Arkansas Out-of-State Hunting License: Costs, Permits, and Tagging Rules

If you’re coming from another state to hunt in Arkansas, you need a non-resident Arkansas hunting license before you set foot in the field, and the cost runs from $80 for a five-day small game trip up to $410 for the annual all-game license. The Arkansas out-of-state hunting license you buy depends on what you plan to pursue and how long you’ll be in the state, and several species require add-on tags or permits on top of a base license. You must carry proof of every license and permit while hunting, whether printed, on a hard card, or displayed on your phone.¹

License Options and What They Cost

All annual non-resident licenses run on a July 1 through June 30 license year. A license bought in January still expires the following June 30, so timing matters if you’re planning a late-season trip.²

Annual Licenses

The Nonresident Annual All Game Hunting License (NBG) costs $410. It covers deer and small game, includes six deer tags, and is the required base license if you want to add bear, turkey, elk, or alligator permits later.²

If you’re only chasing small game, waterfowl, or furbearers, the Nonresident Annual Small Game Hunting License (NRH) is $110. Turkey-only hunters can skip the NBG and buy the Nonresident Annual Turkey Hunting License (NRTL) at $325, which includes one turkey tag. Either way, non-residents are limited to one legal turkey per year.³⁴

Short-Trip Licenses

Nonresident 1-Day Deer Hunting License (AG1): $100, one deer tag
Nonresident 3-Day Deer Hunting License (AG3): $175, one deer tag
Nonresident 5-Day Deer Hunting License (AG5): $225, two deer tags
Nonresident 5-Day Small Game Hunting License (SG5): $80

These short-trip options cover the trip only; they don’t substitute for the NBG if you later want to add big-game permits.³

Add-On Permits for Bear, Turkey, Elk, and Alligator

Several species require a separate tag purchased on top of the NBG. You can’t buy any of these without first holding the NBG:

Nonresident Bear Tag (NRB): $300
Nonresident Turkey Tag (NRTT): $100
Nonresident Private Lands Elk Permit (NRE): $300
Nonresident Private Lands Alligator Permit (NRG): $300

The turkey option often confuses people. If you already have the NBG, add the $100 turkey tag. If turkey is your only quarry, the $325 standalone NRTL is the cheaper path. The one-turkey annual cap applies either way.²

Waterfowl: The Stack That Trips People Up

Waterfowl hunting layers several requirements on top of your base license, and missing one of them can mean a fine. You need all of the following:

Arkansas Nonresident Waterfowl Stamp (DSN): $50
Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Federal Duck Stamp): $25, valid July 1 through June 30; the electronic version is valid immediately
Harvest Information Program (HIP) registration: free, requires a short survey about your prior season’s migratory bird hunting

If you’re hunting waterfowl on a Wildlife Management Area during regular duck season, you also need a Nonresident WMA Waterfowl Hunting Permit. Pricing is $40 for a three-day permit (up to ten per season) or $200 for a single 30-day permit. You pick your hunting dates when you buy, and selections are final. No refunds, no transfers.⁵²

Hunter Education

Anyone born after 1968 must carry a valid hunter education certificate while hunting in Arkansas. The state accepts certificates from any other state or Canadian province, so your home-state card works here.⁶

If you were born after 1968 and haven’t completed the course, you can hunt under the Deferred Hunter Education License (DHE). It’s free, available at age 16 and up, and renewable each year. You must hunt in the immediate presence of an adult at least 21 years old who either holds a valid hunter education certificate or was born before 1969. A prior conviction for a hunter education violation disqualifies you from the deferral.⁶

How to Buy and Carry Your License

The fastest route is the AGFC’s online portal at ar-licensing.s3licensing.com. Create an account, pick the licenses, stamps, and permits you need, and pay by credit card. You can then print the license, save a PDF to your phone, or pull it up through the AGFC mobile app. Authorized vendors across the state, including sporting goods stores and bait shops, sell licenses in person and print a copy on the spot.

The system will let you buy a base license without the matching waterfowl stamp or HIP registration, so review your cart before checkout. Everything you need has to be in hand before you enter the field.

Tagging After You Harvest

Tagging rules are strict and the clock starts the moment you recover the animal. Before moving a harvested deer, bear, alligator, or turkey from the site of recovery, you must either check it in immediately through an AGFC-approved method (the app or website) or fill out a temporary tag in ink with your name, date, WMA or zone number, and time of harvest. Fasten that tag to the antler, ear, or leg of a deer, or to the leg of a turkey.⁷

If you use a temporary tag, you have 12 hours from recovery to complete the official check-in. Your harvest information, including name, address, species, sex, date taken, and confirmation number, must stay with every portion of the animal until it reaches its final storage location.⁷

Taking Your Deer Home: CWD Carcass Rules

Arkansas restricts moving cervid carcasses (deer, elk, and similar species) out of designated CWD Management Zones within the state. The following items are exempt and may be transported:

Boneless meat
Antlers, including antlers attached to cleaned skull plates with no tissue
Cleaned teeth
Hides and tanned products
Finished taxidermy

A whole carcass with the head attached cannot legally leave a CWD Management Zone. Plan to debone your meat and clean your skull cap before heading home, especially if you’re hunting a Tier 1 county where restrictions are tightest. Your home state may have its own import rules for deer carcasses coming from Arkansas, so check before you load the truck.⁸

Arkansas also bars importing any portion of a cervid carcass originating from outside the state, so if you hunted elsewhere on the way in, leave the carcass behind.⁸

Penalties and the Wildlife Violator Compact

Fines for non-residents caught hunting without the proper license run $300 to $1,000, and certain violations carry a minimum fine of $500.⁹

The consequences follow you home. Arkansas joined the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact in 2014, linking it with more than 45 other member states. A conviction in Arkansas can trigger a license suspension in your home state, and a suspension in your home state can be enforced in Arkansas. A wildlife offense in any member state can be treated as if it happened in every other member state.¹⁰¹¹

One narrow exception to the license requirement: no state hunting license is needed when hunting pen-raised birds at a licensed game-bird shooting resort.¹

1
Legal Information Institute. Arkansas Code R 002.01.22-025 – Nonresident Hunting License Requirements
2
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. D1.01 Licenses, Permits, Stamps, Tags, Costs, and Expiration Dates
3
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Hunting License Descriptions and Fees
4
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Tags Needed to Bag a Turkey This Spring; Nonresidents Limited to Single Gobbler
5
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Nonresident Waterfowl Hunting Permit Requirements on WMAs
6
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. 03.16 Hunter Education Certificate Requirements
7
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. 05.17 Alligator, Bear, Deer, and Turkey Tagging Requirements
8
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Importation of Cervid Carcasses, Parts, and Products Prohibited
9
Legal Information Institute. Arkansas Code R 002.00.06-008 – Non-Resident License Penalties and WMA Waterfowl Permits
10
Arkansas Secretary of State. Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact – Arkansas Code R 01.00-Q
11
CSG National Center for Interstate Compacts. Wildlife Violator Compact