Maine · License year
Maine hunting license
Maine runs its license on the calendar: January to December, however late in the year you buy in. An October license still stops on December 31.
License year
2026
Opens
Jan 1, 2026
Last day
Dec 31, 2026
Runs out in
128 days
Today in Maine is Aug 25, 2026.
The license year, in Maine IF&W’s own words
“Hunting licenses are valid for one calendar year, starting January 1 (or on the date of purchase if after January 1).”
— Maine IF&W — Hunting Licenses and Permits, read Aug 25, 2026
So the year on sale now started January 1 and stops Dec 31, 2026 — buying late in it does not buy you more of it.
Hunter education comes first
Maine will sell you a firearms license on either proof — a hunter safety course, or an adult firearms license you already held in some earlier year back to 1976.
“When applying for an adult firearms hunting license in Maine, you must show proof of residency, and that you have either possessed an adult license to hunt with firearms in any year beginning with 1976, or successfully completed an approved hunter safety course in any U.S. state, province or country.”
— Maine IF&W — Hunting License Information, read Aug 25, 2026
What Maine IF&W charges
Prices as Maine IF&W prints them, resident beside non-resident, each table linked to the page it was read from. Maine IF&W sets these and changes them; the agency’s own page is the one that counts.
Hunting licenses
IF&W prints these without the agent fee, which is added at the counter. Big game covers deer, bear and moose; small game covers everything else.
| License or permit | Maine resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Big game hunting (16 and older) | $26.00 | $115.00 |
| Small game hunting (16 and older) | $15.00 | $75.00 |
| Junior hunting (0–15) | $8.00 | $35.00 |
| Archery hunting (16 and older) | $26.00 | $75.00 |
| Combination hunting and fishing (16 and older) | $48.00 | $169.00 |
| 3-day small game hunting Valid for 3 consecutive days. | Not offered | $50.00 |
| 6-day archery hunting | Not offered | $26.00 |
| Super pack | $212.00 | Not offered |
| Disabled war veteran | Free | Not offered |
Read from Maine IF&W — License Fees .
Permits on top of the license
Maine prices most permits the same for residents and non-residents; the muzzleloader permit is the exception.
| License or permit | Maine resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Antlerless deer permit | $12.00 | $12.00 |
| Wild turkey permit | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Muzzleloader permit (16 and older) | $13.00 | $69.00 |
| State migratory waterfowl permit (16 and older) A federal migratory waterfowl permit is required as well. | $7.50 | $7.50 |
| Expanded archery permit, antlerless deer | $12.00 | $12.00 |
| Expanded archery permit, either-sex | $32.00 | $32.00 |
| Pheasant permit (Cumberland and York counties) | $27.00 | $27.00 |
| Coyote night hunting permit | $4.00 | $56.00 |
| Deer, moose and bear registration | $5.00 | $5.00 |
Read from Maine IF&W — Permit & Other Fees .
Apprentice licenses
For someone who has never held an adult hunting license, five times at most, and only with an apprentice supervisor 18 or older who has held a license three years running.
| License or permit | Maine resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice hunting (includes bear and turkey permits) | $26.00 | $115.00 |
| Apprentice small game (includes turkey permit) | Not offered | $75.00 |
| Apprentice archery | $26.00 | $75.00 |
Read from Maine IF&W — Apprentice Hunter Licenses .
Tag and permit application deadlines
Maine IF&W publishes its application periods on its own calendar rather than in a fixed list, so there is nothing here we could stand behind for a whole season. Read them at the source: Maine IF&W.
Where the state issues them
Maine runs its own licensing system, and that is where every Maine license comes from. HuntDates has no part in it and takes nothing from it — the price Maine IF&W shows you there is the one that counts.
MOSES — Maine Online Sportsman Electronic System — IF&W's own system. Agents statewide sell the same licenses.
The rest of Maine
HuntDates does not publish Maine season dates yet — this page covers the license year only. Every state we do cover is on the front page, and what’s open right now reads all of them at once.