Hunting in Illinois is governed by the Wildlife Code and a thick set of administrative rules enforced by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and Illinois hunting laws require, at a minimum, a hunting license, the right stamps, and (for anyone using a firearm) a valid FOID card before you step into the field. Species-specific permits, blaze orange rules, equipment specs, and same-day harvest reporting layer on top of that baseline, and the penalties for getting it wrong range from a $1,500 fine to full revocation of your hunting privileges.
Licenses, Stamps, and the FOID Card
A resident hunting license costs $12.50 and a non-resident license runs $57.75. Youth hunters under 18 can buy a combined hunting and trapping license for $7.50, residents aged 65 to 74 pay $6.50, and residents 75 and older pay $1.50.1Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Hunting Licenses (All Categories) Nearly every hunter also needs the $5.50 Illinois Habitat Stamp.2Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Illinois Department of Natural Resources – Stamps
Firearm hunters need a valid FOID card from the Illinois State Police. Non-residents get a narrow exemption: they can hunt during the season with a valid non-resident hunting license without a FOID card, subject to conditions tied to whether their home state requires firearm registration.3Illinois State Police Firearms Services. Illinois State Police Firearms Services Frequently Asked Questions
Several species demand their own permits. Deer archery permits cost $17 for residents and $410 for a non-resident combo archery permit.4Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Deer Permit Applications Spring turkey permits run through a lottery, with leftover permits sold over the counter starting in March; no hunter can hold more than three total spring turkey permits in a year, counting lottery, over-the-counter, youth, and landowner permits combined.5Illinois Department of Natural Resources. 2026 Spring Turkey Hunting Waterfowl hunters need both an Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp ($15.50) and a Federal Migratory Waterfowl Stamp ($25.50) before taking any ducks or geese.6Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Waterfowl Permits and Stamps
Hunter Education and Supervising Young Hunters
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1980 must complete a hunter safety education course before being issued a new license, unless they can show proof of holding an Illinois hunting license from a prior year.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 520 ILCS 5/3.2 – Hunting License; Application; Instruction The IDNR runs both in-person and online courses that meet the requirement.8Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Hunter Safety Education
Youth hunters under 18 must be accompanied by a licensed adult who is at least 21, under close personal supervision. That supervision requirement is waived if the youth already holds a valid hunter safety certification approved by the IDNR. Illinois also offers an apprentice hunting license, open to any age, that lets a first-time hunter try the sport before completing hunter education. On public land, the supervising adult must be at least 21 and hold a hunter education certificate; on private land, the supervising adult just needs to be 21 and licensed.
Seasons and Bag Limits
Illinois is split into North, Central, and South zones, each with season dates calibrated to local wildlife. Deer and turkey are divided into separate archery, firearm, and muzzleloader segments; upland bird and small game seasons open in late autumn.
Deer
Archery deer season runs from early October through mid-January, pausing during the firearm seasons. The first firearm deer season is a Friday and Saturday in late November; the second covers four days in early December. A muzzleloader-only season follows the second firearm season. Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Kane (east of Route 47) counties use an extended archery season that runs continuously from October 1 through January 18 with no firearm-season break.
Each permit lets you take one deer. Regardless of how many permits you hold across archery, muzzleloader, and firearm seasons, no hunter may harvest more than two antlered deer in a license year (July 1 through June 30).9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code 17-685.40 – Statewide Deer Hunting Rules
Upland and Small Game
- Pheasant (roosters only): 2 per day, 6 in possession. Hen pheasants are illegal to harvest.
- Quail (bobwhite): 8 per day, 20 in possession.
- Rabbit (cottontail and swamp): 4 per day, 10 in possession.
On the second day of the season, possession cannot exceed twice the daily bag limit for that species.
Waterfowl
Waterfowl dates shift annually with federal frameworks and migration patterns across the state’s water management districts. The IDNR publishes the specific dates, zones, and species limits before each season opens.
Legal Weapons and Archery Specs
Equipment rules are species-specific and tighter than many hunters expect. Wrong gear can mean a confiscated firearm or bow and a citation on top.
During firearm deer season, legal weapons include shotguns no larger than 10-gauge and no smaller than 20-gauge loaded with slugs only, plus centerfire handguns and single-shot rifles meeting specific cartridge requirements.10Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code tit. 17, Section 650.30 – Statewide Requirements for Hunting Devices Legal centerfire ammunition must be .30 caliber or larger with a bottleneck case no longer than 1.4 inches, or a straight-walled cartridge of .30 caliber or larger, and the factory load must produce at least 500 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Handgun barrels must be at least four inches long. For any kind of hunting, a shotgun cannot hold more than three shells combined in the magazine and chamber; a gun that holds more must be plugged.11Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 520 ILCS 5/2.33 – Prohibitions
Longbows, recurve bows, and compound bows must have a minimum draw weight of 30 pounds at some point within a 28-inch draw.12Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Hunting Devices and Ammunition Broadheads must be at least 7/8 inch in diameter when fully opened. Fixed-blade broadheads can be metal, flint, chert, or obsidian; expandable broadheads must have metal cutting surfaces.13Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code tit. 17, Section 670.30 – Statewide Legal Bow and Arrow Crossbows are legal during archery season and need a minimum peak draw weight of 125 pounds, a working safety, a minimum overall length of 24 inches from butt to limbs, and fletched bolts or arrows at least 14 inches long not counting the point. Electronic arrow tracking devices are prohibited.
