Maryland Provides First-Time Hunters Opportunity to Experience Sport

Low-Cost Apprentice Hunting Licenses Now Available

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering a new hunting license for first-time hunters. The Apprentice Hunting License is available to residents and nonresidents of any age who never held a Maryland hunting license.

The apprentice license is $10 for residents and $20 for nonresidents, and provides the same privileges as other Maryland hunting licenses. It allows anyone interested in hunting a one-time chance to try the sport before committing to the more lengthy process of obtaining a traditional hunting license.

“Our hope is to provide the apprentice an opportunity to experience hunting in Maryland at a reduced rate and have them become lifelong hunters,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “Hunters remain the primary source of revenue for conservation initiatives and are critical to the state’s wildlife management efforts.”

Individuals can get only one Maryland apprentice hunting license per lifetime and applicants must first pass a short, online hunter safety course offered by the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

When hunting, apprentice license holders must be accompanied and directly supervised by a fully-licensed Maryland resident, 18 years old or older, who must be close enough to take control of an archery device or firearm. An apprentice hunter can only hunt unaccompanied after successfully completing the full hunter safety course and receiving a Certificate of Competency in Firearms and Hunter Safety.

Licensed apprentice hunters can hunt deer, rabbit, squirrel, turkey and waterfowl. Appropriate stamps are needed to hunt migratory birds, deer and waterfowl with a bow or muzzleloader. Additionally, anyone 17 year old or older needs a Managed Hunt Permit to hunt in certain state parks.