A Pennsylvania junior hunting license is available to residents and nonresidents ages 12 through 16. For the 2025–2026 license year, a resident junior hunting license costs $6.97 and a resident junior combination license costs $9.97. Nonresident versions run $41.97 and $51.97. Every first-time buyer must pass a Hunter-Trapper Education course, and a parent or guardian has to sign the license before the young hunter goes afield.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Pennsylvania Game Commission 2025-26 License Catalog
Who Can Get One
The junior license covers hunters who have reached their 12th birthday or will reach it during the current license year, up until they turn 17. An 11-year-old can apply if they will turn 12 by June 30 of that license year, but they cannot hunt until their actual 12th birthday. Once a hunter turns 17, they move to an adult license.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Types
Before the first purchase, the hunter must pass the Basic Hunter-Trapper Education course with a score of 80 percent or higher on the final exam.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Register for a Hunter Safety Course The course is offered in person and online and covers firearm safety, wildlife conservation, ethics, and outdoor preparedness. The certificate never expires, so it is a one-time hurdle.
A parent or guardian signature is required to validate the license, in addition to the junior hunter’s own signature. That requirement applies to every junior license, resident or nonresident.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Types
License Options and Prices
Pennsylvania sells two junior licenses at each residency tier. Prices below are for the 2025–2026 license year.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Pennsylvania Game Commission 2025-26 License Catalog
- Resident Junior Hunting License: $6.97. Small game plus one antlered deer tag, one fall turkey tag, and one spring turkey tag. No archery, muzzleloader, or furtaker privileges.
- Resident Junior Combination License: $9.97. Everything in the hunting license plus archery, muzzleloader, and furtaker privileges.
- Nonresident Junior Hunting License: $41.97. Same scope as the resident junior hunting license.
- Nonresident Junior Combination License: $51.97. Same scope as the resident junior combination license.
For most families the combination license is the better buy. About three additional dollars adds archery season, muzzleloader season, and furbearer trapping. The basic junior license does not accept add-on privileges later, so a hunter who might want to try a bow or muzzleloader should start with the combo.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Types
What You Can Hunt
Both junior licenses include small game such as squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, and grouse during their respective seasons, along with one antlered deer tag, one fall turkey tag, and one spring turkey tag. The combination license adds archery and muzzleloader seasons and furbearers.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. License Types
Several popular species need a separate permit and are not covered by any junior license:
- Black bear requires a separate bear license.
- Antlerless deer requires an antlerless deer license. Junior hunters can apply and are held to the same personal license limits as adults.4Pennsylvania Game Commission. Antlerless Deer License
- Waterfowl, doves, and other migratory birds require a Pennsylvania migratory game bird license. Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older also need a Federal Duck Stamp; junior hunters ages 12 through 15 are exempt from that federal stamp.5U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Federal Duck Stamp
- Additional spring gobbler opportunities beyond the one included tag require the Special Spring Gobbler license.
Check the harvest tags that come with the license before opening day. Hunting without the correct tag is a violation even if the base license is valid.
Adult Supervision Rules
Supervision requirements depend on the hunter’s age. The law defines who must accompany a junior hunter:6Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 34 – 2711 – Unlawful Acts Concerning Licenses
- Ages 12 and 13: must be accompanied by a parent, a guardian or person serving in a parental role who is at least 18, or another family member who is at least 18.
- Ages 14 and 15: must be accompanied by any person at least 18 years old. The companion does not have to be a family member.
- Age 16: the statute’s supervision language covers hunters “between 14 and 16,” which the Game Commission and most hunters read as allowing 16-year-old junior license holders to hunt without an adult companion.
“Accompany” is defined as staying close enough that verbal instructions and guidance can be easily understood. No specific distance or line-of-sight requirement is written into the law, but a companion waiting in a vehicle at the trailhead does not qualify. Violating the supervision rules is a summary offense of the seventh degree, which carries fines and can affect future license eligibility. The statute does not explicitly require the accompanying adult to hold a hunting license, though the adult will need one to carry a firearm or hunt alongside the junior.6Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 34 – 2711 – Unlawful Acts Concerning Licenses
Fluorescent Orange
Junior hunters follow the same fluorescent orange rules as adults. During firearms seasons for deer, bear, or elk, and during all small game seasons, every hunter must wear at least 250 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange on the head, chest, and back combined, visible from all directions. The requirement runs from one hour before legal hunting hours to one hour after, including the walk in and out.7Legal Information Institute. 58 Pa Code 141.20 – Protective Material Required
Camouflage-patterned orange counts as long as it contains the minimum 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material. Orange is not required during archery-only deer, bear, or elk seasons, or when hunting waterfowl, doves, turkeys, crows, or furbearers. Flintlock muzzleloader hunters in the after-Christmas season are also exempt. When buying gear for a young hunter, check that an adult-sized vest actually covers the chest and back and does not bunch around the waist.
How and When to Buy
Licenses can be purchased in person at a License Issuing Agent (many sporting goods stores and county treasurer offices) or online at huntfish.pa.gov. In-person buyers walk out the same day with license and tags. Online orders ship physical harvest tags by mail, which can take up to 10 business days and up to 20 during peak sales.8Pennsylvania Game Commission. Pennsylvania Game Commission Licenses and Permits With an opener less than three weeks away, buy in person.
The Pennsylvania hunting license year runs July 1 through June 30, and sales for the upcoming year usually open a few days before July 1.9Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits A license bought in late June 2025 is valid through June 30, 2026, covering all fall, winter, and spring seasons in that window. A junior license purchased while the hunter is still 16 stays valid through the end of that license year even if the hunter turns 17 during it. To retrieve a lost Hunter-Trapper Education certificate number, use the Game Commission’s online database with the hunter’s name and date of birth.
Under 12: The Mentored Program
Children younger than 12 cannot buy a junior license, but Pennsylvania’s Mentored Hunting Program lets them hunt under close adult supervision without completing Hunter-Trapper Education first. The mentored youth permit costs $2.97, permits for children under 7 do not include harvest tags, and the mentor must be a licensed hunter at least 21 years old.10Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Purchase a Mentored Hunting Permit At age 12, mentored hunters transition to a regular junior license and must complete Hunter-Trapper Education at that point.