You are a non-resident of Ontario if either of the following applies:

  • your primary residence is not in Ontario
  • you have not lived in Ontario for at least six consecutive months of the immediately preceding 12 months

To hunt in Ontario as a non-resident, you must:

  • be at least 16 years old
  • have successfully completed Ontario's hunter education course and examination, or have Ontario-recognized hunting credentials from your home jurisdiction filed with the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service.
  • follow all federal firearm regulations around declaring and transporting non-restricted firearms and carry appropriate documentation with you if you are hunting with a gun
  • have a valid Outdoors Card
  • have the required hunting licences and tags for the game you wish to hunt

Rules for hunting

You must follow all rules related to hunting in Ontario — including where and when you hunt, the type of firearm that can be used and the clothing you are required to wear when hunting.

Hunter accreditation for non-residents

You must file your hunter accreditation with the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service before you can purchase any non-resident hunting products.

Before you file

Before you file your hunter accreditation, you must:

  1. Create an online account
  2. Buy an Outdoors Card

Get help creating an online account at Tips to Get Started.

File your accreditation

Submit an original or certified copy of your hunter accreditation through one of the following:

By email to NRISC@ontario.ca. We will process your accreditation within 15 business days. This method allows you to buy hunting products online before you go hunting.

In person at a participating ServiceOntario or licence issuer location. This method allows you to buy hunting products in person and hunt immediately. Your hunter accreditation will be forwarded to the ministry for processing.

If your hunter accreditation is not in English or French, you must get it translated by a certified translator.

A certified translator is a member in good standing whose certification can be confirmed by a seal or stamp that shows the translator’s membership number of a professional translation association in Canada or abroad. All stamps and seals that are not in English or French must also be translated.

You cannot translate a document yourself, nor can you ask your representative, a friend or family member to translate. Translation must be written; verbal translation is not accepted.

After you file

Once your hunter accreditation in on file, you can purchase products:

Acceptable hunter accreditation

Non-residents must provide proof of hunter accreditation from a recognized jurisdiction.

Examples of acceptable proof of hunter accreditation include:

  • a hunting licence issued to you after January 1, 1968, by a competent authority that allows you to hunt in that jurisdiction as a resident
  • a hunter education certificate issued to you after January 1, 1968, by a competent authority which indicates that you were, or are, authorized to purchase a hunting licence in that jurisdiction

Recognized jurisdictions

For the purposes of hunter accreditation requirements, a “recognized jurisdiction” is a jurisdiction that:

  • regulates wildlife hunting
  • has hunter education and evaluation requirements that are equivalent to Ontario

Ontario recognizes the following jurisdictions for the purposes of hunter accreditation requirements. Specific documentation requirements are noted with footnotes.

Canada
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territoriesfootnote 1
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavutfootnote 1
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon
United States
International
  • Austria
  • Great Britain
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Slovenia
  • Lebanon
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Finland

Hunting licences

A hunting licence is required to hunt in Ontario. All licences are specific to the game you wish to hunt and will be listed on your licence summary. Licences expire on December 31 each year, unless otherwise stated. Requirements depend on the hunting activity you are undertaking.

It is your responsibility to know the type of season and open season dates for the species you wish to hunt along with any other hunting rules that may apply.

Small game hunting

You are required to carry:

  • a valid Outdoors Card
  • a licence summary listing your valid small game hunting licence (unless your small game licence is printed on the back of your outdoors card)
  • your licence summary can be carried in a paper or digital format (for example, smartphone)
  • federal firearms accreditation documentation (such as your non-resident firearms declaration form, Temporary Firearms Borrowing Licence, Possession and Acquisition Licence) if you are hunting with a gun
  • any associated tags, if applicable (such as wild turkey or wolf/coyote tags)

Small game species:

  • cottontail (rabbit) and hares
  • grouse (ruffed, sharp-tailed, spruce)
  • squirrel (gray and fox)
  • gray (Hungarian) partridge
  • ring-necked pheasant
  • ptarmigan
  • raccoon
  • fox (red and Arctic)
  • skunk
  • weasel
  • opossum
  • American crow
  • groundhog
  • porcupine
  • wild turkey (a tag is required in addition to your small game licence)
  • wolf/coyote (a tag is required in addition to your small game licence in certain Wildlife Management Units)
  • selected migratory game birds (a federal migratory game bird hunting permit is required in addition to your Ontario small game licence)

Big game hunting

You are required to carry:

  • a valid Outdoors Card
  • a licence summary listing the licence for the species you are hunting
    • your licence summary can be carried in a paper or digital format (for example, smartphone)
  • federal firearms accreditation documentation (for example, your non-resident firearms declaration form, Temporary Firearms Borrowing Licence, Possession and Acquisition Licence) if you are hunting with a gun
  • any associated tags (note: all big game species have tag requirements)
  • non-residents hunting black bear must obtain and carry a validation certificate. You can obtain a validation certificate from a licensed black bear operator

Big game species:

  • black bear
  • moose
  • white-tailed deer

Tags

A tag is a component of a hunting licence. The tag authorizes the hunter to hunt the game species (such as wild turkey) indicated on the tag, subject to conditions listed on the tag (such as season, animal type or firearm). A tag can be purchased online, at a licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario location. Tags can be printed at home, or at a licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario. Review a list of printing dates in the Important Dates for Hunters section of the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary. Any replacements will be tracked through the licensing service and must be obtained at a licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario.

