PA Hunting License: Types, Costs, and How to Buy

A Pennsylvania hunting license costs $20.97 for a resident adult, and you can buy one online through HuntFishPA or in person at an issuing agent anywhere in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Game Commission issues all hunting licenses under Title 34, and the license year runs July 1 through June 30, so a license bought now stays valid through the end of next June.

License Types and What They Cost

Every fee below includes the $1.97 issuing agent surcharge on top of the statutory base price. The general license covers deer (one antlered tag), fall turkey, spring turkey, and small game.

Resident Adult, ages 17–64: $20.97
Resident Junior, ages 12–16: $6.97
Resident Junior Combination (adds archery, muzzleloader, and furtaking): $9.97
Resident Senior, age 65+: $13.97
Resident Senior Lifetime: $51.97 (holders apply for a free renewal each year to get valid harvest tags)
Resident Senior Lifetime Combination: $101.97
Nonresident Adult, age 17+: $101.97
Nonresident Junior, ages 12–16: $41.97
Nonresident 7-Day Small Game: $31.97

Pennsylvania residents who are active military, National Guard, or reserve component members pay $2.97. Resident landowners pay $4.97.¹

An 11-year-old can apply for a junior license and a 64-year-old for a senior license if they’ll reach the qualifying age by June 30 of the current license year. Junior privileges don’t actually take effect until the hunter turns 12.¹

Mentored Permits

Children under 12, and adults who haven’t completed hunter education yet, can hunt under a licensed mentor using a mentored permit. The Mentored Youth Permit costs $2.97. The Mentored Adult Permit is $20.97 for residents and $101.97 for nonresidents. The mentor must be at least 21, hold a valid license for the game being hunted, and stay close enough for normal conversation.¹

Add-On Permits and Stamps

The base license does not cover archery, muzzleloader, bear, or migratory birds. Those require separate permits stacked on top:

Archery: $16.97 resident / $26.97 nonresident
Muzzleloader: $11.97 resident / $21.97 nonresident
Bear: $16.97 resident / $36.97 nonresident
Special Spring Turkey: $21.97 resident / $41.97 nonresident
Migratory Game Bird: $3.97 resident / $6.97 nonresident
Bobcat, Fisher, or River Otter Permit: $6.97 each
Pheasant Permit (adult): $26.97; free for juniors

Junior combination and senior lifetime combination license holders already have archery and muzzleloader privileges built in and don’t need the separate add-ons.¹

Waterfowl hunters 16 and older also need a Federal Duck Stamp. The electronic eDuck sold through HuntFishPA costs $28.97, prints immediately, and stays valid for 45 days while the physical stamp ships. Sign the physical stamp across the face before carrying it afield; a receipt does not substitute.² Buying the Migratory Game Bird License through HuntFishPA also submits your Harvest Information Program survey answers to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, so no separate HIP registration is needed.¹

Antlerless Deer Licenses

Antlerless deer licenses are separate from your general license and cost $6.97 for residents, $26.97 for nonresidents. They’re allocated by Wildlife Management Unit in rounds. In the first round, every resident hunter is guaranteed a license in any WMU if purchased before the mid-July deadline. After that, availability depends on remaining quota in each unit. By the fourth round, hunters can buy up to six antlerless licenses across most WMUs, with WMUs 5C and 5D allowing up to nine additional for a possible total of 15.³

You pick the specific WMU when you buy each license. Remaining quotas update in real time on HuntFishPA, and popular units sell out fast in later rounds.

Who Qualifies

Pennsylvania law requires a license for anyone hunting or trapping, with narrow exceptions for the mentored program and defense of person or property.⁴ Resident pricing goes to anyone whose primary home is Pennsylvania with intent to remain. Everyone else pays nonresident rates.

Hunter-Trapper Education

First-time hunters and trappers must complete a state-approved Hunter-Trapper Education course before buying a license. The mentored permits are the workaround for anyone who hasn’t finished the course yet.

Pennsylvania accepts hunter education certifications from other states, and other states generally accept Pennsylvania’s certificate for firearm hunting. One catch: Pennsylvania’s basic course covers archery and trapping topics, but states that require a separate bowhunter or trapper certification may not accept it for those activities.⁵ Check the destination state’s reciprocity rules before you assume it transfers.

How to Buy

Online

HuntFishPA at huntfish.pa.gov handles the whole transaction. You create a customer profile with your legal name, address, and Social Security Number, which federal law requires for child support enforcement.⁶ Repeat buyers already have a Customer Identification Number that links the purchase to their records. First-time buyers need their Hunter-Trapper Education certificate number.

Pay by credit or debit card. Delivery by mail takes up to 10 business days, and up to 20 business days during high-volume periods.⁷ Buy well ahead of any season opener.

In Person

Issuing agents operate in every county, including county treasurer offices, Game Commission regional headquarters, and retailers like Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s, and Bass Pro Shops.⁸ The license prints on the spot. A driver’s license isn’t required; the Game Commission accepts other proof of residency such as a Pennsylvania income tax receipt, and children can be added to the system without any ID.⁹

What to Carry in the Field

Pennsylvania authorizes a digital hunting license on a mobile device in place of the paper copy. Paper harvest tags are a different matter: they must still be carried and physically used in any season that requires tagging, which covers deer, bear, and turkey. All paper licenses and permits carried afield must be signed.¹⁰ A lost or destroyed license can be replaced for $6.97, though antlerless deer and bear license replacements must go through the original issuing agent.¹

Sunday Hunting

Pennsylvania has expanded Sunday hunting. From mid-September through the second Sunday of firearms deer season, all Sundays that fall within an established hunting season are legal to hunt. For the 2025–26 seasons that window runs September 14 through December 7. Migratory game bird seasons are excluded because they operate under federal frameworks. Foxes, coyotes, and crows keep their own separately approved Sunday dates outside the main window.¹¹

Trapping Is a Separate License

Trapping requires a furtaker license, not a hunting license. Fees mirror the hunting side, with a resident adult furtaker at $20.97. The junior combination ($9.97) and senior lifetime combination ($101.97) bundle both hunting and furtaking privileges into one purchase, which usually beats buying each separately if you do both.¹

Penalties for Hunting Without a License

Hunting or trapping without the required license violates Title 34. Only one valid hunting license and one valid furtaker license can be active during a license year; buying a second license of the same type automatically voids the first.⁴

Serious violations can lead to license revocation and entry into the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. All 50 states participate, so a Pennsylvania revocation can follow you across state lines. Compact-triggering violations include hunting while on revocation, illegal taking of big game in a closed season, buying or selling game, hunting under the influence, and assaulting a game warden. Accumulated lower-level violations within a 24-month period can also put you in the compact database.¹²

1
Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Types
2
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Federal Duck Stamp
3
Pennsylvania Game Commission. Antlerless Deer License
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 34 – Game
5
Pennsylvania Game Commission. Hunter-Trapper Education
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement
7
Pennsylvania Game Commission. Licenses and Permits
8
HuntFishPA. Agent Locator
9
Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Frequently Asked License Questions
10
Pennsylvania Game Commission. Digital Hunting Licenses Now Available for Download
11
Pennsylvania Game Commission. Sunday Hunting Days Set for 2025
12
Pennsylvania Game Commission. Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact