CHAPTER 14. HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSING AND FEES

PART I. RECREATIONAL LICENSES

§3000. Recreational license requirements; definitions

            A.(1) Any person eighteen years of age or older engaged in an activity that involves hunting, fishing, or accessing property owned by the department for which a license is required shall have in their immediate possession a valid, original license, or an effective license number, together with a form of personal identification, and shall show such license and identification upon request to a duly authorized agent of the department.

            (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, any person younger than eighteen years of age engaged in an activity that necessitates the use of deer tags or turkey tags, or involves participation in a youth lottery hunt shall have in their immediate possession a valid, original youth license and shall show such license upon request to a duly authorized agent of the department.

            B. Licenses issued pursuant to this Part shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance. In the case where an additional license or permit is required for a specific activity or for the taking or possession of certain species of wildlife or fisheries resources, the basic or prerequisite license must be valid in order for the additional license to be valid. No license shall be assigned or transferred to, or used by, any person other than the individual to whom the license was issued.

            C. Any license found in the possession of a person other than the person to whom the license was issued shall be confiscated by an officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this Part and shall be delivered to the department for cancellation. Any license confiscated under the provisions of this Section shall be considered void. Any violation of this Subsection shall constitute a class three violation punishable as provided in R.S. 56:33.

            D. Each license shall be effective only during the open season for the particular species of wildlife or fisheries resource authorized to be taken under the provisions of the license.

            E.(1) No resident license may be issued until valid proof of Louisiana residency has been provided by the applicant. Residents shall meet the residency requirements specified in R.S. 56:8 for bona fide residents.

            (2) The issuance of a license is conditional upon validation of all information on the application. If the department finds any material misstatement of fact regarding the residency of the applicant, the license shall be void and shall be immediately surrendered to an agent of the department.

            F. In addition to a person who qualifies as a resident of Louisiana, the following people qualify for resident licenses:

            (1) Any person who possesses a military identification card that signifies that he is currently on active military duty with any one of the armed forces of the United States, including the National Guard, or the spouse or dependent of such person, may be issued a license for hunting or recreational fishing in Louisiana after payment of the same fee as that required of Louisiana residents for that same license. Any license purchased under the provisions of this Subsection shall be valid only during that time when the person is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States. In addition, the provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to the purchase of lifetime licenses. The military identification card or dependent card and the appropriate license must be on the licensee's person at all times when he is engaged in hunting or fishing activities.

            (2) A nonresident full-time student who is enrolled in a Louisiana public or private high school or an accredited college or university that has a physical campus in the state of Louisiana may purchase a resident license. The applicant shall show a valid identification card issued by the high school, college, or university indicating current full-time status and, when engaged in the activity authorized by the license, must have both the license and the school identification card on his person.

            (3) Any person who was born in Louisiana and who possesses a valid Louisiana birth certificate may purchase a nonresident temporary hunting and fishing license that is valid for ten consecutive days for the cost of an annual resident license conveying an equivalent privilege.

            (4) Any person who has been awarded a Purple Heart may be issued an annual hunting and fishing license at the resident rate. The applicant must provide identification and proof of eligibility satisfactory to the department.

            (5) Any honorably discharged member of the United States Armed Forces or National Guard who either enlisted for service while residing in Louisiana or was discharged from service while residing in Louisiana may be issued an annual hunting and fishing license at the resident rate. The applicant must provide identification and proof of eligibility satisfactory to the department. In addition to any other documentation accepted by the department as satisfactory proof of military service, government-issued separation and discharge documentation, such as a DD-214 or NGB-22, showing enlistment or discharge in the state of Louisiana shall be considered satisfactory proof of eligibility under this Paragraph.

            G. A person may qualify for a Senior/Retired Military Hunting and Fishing license as follows:

            (1) A resident who reaches age sixty prior to June 1, 2000, may obtain an annual license for no cost.

            (2) A resident who reaches age sixty between June 1, 2000, and May 31, 2022, may obtain an annual license for the cost of five dollars.

            (3) A resident who reaches age sixty-five on or after June 1, 2027, may obtain an annual license for the cost of twenty dollars.

            (4) Upon application to the department and showing identification and proof of military service satisfactory to the department, any person who is a retired member of the United States Armed Forces, including the Louisiana Army National Guard or the Louisiana Air National Guard, and was either born in Louisiana or is a bona fide resident of Louisiana, may obtain an annual license for the cost of twenty dollars.

            H. Upon identification and proof of disability satisfactory to the department, the following people may be issued a Disabled/Special Needs Hunting and Fishing license:

            (1) A person who is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, including the Louisiana Army National Guard or the Louisiana Air National Guard, having a permanent service connected disability classification of fifty percent or more.

            (2) A resident who is blind, paraplegic, or is a single or multiple amputee, or is required to use one or more artificial limbs or permanent braces for mobility as a result of a permanent and total disability.

            (3) A resident who is totally and permanently disabled and receiving a disability benefit from the federal social security system or a disability retirement income from a retirement system whose members are exempt from federal social security, either pursuant to the Railroad Retirement Insurance Act, 45 U.S.C. 231, or because they are employees of a state or a political subdivision of the state that has not voluntarily agreed to participate in federal social security under 42 U.S.C. 418.

            (4) Any resident of Louisiana who is the surviving spouse of a member of the United States Armed Forces, including the Louisiana Army National Guard or the Louisiana Air National Guard, who was killed in action while in a combat zone, upon showing identification and documentation satisfactory to the department.

            I. Any nonpublic authorized issuing agent that issues any license under the provisions of this Subpart may retain an amount not to exceed fifty cents of the fee collected from the sale of each resident and active duty military license issued and an amount not to exceed one dollar from the sale of each nonresident license issued. The amount to be retained shall be promulgated by the commission.

            J.(1) The secretary may exempt for good cause persons or groups of people from the license fee requirements of this Part. Such exemption shall be in the form of a letter of permit from the secretary. The commission is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations that establish the criteria for such exemptions and that otherwise implement the provisions of this Subsection.

            (2) The secretary may, in his discretion and upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, issue to accredited representatives of any public park, museum, educational or scientific institution, or of the federal government or any state government, recognized scientist, representative of the entertainment industry or to any other responsible person a permit to take, possess, and transport at any time within and from this state wild birds or the plumage, skins, nests, eggs, or young thereof and wild quadrupeds, the skins or young thereof; if the secretary is satisfied that they are to be taken or possessed for scientific, educational, experimental, entertainment industry, or breeding purposes only and are not to be sold or otherwise disposed of by the permittee for profit, and if the permittee obligates himself to deliver to the secretary within sixty days after taking, and in any event before the removal thereof from the state, a detailed descriptive inventory of the wild birds, wild quadrupeds, and other things taken under the permit.

            Acts 2021, No. 356, §3, eff. June 1, 2022; Acts 2022, No. 229, §1, eff. June 1, 2022.