including landowners, seniors, and youth, must still buy this permit if they hunt over bait.⁷

Migratory Bird Hunters: HIP and Duck Stamps

Hunting doves, ducks, geese, woodcock, snipe, or other migratory birds adds two federal requirements. First, Harvest Information Program (HIP) certification, which is free. You get it by identifying yourself as a migratory bird hunter when buying your license, and you must carry proof while hunting. Hunting migratory birds without it is a violation under both state and federal law. In Alabama, hunters under 16 and 65 or older are exempt from HIP; license-exempt hunters who still want to hunt migratory birds can register for HIP online without buying a license.⁹

Second, waterfowl hunters 16 and older must buy and carry the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, known as the Duck Stamp. It costs $25 and is valid July 1 through June 30.¹⁰ You can get it at post offices, national wildlife refuges, sporting goods stores, or online as an e-stamp that covers you through June 30 while the physical stamp is mailed. Alabama also charges a separate state duck stamp of $12.10, which you can add during license checkout.¹

Hunter Education

Anyone born on or after August 1, 1977, must complete an approved hunter education course before buying a license.¹¹ The course covers firearm safety, wildlife conservation, and ethical hunting. You can take it online or in person with an ADCNR-certified instructor. The course is open to students as young as 10, but it isn’t required until you reach the license-buying age of 16. If you were born before August 1, 1977, you can buy a license without it. You’ll be asked for your certificate number during checkout.

What You Need to Buy a License and Where to Get One

Federal law requires your Social Security number on recreational license applications, a rule tied to child support enforcement.¹² You’ll also need:

Proof of residency, usually an Alabama driver’s license or state-issued non-driver ID, which confirms the 90-day threshold.
Your hunter education certificate number, if you were born on or after August 1, 1977.
A government-issued ID from your home state, if you’re a non-resident.

The fastest way to buy is the Outdoor Alabama website or mobile app. Create a profile, pick your licenses and stamps, pay by card, and the license is available immediately through download or the app’s digital wallet.¹³ The same transaction handles HIP, duck stamps, and WMA licenses. In-person purchases are available at authorized agents, including sporting goods retailers, hardware stores, and county probate offices. A digital copy on your phone is legally sufficient in most field encounters, but some permits, trip licenses in particular, show up only on the paper version rather than in the app’s wallet, so a printed backup is worth carrying.¹⁴

Rules That Apply Once You’re in the Field

Hunter Orange

Whenever any gun deer season is open, including youth deer season and the special muzzleloader and air rifle seasons, anyone hunting any species must wear either an outer garment above the waist with at least 144 square inches of solid hunter orange, or a full-size hunter orange hat or cap.¹⁵ That rule reaches well beyond deer hunters; it applies to squirrel hunters too. The exceptions during gun deer season are hunters pursuing foxes, raccoons, or opossums at night, and those hunting turkey or migratory birds including crows. You’re also exempt if you’re in an elevated stand at least 12 feet off the ground, in an enclosed box stand, or inside an enclosed vehicle. Camo orange doesn’t qualify; only solid blaze orange counts. On Wildlife Management Areas, the orange rule applies year-round to anyone hunting or trapping any species.

Game Check Reporting

Every deer and turkey harvested in Alabama must be reported through Game Check. There is no exception for landowner-exempt or senior-exempt hunters. Record the harvest on your harvest record form or the ADCNR app before moving or field-dressing the animal, then report it within 48 hours through the Game Check website at OutdoorAlabama.com, the Outdoor Alabama app, or the DCNR toll-free phone number.¹⁶ You’ll receive a confirmation number that goes on the harvest form. Failing to report, incomplete records, and false entries are all violations.

Penalties for Hunting Without a License

Hunting without a license is a Class C misdemeanor. Residents face fines of $75 to $250 per offense, and the same penalty applies to lending or transferring a license. Non-residents pay a fine of at least three times the cost of the annual non-resident license they should have had, which at current prices means a minimum of roughly $1,200 for someone caught without an All Game license.¹⁷ Alabama is also a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, so a suspension here can suspend your hunting privileges in the other 46 member states, and a violation elsewhere can cost you your Alabama license.¹⁸

1
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Hunting Recreational Licenses – Resident
2
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Hunting Recreational Licenses – Non-Resident
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-44 – Resident License
4
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.119 – Youth Hunting Regulations
5
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Landowner Exemption
6
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-35.1 – Licensing Exception for Residents on Active Military Duty
7
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-244 – Taking of Protected Birds and Animals by Baiting
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-45 – License to Hunt on Wildlife Management Areas
9
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. What Is HIP?
10
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Buy a Duck Stamp or Electronic Duck Stamp (E-Stamp)
11
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Hunter Safety Education
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures
13
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. License Information
14
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Alabama Hunting License Requirements
15
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.85 – Hunter Orange Requirement for Hunting
16
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 220-2-.146 – Deer and Turkey Harvest Record and Reporting Requirement
17
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 9-11-51 – Hunting Without License
18
The Council of State Governments. Wildlife Violator Compact