Temporary (1-Year) Hunter Education Exemption Permit
The
temporary hunter education exemption permit allows a person to hunt for one year without first completing a hunter education course. The permit will be available online for free (for a limited time) and is available to both Kentucky residents and nonresidents.
Kentucky’s hunter education law requires all license-required hunters born on or after January 1, 1975, to pass a hunter education course and carry the course completion card when hunting. However, hunters who have the new permit will be exempt from this law for one year from the date issued.
The permit is available only one time. Once it expires, hunters are no longer exempt and must successfully complete a hunter education course.
Hunters who carry the permit must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult hunter at least 18 years old who meets the hunter education requirement. The adult must remain in a position to take immediate control of the exempted hunter’s bow or firearm while hunting. Adult supervision is also required for all hunters under the age of 10, and for all firearm deer, elk and turkey hunters 15 and younger.
Children don’t have to take the course until they turn 12 years old. Children cannot take the hunter education test until they turn 9. During the three-year window between ages 9 and 12, children have many opportunities to take a course. More than 300 hunter education courses are scheduled throughout Kentucky each year.
Landowners who are hunting on their own land, and other license-exempt hunters, are not required to take a hunter education course. However, the course is strongly recommended. For complete information on hunter education, call 1-800-858-1549.
