How Much Are Hunting Licenses in Texas? Resident, Non-Resident, Lifetime

A Texas hunting license costs $25 for a resident, $7 for a senior resident (65+) or any youth under 17, and $315 for a non-resident general license. Non-residents on a short trip can instead buy a 5-day small game and exotic license for $48. Most hunters also need at least one $7 endorsement on top of the license, and waterfowl hunters add a $25 federal duck stamp. What you actually pay depends on who you are and what you plan to hunt.

Resident License Prices

Texas sells three resident hunting licenses, priced by age:

  • Resident Hunting License: $25. Covers all legal birds and animals, with endorsements required for certain game.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses
  • Senior Resident Hunting License: $7. Available at age 65 and older.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses
  • Youth Hunting License: $7. For anyone under 17 at purchase, resident or not. Youth holders are exempt from most state endorsement requirements, which makes this the cheapest legal way for a family to put a kid in the field.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses

To qualify as a resident, you must have lived in Texas continuously for more than six months immediately before buying. Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their dependents qualify as residents, as do documented members of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.2Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Purchase Requirements for Licenses, Endorsements and Tags

Non-Resident License Prices

Texas offers two non-resident options, and the gap between them is wide:

  • Non-Resident General Hunting License: $315. Covers all legal birds and animals, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses
  • Non-Resident 5-Day Small Game/Exotic Hunting License: $48. Valid for five consecutive days and limited to exotic animals, game birds (except wild turkey), non-game animals, fur-bearing animals, squirrel, and javelina. It does not cover deer, alligator, pronghorn, or bighorn sheep.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses

The 5-day license is a good value for a non-resident dove, quail, or exotics trip. If there’s any chance you’ll hunt deer or turkey on the same trip, the $315 general license is the only one that covers you.

Combination and Lifetime Prices

Hunters who also fish usually come out ahead with a bundle. The Resident Super Combo rolls a hunting license, freshwater and saltwater fishing licenses, and all state endorsements into one $68 package, which saves up to $18 versus buying the pieces separately.3Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Super Combo License Packages

Texas also sells lifetime licenses that never need renewal:

  • Lifetime Resident Hunting License: $1,000
  • Lifetime Resident Combination Hunting and Fishing License: $1,8004Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Lifetime Licenses

At $25 a year, a lifetime hunting license pays for itself after 40 seasons. The math gets friendlier if you’d otherwise buy a Super Combo each year.

Endorsements and Federal Add-Ons

The base license is only the starting number. Depending on what you hunt, you’ll stack endorsements on top, each priced at $7:

  • Migratory Game Bird Endorsement: $7. Required for doves, ducks, geese, and other migratory birds.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Endorsements
  • Upland Game Bird Endorsement: $7. Required for quail, pheasant, and other upland species.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Endorsements
  • Archery Endorsement: $7. Required for archery-only seasons and for bow hunting deer in certain counties.5Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Endorsements

Youth license holders are exempt from most state endorsements.

Federal Duck Stamp and HIP Certification

Waterfowl hunters aged 16 and older must carry a signed Federal Duck Stamp, which costs $25.6U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. About the Federal Duck Stamp Program You can get a physical stamp at post offices or an electronic e-Stamp through the TPWD licensing system.7U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Buy a Duck Stamp or Electronic Duck Stamp (E-Stamp)

Anyone hunting migratory game birds also needs Harvest Information Program (HIP) certification. There’s no extra fee: you answer a few questions during the license purchase and the letters “HIP” print on your license.8Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. License, Permit and Endorsement Requirements – Migratory Game Bird

Sandhill crane hunters need a separate Federal Sandhill Crane Hunting Permit, issued through TPWD at law enforcement offices, headquarters in Austin, or online.9Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Sandhill Crane

Hunter Education Deferral

Hunters 17 or older who haven’t completed hunter education can buy a one-time $10 deferral, good for the current license year and usable only once in a lifetime. While hunting under a deferral, you must be accompanied by a certified or exempt hunter.10Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunter Education

What You’ll Pay at Checkout

Where you buy affects the final cost:

The $5 online fee is charged once per transaction, so adding endorsements to your license at the same time doesn’t trigger a second fee.12Legal Information Institute. 31 Texas Administrative Code 53.2 – License Issuance Procedures, Fees, Possession, and Exemption Rules

When You Don’t Need a License at All

A few hunts cost nothing because no license is required:

  • Feral hogs on private land with the landowner’s permission.
  • Coyotes that are attacking, about to attack, or have recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowl.
  • Fur-bearing animals, if you hold a commercial trapper’s license. Landowners can also take fur-bearers causing damage on their own land without a license, though they can’t keep or sell any part of the animal.1Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses

These exemptions are narrow. Everything else, from dove in September to white-tailed deer in November, requires the license and the matching endorsements.