Connecticut Hunting License: $19.00, $38 With a Tag

Q: What does a nonresident hunting license cost in Connecticut?

$91.00 for the Firearms Hunting, against $19.00 on the other side of the residency line. Tags are priced separately for nonresidents too, and both figures are in the table on this page.

Q: How current are these prices?

Every figure here was read on 23 September 2026 off Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division's own fee pages and links back to the page it came from. Fees are set by statute or by a commission and move between seasons, so the link beside each price is what governs on the day.

$19.00

Resident licence

Firearms Hunting

$19.00

What the first deer costs on top

$38 for the licence and the tag together

to 31 December

When it stops working

calendar year

8 / 7

Licences and tags read here

each one linked to the fee table it came from

The short answer

What a season in Connecticut actually costs to start

Tags on topConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division

A resident hunting licence in Connecticut is $19.00, sold as the Firearms Hunting. Hunting a deer on it means buying the State Land No-Lottery Season as well, at $19.00, so the first day costs $38 rather than $19.00. That is 100% more than the licence price a search result would have shown. 39 of the 50 states read here work the same way. The licence itself runs a hunting licence to 31 December whatever month it was bought in.

Resident licence $19.00, the Firearms Hunting
Nonresident licence $91.00
First deer on top of it $19.00, the State Land No-Lottery Season
What the first morning costs $38
The licence runs runs a hunting licence to 31 December whatever month it was bought in

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division sells it through its own licensing system, which is where a fee change appears first.

What the agency sells

Every Connecticut hunting licence, at the price Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division prints

Seven tags and permits were read off Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division's own fee pages for Connecticut, each one priced below with the row it sits in. A tag is a second purchase, and the licence price on its own is the first half of what a season costs.

Firearms Hunting$19.00
firearms hunting for small game, with deer, turkey and waterfowl each needing their own permit or stamp
annual
Firearms Hunting Resident 16- and 17-year-olds: Fee=$10 | $19.00 | $91.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
Archery Deer/Small Game$41.00
all forms of archery hunting, including bowhunting deer on state and private land, without a separate deer permit
annual
Archery Deer/Small Game Resident 16- and 17-year-olds: Fee=$21 | $41.00 | $135.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
Firearms Hunting$91.00
the same firearms hunting privileges as the resident licence, with the same permits and stamps on top
annual
Firearms Hunting Resident 16- and 17-year-olds: Fee=$10 | $19.00 | $91.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
Archery Deer/Small Game$135.00
all forms of archery hunting, including bowhunting deer on state and private land
annual
Archery Deer/Small Game Resident 16- and 17-year-olds: Fee=$21 | $41.00 | $135.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
3-day Out-of-state (Non-resident) Bird Hunting$35.00
three consecutive privilege days of migratory and resident game bird hunting, with the matching bird stamp bought separately
3 day
3-day Out-of-state (Non-resident) Bird Hunting ... | - - - | $35.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
Junior Firearms Hunting (Ages 12 to 15)$11.00
firearms hunting for a 12 to 15 year old, who must be accompanied by a licensed hunter 18 or older
annual
Junior Firearms Hunting (Ages 12 to 15) | $11.00 | $11.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
Age 65+ Annual Firearms Hunting LicenseFree
firearms hunting free of charge for a resident 65 or older, permits and stamps not included
annual
Age 65+ Annual Firearms Hunting License | Free | - - -
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source
Firearms Hunting and Inland Fishing$38.00
firearms hunting and inland fishing on one licence
annual
Firearms Hunting and Inland Fishing Resident 16- and 17-year-olds: Fee=$19 | $38.00 | $110.00
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source

The second purchase

The tags and permits that sit on top of a Connecticut licence

A tag is attached to one animal of one species, and the last column is the part that decides a calendar rather than a budget. Over the counter means it can be bought on the way to the woods. A draw means the application closed months ago.

Connecticut allocates deer by draw, which means the application closes long before the season and the tag is awarded by lot rather than sold. What is over the counter and what is drawn is set out beside each tag below.

Tags and permits read off Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division's own fee pages, dearest resident price first.
Tag or permit	Species	Resident	Nonresident	How it is issued
Resident Game Bird Conservation Stamp	Turkey	$28.00	$28.00	Over the counter
State Land Lottery Regular Season	Deer	$19.00	$68.00	Draw
State Land No-Lottery Season	Deer	$19.00	$68.00	Over the counter
Private Land Shotgun/Rifle/Revolver	Deer	$19.00	$68.00	Over the counter
State Land Muzzleloader	Deer	$19.00	$68.00	Over the counter
Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp	Waterfowl	$17.00	$17.00	Over the counter
Landowner	Deer	Free	Free	Over the counter

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, the page this was read from, read 23 September 2026

The clock

When a Connecticut hunting license expires Calendar year

Connecticut runs a hunting licence to 31 December whatever month it was bought in. A licence bought in November is a licence with weeks left in it. The price is the same one printed beside the licence bought in January. 9 of the 50 states read here do this, against 9 that run a licence a full year from the day of sale, and the price is identical in both.