As a non-resident, tags are required to hunt:

  • moose
  • deer
  • wolf/coyote (only in certain Wildlife Management Units)
  • wild turkey
  • black bear

It is the hunter’s responsibility to know the tagging requirements for the species being hunted. Tags must be protected, intact and legible at all times.

General tagging instructions are available in the Tags section of the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary. Specific tagging instructions will be provided with your tag.

Mandatory hunter reports

Non-residents must complete a mandatory hunter report if they either:

  • purchase or are issued a tag to hunt deer, black bear, wild turkey, or wolf/coyote (in Wildlife Management Units where a tag is required)
  • are issued a licence to hunt moose

Even if you did not hunt or harvest an animal, you are required to complete a hunter report.

Non-resident black bear hunter reports are attached to the validation certificates and must be completed and returned to the operator.

Non-resident moose hunters hunting with a tourist outfitter must complete a non-resident moose hunter report for tourist outfitter and return it to the outfitter.

Non-resident moose hunters hunting with an immediate relative must complete a mandatory moose hunter report.

Hunt black bear with a licensed bear operator

All non-residents wishing to hunt black bear must contract the services of an operator licensed to provide bear hunting services.

If you purchase black bear hunting services from a licensed black bear operator, you will be issued a validation certificate. The certificate validates your bear tag to hunt with the specific operator for a specific period of time and in a specific area. Your validation certificate must be carried with you while you hunt.

Learn more about hunting black bear with a licensed black bear operator.

Hunt moose with a tourist outfitter

All non-residents that want to hunt moose must contract the services of a moose tourist outfitter, with one exception:

  • a non-resident who is an immediate relative of an Ontario resident who holds a valid moose tag may purchase a non-resident moose hunting licence to party hunt with their relative during an open-resident season

Outfitters will provide instruction to prospective clients on the steps you need to take to purchase a moose licence and separate tag before you arrive at the outfitter. The outfitter can only provide the tag once a client has paid for the tag and has shown the outfitter that they have purchased their moose licence and paid for the tag. The moose tag fees below apply to both residents and non-residents.

A hunter must be a registered guest of the outfitter and carry documentation provided by the outfitter to verify this if they:

  • receive a moose tag from an outfitter
  • hunt in a party with another hunter who receives a moose tag from an outfitter

Learn more about hunting moose with a tourist outfitter.

Hunting fees for non-residents of Ontario

All fees are in Canadian dollars and are subject to 13% HST, except those indicated by a footnote footnote 3.

Non-resident products2024 fee
Outdoors Card$8.57
One-year small game licence$121.52
Three-year small game licence$364.56
Moose licence$479.86
Moose calf tag$30.00
Moose cow/calf tag$150.00
Moose bull tag$200.00
Deer licence and tag$240.81
Additional deer tag$240.81
Black bear licence and tag (to hunt through an outfitter)$240.81
Wolf/coyote tag (only required for select Wildlife Management Units)$255.57
Wild turkey tag – Spring$30.33
Wild turkey tag – Fall$30.33
Dog licence$15.21
Export permit (moose, deer and black bear)footnote 3.$35.00
Failure to report surchargefootnote 3.$25.00

Authorization to hunt from a stationary vehicle or motor boat

It is illegal to have a loaded firearm in or on, or discharge a firearm from:

  • an aircraft
  • a vehicle, including a snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle
  • a motorboat

We may authorize a hunter to have a loaded firearm in, and discharge it from, a vehicle or motorboat if the hunter has certain mobility impairments.

Lifetime authorization

Hunters may be eligible for a lifetime authorization, which does not expire, if they:

  • are a paraplegic or hemiplegic
  • have a single above-the-knee lower limb amputation
  • have a double below-the-waist amputation

How to apply for a lifetime authorization

  1. Download and complete the Lifetime Permit-Request to Hunt from a Stationary Vehicle or Motorboat.
  2. Send the completed form by email to NRISC@ontario.ca, or by mail to:
     
    Ministry of Natural Resources
    Licensing and Client Services Section
    Attention: Hunt from stationary vehicle
    300 Water Street, 5 North
    Peterborough, Ontario
    K9J 3C7

After you apply

Please allow 2–4 weeks for us to review your application.

Once we review your application, we will contact you by phone or email. If your application is approved, the authorization will be listed on your licence summary.

Limited authorization

Hunters may be eligible for a limited authorization for a period of 1–5 years if the following both apply. They:

  • have a severe disability that prevents them from hunting except while using a wheelchair or similar means of getting around, including vehicles and motorboats
  • are unable to safely dismount the stationary vehicle, including a wheelchair or motorboat to discharge a firearm

Applications for a limited authorization must be accompanied by a physician certification.

How to apply for a limited authorization

  1. Download and complete the Limited Term Permit-Request to Hunt from a Stationary Vehicle or Motorboat.
  2. Have your doctor complete the physician certification.
  3. Send the completed form and physician certification by email to NRISC@ontario.ca, or by mail to:
     
    Ministry of Natural Resources
    Licensing and Client Services Section
    Attention: Hunt from stationary vehicle
    300 Water Street, 5 North
    Peterborough, Ontario
    K9J 3C7

After you apply

Please allow 2–4 weeks for us to review your application.

Once we review your application, we will contact you by phone or email. If your application is approved, the authorization will be listed on your licence summary.