Is It Legal to Kill Coyotes in Maryland? Licenses, Methods, and Zones

Killing coyotes is legal in Maryland year-round, in every county, with no bag limit and no closed season. The Department of Natural Resources classifies coyotes as furbearers, and you can hunt them day or night as long as you hold a Maryland hunting license and a Furbearer Permit and follow the rules on methods, Sunday hunting, and safety zones.¹

When You Can Hunt

No closed season. No daily bag limit. No possession limit. Coyotes can be taken in all 23 counties and Baltimore City, every month of the year.¹

Standard furbearer shooting hours run from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, but coyotes are specifically exempt. You can hunt them at night, and you can use artificial lights and electronic calling devices to do it.¹ That night-hunting latitude is one of the main differences between coyote rules and the rules for other furbearers like fox, raccoon, and mink.

Licenses You Need

Two documents cover most hunters: a Maryland hunting license and a Furbearer Permit. A regular hunting license by itself does not authorize you to take furbearers, including coyotes.²

On the most recent published fee schedule, a resident full-season hunting license is $35 and a nonresident license is $160. The individual Furbearer Permit is $5 for residents and nonresidents. A group Furbearer Permit covering a hunting party is $50. Nonresidents who want to trap also need a nonresident trapping license at $50.³

There is one important exemption. A landowner does not need a Furbearer Permit to hunt or trap a coyote on their own property when the animal is damaging or destroying personal or real property, and the landowner’s agent can act under the same exemption.⁴ A standard hunting license is still required unless another exemption applies.

Legal Methods

You can take coyotes with firearms, archery, or traps.

Rifles, handguns, and shotguns are all legal. Shotguns are limited to a combined capacity of three shells in the magazine and chamber.⁵ Full metal-jacketed, incendiary, and tracer ammunition is prohibited in rifles and handguns. Some counties restrict rifle use for certain game, so check the DNR’s county weapon chart for the current season before you go.

Vertical bows and crossbows are both permitted. Poisoned arrows and arrows with explosive tips are illegal.⁶

Electronic calls and artificial lights are both legal for coyotes at night, which is a meaningful advantage for predator hunters since most other species cannot be taken with these aids.

Trapping Rules

Trapping is legal statewide, but the equipment and procedural rules are detailed.

Leg-hold traps must be smooth-jawed with a maximum jaw spread of 5¾ inches. Traps set completely underwater may have a jaw spread up to 7¾ inches.
Body-gripping traps cannot exceed 8 inches by 8 inches, or 8 inches in diameter, unless set partially or totally submerged in water.
Box or cage traps are allowed in all upland and wetland areas.
Land-based traps must be checked at least once a day. Traps set in water or tidal marshes must be checked at least every two days.
Every trap must be stamped or tagged with your DNR ID number, unless you are trapping on property you own or rent.
A trapped furbearer must be killed before you transport it from the capture site.

These requirements come from COMAR 08.03.06.03 and apply to all furbearer trapping.⁷ Trappers also generally need a Certificate of Trapper Education from the Wildlife and Heritage Service, a requirement in effect since August 2007. Landowners who qualify for the Furbearer Permit exemption and anyone who held a valid Furbearer Permit before August 1, 2007 are exempt. Maryland accepts equivalent certificates from other states that offer reciprocal recognition.⁸ Pelts moved out of state must travel with a Fur Shipping Tag from the Natural Resources Police.⁹

Safety Zones and Private Land

You cannot hunt, shoot, or trap within 150 yards of any building or camp occupied by people without permission from the owner or occupant. For archery, the zone is smaller in most counties: 50 yards in Allegany, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Montgomery, St. Mary’s, Washington, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, and 100 yards in Anne Arundel County.¹⁰

A few counties add conditions inside the reduced archery zone. Harford County archers must hunt from a tree stand between 50 and 100 yards of an occupied building. Montgomery and Washington counties require archers to be in an elevated position in that same 50-to-100-yard band. A separate 300-yard safety zone applies around public and nonpublic schools, but only during school hours or when the building is occupied.¹⁰

Hunting or trapping on someone else’s land requires written permission. Maryland landowners can post boundaries with bright blue oil-based paint: vertical stripes at least 2 inches wide and 8 inches long, placed between 3 and 6 feet above the ground. Entering posted property without permission is trespassing.¹⁰

Sunday Hunting Is Not Statewide

This is where people get caught out. The year-round season does not override Maryland’s Sunday hunting restrictions, and most counties do not permit Sunday furbearer hunting at all.

In Allegany, Cecil, Garrett, St. Mary’s, and Washington counties, you can hunt coyotes on Sundays on private land and designated public lands with the same shooting hours as any other day. In Calvert, Caroline, Charles, Dorchester, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, Sunday hunting is restricted to private land, with some public-land exceptions in a few counties, and legal shooting hours end at 10:30 a.m.¹¹ Counties not on the DNR’s Sunday hunting chart, including several of the state’s most populated jurisdictions, do not allow Sunday furbearer hunting. Check the current calendar before planning a Sunday hunt.

Nuisance Coyotes

Landowners dealing with coyote damage have the most flexibility. The Furbearer Permit requirement is waived when a coyote is actively damaging personal or real property, and landowners can authorize agents to act under the same exemption.⁴

If you would rather not handle removal yourself, the Maryland DNR operates a Nuisance Wildlife Hotline at 1-877-463-6497 for Maryland callers or 410-349-8055 from out of state. The hotline connects you with operators licensed by the Wildlife and Heritage Service to handle wildlife complaints in your county.¹²

Organized Killing Contests Are Prohibited

Maryland bans organized contests that involve killing coyotes, foxes, or raccoons for prizes or monetary rewards. The law does not stop a landowner from killing coyotes on their own property and does not interfere with lawful dog training or performance competitions. The penalty for participating in a prohibited contest is $50 per animal killed.¹³

There are no reporting or in-state pelt-tagging requirements after taking a coyote. The Fur Shipping Tag only applies if you move pelts across state lines.⁹

1
eRegulations. Maryland Furbearer Seasons and Limits
2
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Maryland Hunting Licenses, Stamps and Permits
3
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Hunting License Price List
4
Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 08.03.06.06 – Furbearer Permits
5
Cornell Law Institute. COMAR 08.03.04.04 – Devices for Hunting Forest Game
6
Cornell Law Institute. COMAR 08.03.04.05 – Devices for Hunting Deer and Black Bear
7
Cornell Law Institute. COMAR 08.03.06.03 – Trapping
8
Library of Maryland Regulations. COMAR 08.03.06.07 – Trapper Education
9
eRegulations. Maryland Furbearer Hunting and Trapping
10
eRegulations. Maryland Hunting Regulations
11
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Maryland Hunting Seasons Calendar 2025-2026
12
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Nuisance Wildlife
13
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Natural Resources 10-427 – Organized Killing Contests Prohibited