(1) Non-residents hunting deer or turkey need a non-resident
hunting license and State Habitat Stamp in
addition to their valid deer or turkey permits.
(2) Hunters born on or after January 1, 1980 must show proof
that they have successfully completed a Hunter Education
Course pro vided by Illinois DNR or their resident state or
must show a previous year’s hunting license.
(3) Trappers under 18 years of age must show proof that they
have successfully completed a Trapper Education Course
provided by Illinois DNR or their resident state or must show
a previous year’s trapping license.
(4) Trappers under 16 years of age must have their parent’s
written permission prior to obtaining a license.
(5) Required to hunt waterfowl (including teal) and coots ex-cept
toe-clipped, hand-reared mallards on licensed Game
Breeding and Hunting Preserve Areas.
(6) Required to hunt or trap any species of wildlife protected by
the Wildlife Code. Habitat Stamps are not required to hunt
migratory waterfowl, coots and hand-reared toe-clipped mal-lards
and hand-reared game birds on licensed game breed-ing
and hunting preserve areas as well as hand-reared
pheasants on Department-controlled pheasant hunting
areas. Hunters who purchased a lifetime hunting license
prior to 1993 are exempt.
(7) All licensed hunters must register with HIP (National Mi-gratory
Bird Harvest Information Program) if they intend to
hunt migratory birds (doves, ducks, geese, snipe, wood-cock,
coots or rails). If you decide to hunt migratory game
birds after you buy your hunting license you can register
with HIP via DNR DIRECT or by calling 1-888-6PERMIT.
Hunters with a lifetime license are exempt. (see page 22)
(8) In order for disabled persons who are Illinois residents to
hunt without a license, the person must be able to show
(available from the Secretary of State through the drivers li-cense
examining station). Appropriate disability classifica-tions
are P2, P2A, H2, H2A.
(9) In order for disabled veterans (residents or non-residents)
to hunt without a license, the veterans must be
able to show proof of disability with a veterans’ disability card
(at least 10% service related) available from local Illinois De-partment
of Veterans’ Affairs Offices. Disabled veterans are
exempt from purchasing a Habitat Stamp regardless of the
percentage of disability.
(10) Persons on active duty in the Armed Forces are considered
residents.
(10a) A person on active duty in the Armed Forces, who entered the
service from Illinois and is an Illinois resident, may, while on or-dinary
or emergency leave, hunt without a license; however,
a Federal Waterfowl Stamp and state Habitat Stamp are re-quired.
(11) Resident landowners or resident tenants and their children,
parents, brothers and sisters permanently residing on their
Illinois land may hunt or trap on their farmlands, where they
reside, without a license (you still need a Habitat and/or
Federal Waterfowl Stamp depending on which species you
are hunting).
(12) The Apprentice Hunter License is a one-time, non-renewable
license for residents and non-residents. It allows
persons aged 17 and under to go hunting with a parent,
grandparent or guardian who has a valid Illinois resident or
non-resident hunting license. Th ose 18 and older will be
able to go hunting with any family member or friend who is
a validly licensed Illinois resident or non-resident hunter
who is 21 years of age or older. A hunter safety course is not
required to purchase this license.
(13) Age 65 and older.
A resident license/stamp may be obtained by persons who have been a resident
of Illinois 30 days prior to purchase (see Resident definition on p. 9).
Federal stamps must be signed in ink across the face of the stamp. Lifetime
License holders who are required to purchase state stamps must sign the
stamps and have them in their possession while hunting.
All hunting licenses and State stamps are effective January 1 of the issuing year
through March 31 of the following year. Every person holding a hunting or trapping
license shall have it, including all appropriate stamps, in his/her possession for
immediate presentation for inspection to any authorized law enforcement officer.
This information is based on laws in effect as of April 1, 2011 and is subject
to change.
Regulations for Hunting/Trapping Licenses and Stamps
License/Stamp
Type
(2)
Hunting
License
(12)
Resident
Apprentice
Hunting
(13)
Senior
Hunting
License
(2)
Sportmen’s
Combination Hunting
& Sport Fishing License
(13)
Senior Sportsmen’s
Combination Hunting
&Sport Fishing Lincense
(3) (4)
Trapping
License
(5)
Federal
Waterfowl
Stamp
(5)
State
Waterfowl
Stamp
(6)
State Habitat
Stamp
(7)
Harvest
Information
Program (HIP)
Under 16 X X X X
16 – 64 X X X X X X X X
65 and Over X X X X X X X X
Disabled (8) X X X
Disabled
Veteran (9)
X X
Former POW X X X X X X X X
Armed
Forces (10)
X X X X X X X X X X
Armed
Forces (10a)
X X X
Landowner X X X
RESIDENTS NEED: All deer and turkey hunters must have a valid deer or turkey permit, regardless of other license exemptions
License/Stamp
Type
(1) (2)
Hunting
License
(1) (12)
Non-Resident
Apprentice
Hunting
(3) (4)
Trapping
License
(5)
Federal
Waterfowl
Stamp
(5)
State
Waterfowl
Stamp
(6)
State Habitat
Stamp
(7)
Harvest
Information
Program (HIP)
Under 16 X X X X
16 – 64 X X X X X X X
65 and Over X X X X X X X
Disabled (8) X X X X X X
Disabled
Veteran (9)
X X
Former POW X X X X X
Landowner X X X X X X X
NON-RESIDENTS NEED: All deer and turkey hunters must have a valid deer or turkey permit, regardless of other license exemptions
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
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