Hunter Education

If you plan to hunt during a Missouri firearms season or you are acting as an adult mentor, you MUST first complete an approved hunter-education certification program and provide proof of completion UNLESS:

• You are 15 or younger and will be hunting with a properly permitted adult mentor 18 or older.
• You were born before Jan. 1, 1967.
• You received a disability exemption from Missouri Department of Conservation’s Protection Division.
• You are 16 or older and have purchased an Apprentice Hunter Authorization and will be hunting with a properly permitted adult mentor 18 or older.
• You are the landowner hunting on land you own using Resident Landowner permits.

NOTE: If you can prove you completed an approved hunter education course in another state, you are not required to take Missouri’s Hunter Education Course.

Not if we can verify your certification electronically, which will usually be the case. If electronic verification is not possible, you MUST provide proof of hunter-education certification. Once you’re in our database, you won’t have to submit this information again.

Hunter education has reduced hunting accidents and deaths by more than 70 percent since it became mandatory in 1987. For this reason, we recommend all hunters become hunter-education certified.

Our Hunter Education Program provides a foundation in hunting safety and ethics. It instills responsibility, improves skills and knowledge, and encourages interaction between beginner and veteran hunters.

• Hunter responsibility and ethics
• How firearms work and firearm safety
• Wildlife identification, game care, survival, and first-aid skills
• Firearm-handling skills and hunting techniques
• Awareness about wildlife conservation and management
• Rules and information unique to Missouri

Anyone 11 or older is eligible to take the course and exam.

Yes! MDC recommends that youth begin hunting with an adult mentor to become familiar with hunting and terminology before taking the course.

Youths younger than 16 DO NOT need hunter education to hunt any game species in Missouri until they are ready to hunt alone.

Youth 10 or younger may hunt during a firearms hunting season if they are in the immediate presence of an adult mentor who possesses the proper permit.

Yes! Our Apprentice Hunter Authorization lets people 16 or older try hunting as long as they hunt with a properly permitted adult (18 or older) mentor.