Minimum Hunting Age Statutes

Alaska

N/A

No license required if 15 years old or younger.

Arkansas

N/A

No license required if 15 years old or younger.

Colorado

C.R.S.A. § 33-4-117

Youth game hunting license for persons under the age of 18 with showing of hunter education certificate.  If under 16, must have youth game hunting license and be accompanied by adult 18 years or older.

Delaware

N/A

Junior hunter license available for those age 13 to 15.

Georgia 

Ga. Code §27-3-41

Makes it illegal for any individual under the age of 12 to hunt wildlife unless they are under the direct supervision of an adult. 

N/A

Residents 10 to 17, with hunter education course, may get license to hunt upland game birds, migratory birds, cottontail rabbits, and unprotected and predatory birds and animals, but not turkeys or sandhill cranes.  They must be accompanied by a licensed adult. 

Turkeys and sandhill cranes may be hunted by youths 10 or 11 with additional license.  Youths 12 to 17 may hunt turkeys, sandhill cranes, and big game with additional license.

Indiana

N/A

Youth hunting license available for children under 17 who have passed a hunter education class.

Kansas

N/A

Residents 15 or younger are not required to have a hunting license.

Louisiana

N/A

Youth under 16 may hunt if under direct supervision of an adult.

Maryland

N/A

Junior license available for those under 16 who have completed Certificate of Competency in Firearms and Hunting Safety.

Michigan

M.C.L.A. 324.43520

A minor who is less than 10 years old may obtain a mentored youth hunting license. A minor who is less than 10 years old shall not hunt game under a mentored youth hunting license unless that minor complies with all requirements of the mentored youth hunting program.

Mississippi

Miss. Code Ann. § 49-7-20.1

Children at least 12 years of age and under 16 must have a certificate of satisfactory completion of a hunter education course.  However, they may hunt without having the certificate if under the direct supervision of a licensed hunter at least 21 years of age.  Children under the age of 12 must be under the direct supervision of a licensed hunter at least 21 years of age when the child is hunting.

Various sections of Mont. Code Ann. §87-2

Hunters over the age of 12 may hunt most species, including big game, provided they pass a hunter’s safety course as required. Resident minors between the ages of 12 and 15 can fish and hunt upland game and migratory birds during the open season with just a conservation license, without completing a safety course. 

Nev. Rev. Stat. §502.010

Allows individuals under the age of 12 to hunt without obtaining a license and prohibits them from hunting big game at any time. Makes it unlawful for any child under the age of 18 to hunt any wild birds or mammals without being accompanied at all times by the child’s parent or guardian or an authorized person who is licensed to hunt.

New Jersey

Authorizes the issuance of youth hunting licenses to individuals between the ages of 10 and 16 who have successfully completed a course in gun or bow and arrow safety. 

N.Y. Environ. Cons. Law §11-0929

Minors under 12 may not obtain a hunting license or hunt wildlife. Prohibits a licensee between the ages of 12 and 14 from hunting with a gun or longbow unless accompanied by a licensed individual 21 or older. Licensees between the ages of 14 and 16 may not hunt wildlife with a gun or longbow unless accompanied by an individual 18 or older.

North Dakota

N/A

For big game, minimum age is 14, with hunting safety class required.  Small game has no minimum, but anyone 12 or older must have passed hunting safety class.

Oklahoma

N/A

Youths under 16, with hunter education class, may hunt small and big game, and may hunt alone.  Without a hunter education class, may hunt small game only and must be accompanied by licensed adult 21 or older who has passed hunter education course.

Pennsylvania

34 Pa.C.S.A. § 2705(2)

Youths 12 through 16 may hunt with a junior hunting license.

South Carolina

N/A

Children under sixteen years of age are not required to procure or possess a hunting or fishing license or any other permit or license required for hunting or fishing unless that child engages in the taking of wildlife or fish for commercial purposes.

Texas

N/A

A person under age 17 who has lawful access to a firearm may hunt with the firearm if the youth has successfully completed the hunter education course, or is accompanied by a licensed hunter age 17 or older who has complied with the hunter education requirement, if applicable.

Requires any person under the age of 14 be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older while hunting with any weapon.

VA. Code § 29.1-300.1

Although a resident under the age of twelve is not required to obtain a license to hunt, any person under the age of twelve, or an individual on his behalf, may purchase a Virginia hunting license or a junior lifetime hunting license pursuant to § 29.1-302.1, without completing a hunter education program as required in subsection A of this section, provided that no person under the age of twelve shall hunt unless accompanied and directly supervised by an adult who has, on his person, a valid Virginia hunting license. 

West Virginia

N/A

No minimum age, but it is illegal for anyone under the age of 15 to hunt on public land or the lands of another unless accompanied by a licensed adult, at least 18 years of age, who remains near enough to render advice and assistance.

Wyoming

N/A

Minimum hunting age is 12 years.  All hunters must pass hunter education course.