Connecticut licences, permits and stamps run to the end of the calendar year they were bought in.

The Junior Hunting License is valid for a calendar year, as are other hunting licenses.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source

The requirement people find out about at the counter

Hunter education in Connecticut

Connecticut requires hunter education, and it sets the requirement without a birth year cutoff, so the test is what the applicant has done rather than when they were born. 29 of the 50 states read here use a birth year instead, and those years run from 1949 to 1986.

Connecticut publishes no birth year cutoff. It refuses any hunting or trapping licence unless the buyer held a Connecticut resident licence in that discipline within the last five years or holds a Conservation Education and Firearms Safety certificate, and it does not accept another state's apprentice or mentored licence.

No hunting or trapping licenses will be issued to any person unless proof is provided that they have held a RESIDENT license in the respective discipline within the last 5 years OR the person has a certificate indicating successful completion of a Connecticut Conservation Education/Firearms Safety (CE/FS) course (or recognized equivalent) in the respective discipline for which they are applying. Hunter education coursework may have been completed online but MUST have been accompanied by a field day. “Apprentice” or “Mentored” hunting licenses issued in other states do not qualify. To become certified in firearms or bowhunting, a person must be 10 years or older.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, read 23 September 2026. Read it at the source

A wide shallow wetland on a clear November morning, ducks scattered across the open water, a cottonwood in yellow leaf on a small island beside a low wooden viewing deck, and a flat brown horizon under a pale blue sky — Waterfowl is the clearest case of what these pages are about. The state licence is the first line on the receipt, and a duck morning adds a state stamp, a federal stamp and a harvest survey registration on top of it, none of which the licence price includes. “Llano Seco Unit (2024)-L1006548”, Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0

How Connecticut compares

39 of 50 states sell the animal separately from the right to hunt it

Connecticut works the way most of the country does. Of the 50 states read here, 39 sell the tag apart from the licence and 11 print it on the licence instead. Where the tag is separate, the middle state adds 95% to the licence price before anybody has left the driveway.

Resident licences across these states run from $10 to $64.54, and nonresident licences from $50 to $410, which is the widest spread on any licence this site has read. 25 states run a licence year of their own, 9 give a full year from the day of sale, and 9 end it on 31 December whatever month it was bought.

The national table puts Connecticut beside every other state on licence price, first tag, and the two added together.

Connecticut hunting license questions

How much is a hunting license in Connecticut?

A resident hunting licence in Connecticut is $19.00, sold as the Firearms Hunting. Hunting a deer on it means buying the State Land No-Lottery Season as well, at $19.00, so the first day costs $38 rather than $19.00. That is 100% more than the licence price a search result would have shown. 39 of the 50 states read here work the same way. The licence itself runs a hunting licence to 31 December whatever month it was bought in.

Do you need a tag as well as a license in Connecticut?

When does a Connecticut hunting license expire?

Does Connecticut require hunter education?

Connecticut requires hunter education, and it sets the requirement without a birth year cutoff, so the test is what the applicant has done rather than when they were born. 29 of the 50 states read here use a birth year instead, and those years run from 1949 to 1986. Connecticut publishes no birth year cutoff. It refuses any hunting or trapping licence unless the buyer held a Connecticut resident licence in that discipline within the last five years or holds a Conservation Education and Firearms Safety certificate, and it does not accept another state's apprentice or mentored licence.

What does a nonresident hunting license cost in Connecticut?

Where do you actually buy one in Connecticut?

How current are these prices?

More for Connecticut

Connecticut fishing licenseThe same agency, the other licence, and an expiry rule that works differently again.Connecticut tick activityWhat the woods are doing this week, measured against the years behind it.Connecticut first snowWhen the weather that ends most of these seasons usually arrives.Connecticut unattended vehicle lawWhat the state says about a truck left running at a trailhead on a cold morning.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division read 23 September 2026, with every licence price, tag price, expiry rule and hunter education cutoff above linked to the page it came from. Fees are set by statute or by a commission and change between seasons, so the agency page beside each figure is what governs on the day. Tags on top