When Is Squirrel Season in Tennessee: Dates, Limits, and License

Squirrel season in Tennessee opens August 23, 2025, and runs through March 15, 2026, with a separate spring season from May 9 to June 14, 2026. The daily bag limit is 10 squirrels in either season, and most hunters age 13 and up need a Tennessee hunting license to be in the woods legally.¹

Season Dates and Bag Limits

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency sets two squirrel seasons each year. The general season for 2025–2026 opens August 23, 2025, and closes March 15, 2026. The spring season follows from May 9 through June 14, 2026.¹

The daily bag limit is 10 squirrels per hunter in both seasons. Possession is capped at twice the daily bag, meaning up to 20 squirrels at any time, including birds taken on earlier days. On opening day, possession is limited to a single daily bag of 10.²

TWRA publishes updated dates each year in its Hunting and Trapping Guide. Spring dates in particular can shift, so confirm before the season rolls around.

License You Need

Anyone 13 or older must have a valid Tennessee hunting license to take squirrels. Children under 12 don’t need one.³ The right license depends on your age and residency:

Junior Hunt, Fish and Trap, ages 13–15: $9. Must be purchased before the hunter’s 16th birthday.
Combination Hunt/Fish Annual, ages 16–64: $33. This is the minimum needed for squirrel hunting. Supplemental licenses are only required for deer, bear, turkey, and waterfowl, so squirrel hunters don’t need anything extra at the state level.
Annual Senior Citizen Hunt/Fish/Trap, age 65 and older: $4. A one-time Permanent Senior Citizen license is also available for $49.
Annual Sportsman, ages 16–64: $165. An all-inclusive license that covers hunting, trapping, and fishing with no additional state supplemental licenses or non-quota permits required.

Licenses are sold through the GoOutdoorsTennessee portal, at TWRA regional offices, at county clerks, and through authorized agents such as sporting goods stores. Federal law requires your Social Security number for any Tennessee hunting or fishing license purchase.³

Hunter Education

If you were born on or after January 1, 1969, you need proof of completing a hunter education course before you can buy a hunting license.⁴ An Apprentice Hunter Education Permit is available for $11 to any hunter 10 or older and substitutes for the education certificate, but it doesn’t replace the regular hunting license.³

Who Can Hunt Without a License

Resident farmland owners, their spouses, and their children can hunt on their own farmland without a license, as long as the land is owned by one individual or family rather than unrelated co-owners. Tenants living on farmland can hunt there with the landowner’s permission. Active military personnel on leave are also exempt and should carry a copy of their leave orders. These exemptions cover the license only; season dates, bag limits, and all other wildlife rules still apply.³

Legal Weapons and Ammunition

Tennessee restricts what you can carry for small game. Centerfire rifles and handguns are not legal for squirrels, and neither are shotgun slugs. Full metal jacket ammunition is prohibited across the board.⁵ What you can use:

Shotguns loaded with number 4 shot or smaller. No slugs or single solid balls.
Rimfire rifles and handguns, including the standard .22 LR most squirrel hunters use.
Air guns of .25 caliber or smaller. Air guns .35 caliber or larger are prohibited.
Muzzleloaders in any caliber, rifle or handgun.
Archery equipment, including longbows, recurves, compounds, and crossbows.
Falconry with a valid falconry permit.

Dogs are allowed for squirrel hunting on private land and on WMAs unless a specific WMA posts an exception.⁶

Hunting Hours

Legal shooting hours for squirrels run from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.⁷ Those times shift daily, so pull a sunrise/sunset table for your county before each trip. WMAs set tighter access windows, covered below.

Where You Can Hunt

Private Land

You need the landowner’s permission to hunt on anyone else’s property. If the land is posted with TWRA-approved signs that read “Hunting By Written Permission Only” along with the landowner’s name, you must carry written permission on you and show it to any wildlife officer or law enforcement on request. Hunting posted land without that written permission is a Class C misdemeanor, and the court can revoke your hunting license on top of any fine.⁸ Even on unposted land, verbal permission at a minimum is good practice.

Wildlife Management Areas

WMAs are public hunting land managed by TWRA, and they require a separate permit on top of your hunting license. The WMA Small Game Only permit is $20, the WMA Small Game/Waterfowl permit is $61, and a single-day WMA permit is $12. Holders of a Lifetime or Annual Sportsman license don’t need the separate permit.³

Access on WMAs is narrower than on private land. You cannot enter earlier than two hours before sunrise, and you have to be out by one hour after sunset or the posted closing time, whichever comes first.⁶

One rule catches squirrel hunters off guard: during big game muzzleloader and gun hunts on a WMA, small game hunters must wear at least 500 square inches of fluorescent orange or pink on the upper body and head, visible from front or back. That applies even if you’re only out for squirrels.⁶ Individual WMAs can add their own restrictions, so check the specific area before you go.

Cherokee National Forest

Cherokee National Forest covers roughly 650,000 acres of east Tennessee and is cooperatively managed with TWRA, so state season dates, bag limits, and license requirements apply.⁹ Forest Service rules add a few things to track: no discharging a firearm within 150 yards of a developed recreation site, residence, or any gathering place, and no shooting across a body of water or a Forest Service road.¹⁰

Penalties

Most squirrel-related violations, including hunting out of season or exceeding the bag limit, are a Class B misdemeanor under Tennessee law.¹¹ Trespass-type violations on posted land are a Class C misdemeanor, with the added risk that the court can revoke your hunting license.⁸ Carrying the right license, staying inside the season, respecting the bag limit, and getting written permission before you step onto someone else’s land keeps a routine squirrel hunt routine.

1
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Summary of Tennessee Hunting and Trapping Seasons Dates
2
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Small Game Hunting and Trapping
3
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. License Structure and Fees
4
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Tennessee Hunter Education Options Available
5
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Tennessee Legal Hunting Equipment and Methods
6
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Wildlife Management Areas (WMA)
7
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. General Hunting and Trapping Regulations
8
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-4-106 – Permission of Owner
9
US Forest Service. Hunting and Shooting – Cherokee National Forest
10
US Forest Service. Hunting
11
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-4-116 – Hunting, Killing