Buying a hunting license in Alabama is straightforward once you know two things: whether you need hunter education first, and which license matches what you plan to hunt. This guide covers both, using the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the state agency that runs licensing through its Outdoor Alabama site.
Step 1: Settle hunter education before you buy
If you were born on or after August 1, 1977, Alabama requires you to complete an approved hunter education course before you can purchase a hunting license. The certification is checked when you buy your first license.
If you have not completed hunter education yet, you have two honest options:
- Finish the course first. In Alabama the full requirement can be completed online, with no field day. CertifiedHunter’s DCNR approved course is completed entirely online, and most of the work is simply studying at your own pace and passing the online exam. Our companion guide explains the whole process: How to Get Hunter Education Certified in Alabama.
- Buy a license with “supervision required” status. This mentor option lets a first time buyer hunt only within 30 feet and normal voice control of a properly licensed adult age 21 or older. It is a way to try hunting before the course, not a replacement for certification.
Already certified in another state? Alabama recognizes hunter education certification from other states, so you can buy your license without retaking a course.
Step 2: Pick the right license
Alabama residents ages 16 to 64 need a hunting license. Residents 65 and older are exempt from buying one (carry proof of age and residency while hunting), and hunters under 16, resident or not, do not need a license at all. Nonresidents age 16 and older need a nonresident license.
The choice that matters is All Game versus Small Game:
Resident licenses (annual)
- All Game: covers all legal game species, including deer and turkey.
- Small Game: covers all legal game except deer and turkey.
- Wildlife Heritage License: available on its own, and included at no charge with a resident hunting license. It covers bank fishing in freshwater, small game hunting on Wildlife Management Areas (except waterfowl), and use of state shooting ranges.
- Lifetime hunting licenses are also available to residents.
Nonresident licenses
- All Game Annual.
- All Game 10-Day Trip.
- All Game 3-Day Trip.
- Small Game Annual.
If deer or turkey is on your plan at all, you need All Game. Small Game will not cover them, and finding that out at the license counter is a common and avoidable mistake. License fees are set by DCNR and change over time, so check the current fees on Outdoor Alabama before you buy. Annual licenses run through August 31.
Step 3: Add the extras your hunt actually requires
The base license is not always everything. Depending on where and what you hunt, you may also need:
- WMA license and area permit. Hunting deer, turkey, or waterfowl on a Wildlife Management Area requires a WMA license in addition to your hunting license, plus the area permit for that WMA, and check in and check out for each hunt through the Outdoor Alabama app or a daily permit.
- Duck stamps and HIP. Waterfowl hunters 16 and older need an Alabama state duck stamp and a federal duck stamp, plus Harvest Information Program (HIP) certification.
- Bait Privilege license. If you plan to hunt white-tailed deer or feral swine with the aid of bait, every hunter needs the Bait Privilege license, regardless of age or license exemptions.
- Game Check. There is no tag to buy for deer and turkey, but every deer and turkey harvested must be recorded on your harvest record and reported through Alabama’s Game Check system within 48 hours, using the Outdoor Alabama app, the online reporting site, or the DCNR phone line.
Step 4: Buy the license
DCNR sells licenses through several channels:
- Online through the licensing portal linked from outdooralabama.com. This is the fastest route, and you can print the license or keep it on your phone.
- In person at your county Probate Office or License Commissioner, at authorized license agents (most sporting goods and bait and tackle shops), at Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries district offices, or at the Montgomery office.
- By phone at 1-888-848-6887.
- By mail, using an application packet requested from DCNR.
You will need your Social Security number, which state and federal law require for license purchases, and proof of residency for a resident license (an Alabama driver license or non-driver ID works). To qualify for resident prices you must have lived in Alabama for more than 90 days, with exceptions for assigned military members and certain nonresident college students.
If hunter education is the only thing standing between you and the license counter, that step can be finished today.
Questions new Alabama hunters ask
Do I need hunter education to buy a license?
If you were born on or after August 1, 1977, yes, unless you buy under supervision required status or fall under an exemption (active duty military, Alabama resident National Guard members, and certified law enforcement employed in the state). Certification from another state counts.
What is the difference between All Game and Small Game?
All Game covers every legal species, including deer and turkey. Small Game covers everything except deer and turkey. If there is any chance you will deer or turkey hunt this year, buy All Game.
My child is 14. What does she need?
No license. Hunters under 16 do not need a hunting license in Alabama, resident or nonresident. She must hunt under adult supervision, and she can take hunter education from age 10 so the certification is done before she turns 16 and buys her first license.
I am visiting Alabama for one weekend of deer hunting. What should I buy?
A nonresident All Game 3-Day Trip license covers a short trip, and hunter education certification from your home state satisfies the education requirement. If you will hunt a Wildlife Management Area, add the WMA license and get the area permit.
Does a hunting license cover fishing too?
No. Hunting and freshwater fishing licenses are separate in Alabama, though combination and lifetime options exist, and the Wildlife Heritage License included with a resident hunting license covers bank fishing in freshwater. Check the resident license page on Outdoor Alabama for the current combination options.
I lost my hunter education certificate. Can I still buy a license?
Usually yes, if you bought an Alabama license in a previous year, because the earlier license serves as proof. If you need a replacement certificate card itself, replacements are issued through DCNR.
Finish the one step that comes first
For most new Alabama hunters, the license paperwork takes ten minutes. Hunter education is the step that takes planning, and in Alabama it is also the step you can complete entirely from home.
Start the Alabama hunter education course, then buy your license with the certification already in hand.