Mississippi Lifetime Hunting License: Costs, Eligibility, and Coverage

A Mississippi lifetime hunting license costs at least $500 for a resident child under 13 and at least $1,000 for anyone 13 or older, covers hunting and fishing for life, and stays valid even if you later move out of state. It’s a resident license governed by Mississippi Code 49-7-153, and eligibility hinges on 18 consecutive months of Mississippi domicile before you apply.¹

What It Costs

The statute sets minimum fees, and the Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks can price above those floors. There is no senior discount. The only age break is under 13 versus 13 and older.¹

Resident under 13: not less than $500. A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate must be submitted with the application.
Resident 13 and older: not less than $1,000. Same price whether you’re 13 or 75.
Non-resident Mississippi native: $1,500. Available only if you were born in Mississippi, or if your parents had a Mississippi address at the time of your birth. A regular non-resident cannot buy this license.
Native son or daughter (military): not less than $1,000 for 13 and older, or $500 for under 13. This applies when a parent was born in Mississippi and was on active military service at the time of the applicant’s birth. You’ll need a certified copy of that parent’s Mississippi birth certificate.

Because the code uses “not less than,” check the current fee on the MDWFP website before mailing payment.

Who Qualifies

The main hurdle is residency. You must have been domiciled in Mississippi for at least 18 consecutive months before applying, and the burden of proving it falls on you. A Mississippi driver’s license or state-issued ID is the typical proof.¹

There is no minimum age. Parents can buy a lifetime license for a newborn, and many do because the under-13 rate is half the adult price.

Hunter education is a hard requirement for anyone born after January 1, 1972. If you skipped the course as a teenager, you need to complete it before your lifetime license application will be processed. Children between 12 and 15 who haven’t completed hunter education can still hunt, but only while supervised by a licensed hunter at least 21 years old.²

What the License Covers

A lifetime sportsman license lets you hunt and fish during any legal season and take any game or fish without buying additional Mississippi licenses or permits, with one significant exception: waterfowl.³

If you plan to hunt ducks, geese, or other migratory waterfowl, you still need a Mississippi state waterfowl stamp and a Federal Duck Stamp each year. The Federal Duck Stamp costs $25 for the 2025–2026 season and is required for waterfowl hunters age 16 and older. Mississippi sells electronic duck stamps through its online licensing system.⁴

In practice, the license covers deer permits, turkey permits, archery, and primitive weapon seasons for residents. The MDWFP brochure adds that additional permits may be required “if required by law,” so if you’re unsure about a specialized season, call MDWFP rather than guess.

You still have to follow season dates, bag limits, and area-specific rules. Public lands and wildlife management areas often carry different seasons and stricter regulations than the statewide rules, so check the rules for a specific WMA before you go.⁵

How to Apply

The application is a paper process. Complete the form from MDWFP and mail it with payment to:

Lifetime License
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
P.O. Box 451
Jackson, MS 39205-0451

MDWFP accepts checks and money orders made out to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, along with Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. The application asks for your Social Security number, driver’s license number, date of birth, and hunter education number if applicable. Applicants through age 12 must include a certified birth certificate.³

When you hunt or fish on a lifetime license, you must carry a second form of photo ID such as a driver’s license. The license card alone isn’t enough.

If You Move Out of State

Your Mississippi lifetime license stays valid whenever you come back to Mississippi to hunt or fish. You don’t repurchase anything, and you don’t convert to a non-resident license.³

It gives you no privileges in your new state. Every state’s license is independent, so you’ll still need whatever license your new home state requires.

How You Can Still Lose Your Privileges

Buying a lifetime license doesn’t put your hunting rights beyond reach. Mississippi can suspend your privileges for reasons that have nothing to do with hunting.

The most common one is unpaid child support. Under Mississippi Code 93-11-157, when a person falls behind on court-ordered support, the state can send notice that a license will be suspended in 90 days unless the arrearage is paid or a payment agreement is in place. The authority reaches recreational licenses broadly.⁶

Mississippi also belongs to the Wildlife Violator Compact. A wildlife violation in another member state can follow you home: if you lose hunting privileges in a compact state, Mississippi can suspend yours here as well, and the reverse also applies.⁷ Most U.S. states are members, so an out-of-state ticket is not something to shrug off.⁸

A Mississippi hunting conviction can also strip your privileges. Class I violations trigger an automatic forfeiture of hunting, trapping, and fishing privileges for at least 12 consecutive months on top of fines and jail time, and Class II convictions carry a one-year forfeiture as well.⁹¹⁰

1
Justia Law. Mississippi Code 49-7-153 – Lifetime Sportsman and Fishing License
2
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. Hunter Education
3
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. Lifetime License Brochure
4
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Buy a Duck Stamp or Electronic Duck Stamp
5
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. General Hunting Rules and Regulations
6
FindLaw. Mississippi Code 93-11-157 – Review, Determination, Notice of Noncompliance
7
Justia Law. Mississippi Code 49-10-1 – Enactment, Provisions of Compact
8
National Center for Interstate Compacts. Wildlife Violator Compact
9
Justia Law. Mississippi Code 49-7-141 – Penalties, Class I Violations
10
FindLaw. Mississippi Code 49-7-143 – Penalties, Class II Violations