Overview

You are an Ontario resident if both of the following apply:

  • your primary residence is in Ontario
  • you have lived in Ontario for a period of at least six consecutive months during the 12 months immediately before applying for a licence

To hunt in Ontario as a resident, you must:

  • be at least 16 years old (or 15 with written parental consent)
  • have successfully taken the Ontario Hunter Education Program (or an Ontario-recognized equivalent accreditation) and have submitted valid documentation to have hunter accreditation added to your Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service account
  • follow all federal firearm regulations and carry appropriate documentation with you if you are hunting with a gun
  • have a valid Outdoors Card
  • have the required hunting licence(s) and tag(s) for the game you wish to hunt

Ontario residents who are 12 to 14 years old are eligible to participate in Ontario’s Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program. This program helps develop their hunting skills while under the direct and immediate supervision of a qualified and licenced mentor.

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.

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 (such as a smartphone)
  • federal firearms accreditation (for example, your Possession and Acquisition Licence, minor’s 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)
  • migratory game birds (a federal migratory game bird hunting permit is required in addition to your small game licence)

Big game hunting:

You are required to carry:

  • a valid Outdoors Card
  • a licence summary listing the licence of the species you are hunting
    • your licence summary can be carried in a paper or digital format (such as a smartphone)
  • federal firearms accreditation (for example, your Possession and Acquisition Licence) if you are hunting with a gun
  • any associated tags (note: all big game species have tag requirements)

Big game species:

  • black bear
  • moose
  • white-tailed deer
  • elk

Tags

A tag is a component of a hunting licence. The tag authorizes the hunter to hunt the game species indicated on the tag (such as a wild turkey), subject to conditions listed on the tag (such as season, animal type or firearm.

A tag is required to hunt:

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

Buying and printing tags

A tag can be purchased:

Tags can be printed from home, at a licence issuer or a participating ServiceOntario location, either right after purchase or once draw results are available. Yellow sticky stock game seals are no longer used.

Any tag replacements will be tracked through the licensing service and must be obtained at a licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario location.

Tagging requirements and instructions

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 Ontario Hunting Regulation Summary. Specific tagging instructions will be provided with your tag.

It is illegal to copy, alter or modify a tag (except as required for notching the tag). Tags are equipped with document security features to discourage fraudulent activities.

Hunters must:

  • follow the specific tagging instructions provided when your tag is printed
  • ensure the paper tag is protected from the weather and remains intact and legible at all times. We recommend you use a plastic tag holder or resealable plastic bag to protect the tag
  • carefully (or properly) notch your tag with the date, month and time immediately after the kill, at the site of the kill and before moving the animal
  • keep relevant sex and age identifying features attached to the animal while the animal is transported to the processing site and is being processed for long-term storage (as specified on the tagging instructions)
  • carry the tag at all times. You are only required to securely attach the tag to the animal if you are not accompanying the animal or if you will not be immediately available to produce the tag for inspection
    • For example, the tag holder may carry their notched/invalidated tag in their pocket while they are bringing the harvested animal out of the bush provided that the tag holder remains with the animal at all times

What is a tag

How do tags work

How to notch & attach tags

Hunter accreditation

Ontario residents ages 12 and over may only be issued a hunting licence if you submit proof of hunter accreditation.

You can use any of the following documents as proof of hunter accreditation:

  • a hunter education examiner’s report indicating that the applicant has passed a hunting licence examination after January 1, 1968
  • any licence to hunt that was issued to the resident after January 1, 1968 under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 or a predecessor of the Act
  • an outdoors card that authorized a person to hunt and that was issued to the applicant before January 1, 2019
  • a hunter apprenticeship safety card that was issued to the applicant before January 1, 2019
  • a hunting licence verification letter or certificate issued by the ministry verifying the fact that a hunting licence was previously issued to the resident

Ontario residents must provide proof of successfully completing Ontario’s Hunter Education Program requirement (or an Ontario-recognized equivalent) in person at a participating ServiceOntario location.

Ontario residents who are 12 to 14 years old can also participate in Ontario’s Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program. This program helps youth safely develop their hunting skills while under the direct and immediate supervision of a qualified and licenced mentor.

Mandatory hunter reporting

All hunters must complete a mandatory hunter report if they either:

  • purchase or are issued a tag to hunt deer, elk, black bear, wild turkey, 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.

AnimalOutdoors CardLicence (each year)TagsApply to a draw or allocation
Antlered deerYesDeerYesNo
Antlerless deerYesDeerYesYes
Deer in a controlled areaYesDeerYesYes
MooseYesMooseYesYes
Black bearYesBearYesNo
ElkYesElkYesYes (for tag and/or licence)

Hunting moose with a tourist outfitter

As of 2021, there are no longer moose validation certificates. Outfitters will provide instructions 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 provided 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 residents of Ontario

For new hunters, your hunter accreditation must be on file with the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service before you can purchase hunting products. This can only be done at a participating ServiceOntario location.

Learn more about how to submit your hunter accreditation.

Once hunter accreditation is on file within the service, residents can buy products online, by phone, at a licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario location.

All fees are in Canadian dollars and are subject to 13% HST, except those indicated by a footnote footnote 1.

Resident products2024 Fee
Buy or renew an Outdoors Card (valid for 3 calendar years)$8.57
One-year small game licence$22.76
Three-year small game licence$68.28
Moose allocation application$15.00
Moose Licence$35.29
Moose calf tag$30.00
Moose cow/calf tag$150.00
Moose bull tag$200.00
Elk draw application$15.00
Elk licence and tag$48.25
Deer licence and tag$43.86
Farmer’s deer licence and tag$25.14
Deer draw applicationsNo fee
Additional tag for deer (only for select Wildlife Management Units)$43.86
Black bear licence and tag$43.86
Second tag for black bear (only for select Wildlife Management Units)$43.86
Wolves/coyotes tag (only for select Wildlife Management Units)$10.05
Wild turkey tag – Spring$26.33
Wild turkey tag – Fall$26.33
Dog licence$12.21
Failure to report surchagefootnote 1$25.00

Apply to hunt big game

Learn how to apply to hunt big game.

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 and Forestry
    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 and Forestry
    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.

Indigenous communities

Generally, if you belong to an Indigenous community with established Aboriginal or treaty hunting rights in Ontario, you can hunt without a licence when you’re hunting:

  • within your traditional or treaty area
  • for food, social or ceremonial purposes

If you are exercising hunting rights, you should be prepared to provide community identification.

If you hunt outside your traditional or treaty area, you will need to have an Outdoors Card with appropriate hunting licences and tags, or written permission from a First Nation to hunt in their traditional territory.

Get a hunting licence