CA Licensing Requirements

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CA WATERFOWL HUNTING LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

In order to hunt waterfowl in the state of California, you are going to need the following license types, stamps, and passes. Make sure that you have everything on this checklist prior to trying to hunt.

  1. You must have a valid hunting license in order to participate in that years hunts. You can access he online system to purchase a license HERE or most outdoor stores or Walmarts have the option to purchase a license. These are the 3 items that you must have on your printed license
    1. Hunting License Fee
    2. HIP Validation
    3. Duck Hunting Validation
  2. In addition to the 3 items on your license, you will need a Federal Duck Stamp. That stamp can be purchased online or typically at any store that sells hunting licenses or a USPS branch.
  3. Lastly, if you are going to hunt a State-opperated wildlife area, you will need to purchase a day-pass for each day that you want to hunt. You can buy these as a single or 2 day passes and are used each time you hunt on Sate-opperated land. There is a slight discount when purchasing 2 at a time. These passes can be purchased online or typically at any store that sells hunting licenses.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife – Requirements for Hunting Waterfowl – HERE

WHERE TO PURCHASE ONLINE:

HERE – Hunting License, HIP Validation, & Duck Validation

HERE – Type A Wildlife Area Pass

HERE – Federal Duck Stamp

2023-2024 FEDERAL DUCK STAMP

QUICK GUIDE TO THE CADFW LICENSE PORTAL

  1. If you have not already done so, set up a login with the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife website. This is where you can input your GO ID once you obtain your hunting license. You do not have to have a GO ID to create a login as you can also use this portal to purchase a fishing license.
  2. Once logged in, you should see a screen like the one below.
  3. To start purchasing a hunting license for the season, click on the “Purchase Licenses” box highlighted in red.
  1. Once there, you need to select the following which are highlighted in red:
    1. YEAR – Hunting License
    2. YEAR – California Duck Validation
    3. YEAR – Harvest Information Program (HIP) Validation
  2. The prices can change from year to year.
  3. Add those items to your “Cart”
  1. Scrolling further down, you can also elect to purchase a “Type A Wildlife Area Pass” in either a 1-Day, 2-Day or Season Pass option. We recommend that you only purchase Wildlife passes for the number of days you plan to hunt on state-operated land. You can always purchase them at a later time at a retail location that sells hunting license.
  2. If you do plan to hunt on state-operated land, you may also like to put in an application for a reservation drawing. If your name is drawn, you are guaranteed to hunt on that day given you have all the appropriate paperwork. Non-reservation hunters are put on what is called the “sweat line”.
  3. In addition to draw applications, you can also purchase a California Duck Stamp.
  1. Once you have everything that you want added to your cart, checkout as you would any other online transaction.
  2. Once complete, you will get a confirmation of your purchase and your license and supporting documents should arrive in the mail to you in a couple of weeks. Again all of this can be done a local store that sells valid CA Hunting Licenses, however some are more helpful than others.