NEW LICENSE APPLICATION
PROCEDURE
Beginning with this license year, the
general hunting license application has been eliminated. The back tag copy will
serve as the application, with the applicant's signature to certify that all requirements
are met and information given is true and correct.
Issuing agents will use an applicant's
driver's license or other valid identification to complete the back tag. Information
on the back tag will be revised and include a request for applicant's Social Security
Number, to
comply with new welfare laws relating to non-payment of child support. This new
issuance method will make it easier for sportsmen to obtain licenses and eliminate the
need for more than a million pieces of paper.
License Required:
A current hunting license is required to
hunt, take or kill any wildlife in Pennsylvania not classified a furbearer. A
current furtaker license is required to hunt, trap, take or kill any furbearer. A
license is valid July l to the following June 30. Licenses must be worn on the
middle of the back with all numbers visible..
Identification Required When
Hunting:
In addition to their hunting or furtaker
license, sportsmen are required to have, in their possession, additional cards or papers
that must be shown to an officer or landowner upon request to confirm identification while
afield.
Junior Licenses and Hunters:
Persons under l7 years of age must have
their application co-signed by their parent or legal guardian. Eleven-year-olds who
have successfully completed
a required Hunter-Trapper Education course may apply for a junior license if they
will be l2 years old by December 31 of the license year. They may not lawfully hunt
with the license prior to their l2th birthday. Persons l2 and l3
must be accompanied by an adult member of the family (at least l8), or by an adult
serving in place of a parent. Persons l4 and l5 must be accompanied by any adult l8
years of age or older. Adults must be close enough that verbal guidance can be
easily understood. Sixteen-year-olds may hunt alone.
Unlicensed Persons:
Unlicensed persons may accompany a
properly licensed hunter or trapper provided the unlicensed persons act only as observers
and do not, in any manner, actually participate in hunting or trapping.
Proof of Residency:
Satisfactory proof of Pennsylvania
residency must be shown to obtain a
resident hunting or furtaker license. Persons must be domiciled in Pennsylvania
at least 30 consecutive days prior to application. Valid Pa. driver's license,
certain Pa. and local tax receipts, or other positive means indicating residency may be
used.
Training Certificate -
Hunting:
Persons who have not held a hunting
license issued in Pennsylvania, or
another state or nation, or do not possess a training certificate, are required to
attain certification in an accredited hunter-trapper education program before applying for
a hunting license. These provisions do not apply to a person presenting: (l)
evidence of service in the United States Armed Forces or Coast Guard and honorable
discharge or separation within six months of the application, or (2) evidence the person
is currently serving in the
Armed Forces or Coast Guard.
Training Certificate -
Trapping:
Persons applying for a furtaker license
must present to the issuing agent
one of the following: (l) evidence the applicant has held a trapping or
furtaker license issued in Pennsylvania or another state or nation; (2) a certificate of
training; (3) an affidavit the applicant completed a voluntary trapping course sanctioned
by the Commission, or (4) the applicant has previously hunted or trapped furbearers within
the last five years. These provisions do not apply to persons under l2 who trap
furbearers under direct supervision of a licensed adult furtaker at least l8 years of age.
Special Deer Licenses:
Are required to hunt deer during the
antlerless, archery and muzzleloader seasons. An antlerless deer license application
and envelope are issued with each regular hunting license. Antlerless license
applications cannot be accepted by county treasurers from state residents prior to August
3; from nonresidents prior to August l7.
Resident Landowner Hunting
License:
An eligible landowner who owns 80 or
more contiguous acres open to public hunting in a Cooperative Public Access Program, or a
designated immediate family member living in the same household, is entitled to a
Landowner
Hunting License.
Landowner Antlerless Deer
Licenses:
An eligible landowner who owns 50 or
more contiguous acres within any county is entitled to one antlerless deer license for
that county at the
prescribed fee. A landowner must keep his/her property open to public hunting
and trapping year-round to qualify for this license. These licenses
are allocated in advance of regular licenses. Landowner license forms are
available from county treasurers and PGC offices. The filing deadline for a
landowner antlerless license application is August l.
Bear Licenses:
Required to hunt black bears.
Licenses available directly from all issuing agents and Game Commission offices.
License must be properly signed
and carried on the person at all times when hunting for bear. The license
does not need to be displayed, but must be produced on demand of an
officer.
Federal Duck Stamp:
All persons l6 and older are required to
have a federal duck stamp to hunt waterfowl. It must be signed in ink and carried by
the hunter. It is not necessary to display the stamp in the hunting license
holder. Do not cover hunting license letters or numbers with a duck stamp.
Migratory Game Bird License:
All persons l2 and older are required to
have a Migratory Game Bird License
to hunt waterfowl and migratory birds including doves, woodcock, brant,
coots, gallinules, moorhens, rails and snipe. Applicants must complete the
harvest survey card that accompanies each license. The license must be signed in ink
and carried by the hunter; it need not be displayed.
Disabled War Veterans:
Disabled resident war veterans with
service-incurred l00-percent disability, or the loss of use of one or more limbs, may
qualify for free hunting and furtaker licenses. See your county treasurer.
Replacement Licenses:
If a license has been lost or destroyed,
a replacement may be purchased by applying to any issuing agent (preferably the agent
where original was purchased) or to the Game Commission, License Division, 200l Elmerton
Avenue, Harrisburg, Pa. l7ll0-9797. The coast is $5.75. Lost antlerless deer
licenses can be replaced only by the county treasurers who issued the originals. If
the antlerless deer license application is lost, a replacement hunting license must be
purchased to obtain another antlerless license application.
Licenses by Mail:
All licenses except antlerless deer and
Migratory Game Bird licenses are available by mail from the Game Commission, License
Division, Harrisburg. Except for bear licenses, include $1.25 for postage and
handling.
License Transfers:
Pennsylvania hunting and furtaker
licenses are non-transferable and non-refundable. It is unlawful to be in possession
of another's hunting license or big game tags when afield.
Uncollectible Checks:
If a check issued in payment of any fee
or fine is returned uncollectible, the person who makes, issues or presents it will be
charged a $25 fee. This fee is in addition to any costs of prosecution or penalties
assessed as a result of the uncollectible check. Any license, permit or privilege
granted by an uncollectible check shall be void until all applicable fees are paid.
HUNTERS SHARING THE HARVEST
Hunters are encouraged to share a
portion of their harvest with the needy through local food banks. Inquire if your
butcher or meat processor participates in this program. To contact your local food
bank, check under "food" in the telephone book blue pages. For more
information, write "Hunters Sharing the Harvest,: 3317 Turnpike Rd., Elizabethtown,
Pa. l7022. "Hunters Sharing the Harvest" is sponsored by
Pennsylvanians for the Responsible
Use of Animals (PRUA). |
