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What a Florida Hunting License Costs: Resident, Non-Resident, Military and Seniors

By Eric Vincent · October 1, 2026

A Florida hunting license is cheap, but it is rarely the only thing you need. Here are the prices FWC posts, and the add-ons that decide your real cost.

Base hunting licenses

FWC prices (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026):

  • Annual resident: $17.00
  • Five-year resident: $79.00
  • Annual non-resident: $151.50
  • Resident youth hunting license, optional for ages 8 to 15 who completed hunter safety: $17.00

The hunting license is required when taking or attempting to take game or furbearing animals by methods other than trapping.

Bundles

  • Resident hunting and freshwater fishing combination: $32.50
  • Resident hunting, freshwater and saltwater combination: $48.00
  • Sportsman’s License, resident annual: $80.50. It includes hunting, freshwater fishing, and the WMA, archery, muzzleloading gun, crossbow, deer, turkey and Florida waterfowl permits. It does not include saltwater, snook or lobster.
  • Gold Sportsman’s, resident annual: $100.00, or $494.00 for five years. It adds saltwater fishing, snook and lobster.

Seniors and military

  • Silver Sportsman’s 64+ for residents 64 or older: $13.50 annual, or $61.50 for five years. It has the same permits as the Sportsman’s License and no saltwater, snook or lobster.
  • Military Gold Sportsman’s for resident active duty or retired military: $20.00 annual. It is verified online or at a tax collector’s office with proof of residency and a military ID.

Those two are the cheapest way to get everything FWC bundles, if you qualify.

Permits that stack on top

FWC lists these as required in addition to the hunting license when they apply (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026):

  • Management area permit, for WMAs: $26.50 annual, $126.50 five-year for residents
  • Archery, crossbow or muzzleloading gun season permit: $5.00 annual each, $25.00 five-year
  • Deer permit: $5.00 annual, $25.00 five-year
  • Turkey permit: $10.00 resident annual, $50.00 five-year, $125.00 non-resident annual
  • Migratory bird permit: no cost, valid Sept. 1 to March 31
  • Florida waterfowl permit: $5.00 annual
  • Federal duck stamp: $28.50 per FWC’s migratory bird page, for hunters 16 and older
  • J.W. Corbett OHV hunting permit: $100 seasonal

What a WMA permit adds

FWC describes the management area permit as authorizing the holder to take game on wildlife management areas, wildlife and environmental areas and some public small game areas, when used with a hunting license and other appropriate permits. It also allows access to WMAs where FWC requires a daily use fee (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).

A worked example, using only those prices: a resident deer hunter on a WMA in archery season needs the hunting license ($17.00), a deer permit ($5.00), an archery permit ($5.00) and a management area permit ($26.50). That is $53.50 before any quota permit and before the 50 cents vendor issuance fee that FWC says may apply.

Exceptions that save money

  • FWC says a hunting license is not needed to hunt wild hogs on a WMA, though a management area permit is required (FWC wild hog page, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).
  • The Statewide Alligator Hunt does not need a hunting or fishing license.
  • The migratory bird permit is not required for hunters under 16 and over 65.

Sportsman’s License versus buying piece by piece

A resident who hunts a few days a year on private land needs the $17.00 license plus the deer or turkey permit that applies. A resident who hunts WMAs across several seasons should add up the pieces. Bought separately, the WMA permit ($26.50), the archery, muzzleloading and crossbow permits ($5.00 each), deer ($5.00), turkey ($10.00) and waterfowl ($5.00) permits plus the $17.00 license come to $78.50. The Sportsman’s License at $80.50 adds a freshwater fishing license on top of the same permits. This uses only FWC’s posted prices, and your own mix of seasons decides the answer.

Not on this page

I did not verify lifetime license pricing, hunter safety course requirements, or quota permit application fees. FWC links those on separate pages. Prices change, and FWC notes that prices listed include an issuance fee allowed by statute. Check the page before you buy.

For fishing licenses, see our Southwest Florida fishing license guide.

Sources