Where You Can Hunt
You cannot hunt on, shoot across, or let a dog hunt upon another person’s land without first getting permission from the owner or the owner’s designee. A designee’s authority must be documented in writing, including a property description, the scope of decision-making power, and the owner’s notarized signature.11Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 520 ILCS 5/2.33 – Prohibitions
Distance rules from occupied dwellings depend on your method. Discharging a firearm for hunting within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling is illegal unless you have the occupant’s permission. That distance drops to 100 yards for bow hunting, trapping, or a shotgun loaded only with shot shells. The same statute makes it illegal to discharge a firearm or bow along, upon, across, or from any public road or right-of-way.
Baiting deer is prohibited. The rule defines bait as any material other than pure water, including food, salt, and minerals, placed to attract white-tailed deer, and an area stays legally “baited” for 10 consecutive days after the bait is removed.14Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code 17-635.40 – Feeding or Baiting of Wildlife Elevated bird feeders within 100 feet of a home, active livestock feed, and standing crop food plots are among the limited exceptions. Public lands run by the IDNR often add their own restrictions on hours, methods, and site-specific permits.
If you don’t have access to private land, the Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP) opens enrolled private properties to specific hunts: squirrel, rabbit, archery deer, waterfowl, upland game, spring turkey, and youth firearm deer. You register online and reserve sites through the IDNR’s system.15Illinois Department of Natural Resources. IRAP – Illinois Recreational Access Program
Blaze Orange Rules
During the gun deer season in counties open to firearm deer hunting, every hunter in the field (except those targeting migratory waterfowl) must wear a cap and upper outer garment of solid blaze orange or solid blaze pink, with at least 400 square inches of that color displayed.16Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 520 ILCS 5/2.33 – Prohibitions Orange or pink camouflage patterns do not count. The color has to be solid.
Upland hunters have a lighter rule. When taking pheasant, quail, partridge, or rabbit with a firearm, you must wear a solid blaze orange or blaze pink cap. No upper garment is required for upland species outside the gun deer season.
Reporting Your Deer and CWD Check-Ins
In counties where Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance is not active, firearm deer hunters must report the harvest by 10:00 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer was killed, either by calling 1-866-ILCHECK or using the IDNR online check-in portal.17Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Illinois Administrative Code 17-650 – White-Tailed Deer Hunting By Use of Firearms You then write the confirmation number on the temporary harvest tag attached to the deer. If you can’t recover a downed deer in time to meet the 10:00 p.m. deadline, report the harvest immediately upon retrieval.
In endemic CWD counties — currently Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Lee, Livingston, Ogle, Will, and Winnebago — mandatory check stations run during firearm deer season. Hunters there must bring the whole or field-dressed deer to a designated check station by 8:00 p.m. on the day of the kill, where IDNR staff attach a permanent harvest tag. Newly detected counties adjacent to the endemic zone, such as Marshall and Putnam, also require mandatory check stations for at least one year after detection. Counties in the southern two-thirds of the state with emerging detections, including Adams and Peoria, use voluntary check stations, typically open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. during firearm seasons.18Outdoor Illinois Journal. Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance in Illinois – Fall 2025 and Beyond Even at voluntary stations, you have to register the deer online or by phone first and bring a confirmation number. CWD county designations change year to year, so check the IDNR announcements before each season.
Roadkill Deer
Illinois residents can legally claim a deer killed in a vehicle collision. The driver has first priority; if the driver leaves without taking possession, any Illinois resident may claim it. Possession has to be reported within 24 hours using the IDNR’s online road-kill report form.19Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Claim a Road Kill No part of a road-killed deer can be sold or bartered, and anyone other than law enforcement is prohibited from killing a deer that was injured, but not killed, by a vehicle.
Penalties, Points, and the Interstate Compact
Most wildlife code violations are misdemeanors. A Class B misdemeanor, which covers things like violating deer hunting regulations, carries a fine of up to $1,500.20Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-60 – Class B Misdemeanor More serious violations are charged as Class A misdemeanors, with steeper fines and possible jail time. On top of criminal penalties, the IDNR runs a point system that can take your hunting privileges away entirely.
Points are assigned by severity: 3 for a petty offense, 9 for a Class B misdemeanor, 12 for a Class A misdemeanor, and 24 or more for felonies. Accumulating enough points within an 18-month window (for less serious offenses) or a 36-month window (for more serious ones) triggers mandatory license revocation and privilege suspension.21Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Part 2530 – Revocation Procedures for Conservation Offenses Hunting during a suspension earns 60 points, the same as a Class 3 felony, and virtually guarantees a long-term loss of all outdoor privileges.
Illinois belongs to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, so a conviction or suspension in another member state follows you home. If your license is revoked in a compact state for a wildlife violation or failure to appear, Illinois will suspend your in-state privileges for the same period, and the suspension stays in place until the other state tells the IDNR you’ve complied.22Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Section 2530.500 – Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact Hunters who believe a revocation was issued in error can request an administrative hearing through the IDNR under the procedures in Part 2530.