Do I need a hunting license in Florida?

Youth under 16, Florida residents 65 or older, and people hunting on their own homestead in their county of residence do not need one. Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must have passed a hunter safety course, and a course from another state counts; a hunter who has not taken it may hunt under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's deferral, supervised by a licensed hunter 21 or older.

A management area permit is needed to hunt on a wildlife management area, a deer permit to hunt deer and a turkey permit for turkey, and archery, muzzleloading and crossbow season permits for those seasons; ducks and geese also need the state waterfowl permit, the migratory bird permit and the federal duck stamp. A Florida resident veteran with a service-connected disability of 50 percent or more gets a no-cost license, good for 5 years. Licenses are sold at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com, by license agents and tax collector offices, on the Fish|Hunt FL app, and at 888-HUNT-FLORIDA (888-486-8356).

Antlered deer seasons for 2026-27: Zone A, archery August 1-30, muzzleloading September 5-18, general gun September 19 to October 18 and November 21 to January 3. Zone B, archery October 17 to November 15, muzzleloading November 21 to December 4, general gun December 5 to February 21. Zone C, archery September 19 to October 18, muzzleloading October 24 to November 6, general gun November 7 to January 24. Zone D, archery October 24 to November 25, muzzleloading December 5-11 and February 22-28, general gun November 26-29 and December 12 to February 21. The commission's zone map shows your zone, and its wildlife management areas cover more than 6.1 million acres of public land.

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