Beginning June 1, 2021, FWP will again start offering our traditional, in-person, classroom, hunter and bowhunter education courses. Our in-person offerings will begin posting in the coming weeks. Please continue to check weekly for a course offering near you.
To purchase or apply for a Montana hunting license, any person born after January 1, 1985, must complete a hunter education course issued by Montana, any other state, or any Canadian province.
Montana has two options for hunter certification. Students can take our traditional in-person courses, which are open to students who are at least 10 years old. Students ages 10-11 can take the in-person course and hunt as an apprentice, but will not be fully certified until the year they turn 12. Students who choose to take the in-person course must attend all classroom sessions, the field course, and pass a final exam.
Montana’s in-person Hunter and bowhunter education courses are led by volunteer instructors who are passionate about preserving Montana’s hunting tradition, teaching firearm safety, ethics, and other outdoor skills.
The second option, is a free online-only course for both hunter and bowhunter and is for any person who will turn 12 years of age by January 16 of the current license year. Once completed, graduates may purchase or apply for licenses and hunt after August 15 of the current license year. No in-person field course is required. However, we strongly encourage participation at one of our voluntary, in-person, field days.
Hunter and bowhunter education courses are led by volunteer instructors who are passionate about preserving Montana’s hunting tradition, teaching firearm safety and other outdoor skills.
If you are a nonresident, applying for Montana’s Come Home to Hunt or Non-resident Native license, visit Hunter Education for Nonresidents.
Become a Volunteer Instructor
If you are interested in the future of hunting, in improving sportsmanship and safety in the field, or teaching an appreciation for the vast hunting resources in Montana, then we need you to join us and “Pass it On!”
To purchase a Montana bow-and-arrow license, hunters must either complete the bowhunter education course from Montana or any other state, or show any prior year's bowhunting license from any state or province. An individual must be at least 11 years old to register for a bowhunter education classroom course. Anyone age 18 or older can complete an online course but must still attend a field course to become certified.
Certification
To protect public health and reduce overall spread of COVID-19, FWP has temporarily cancelled all in-person Bowhunter Education classes.
To be certified, Montana residents can take a free online-only course at bowhunter-ed.com/montana. Use the promo code MTehfEngEbehwK20 at the end of the course to cover the cost of the class. You must be 12 years of age by January 16, 2022, or older to register for this course. This course is for Montana residents only.
This course is administered through a third-party vendor, Kalkomey. Please direct any program (online) specific questions to Kalkomey's customer service department (toll-free).
Kalkomey Customer Support
Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to midnight MDT and Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. MDT.
Phone: 1-800-830-2268
Become a Volunteer Instructor
If you are interested in the future of hunting, in improving sportsmanship and safety in the field, or teaching an appreciation for the vast hunting resources in Montana, then we need you to join us and “Pass it On!”
Hunter-Landowner Stewardship Project
Montana’s Hunter-Landowner relationships course. You can also receive a free cap and bumper sticker indicating your participation.
Hunters Connect
A set of how-to hunting related videos on a variety of topics.
HE Tools
A free downloadable toolset that covers many aspects of firearms and archery equipment.
The Apprentice Hunter program allows anyone 10 or older to hunt for up to two years without completing a hunter education course. Certain restrictions apply, and anyone certified as an Apprentice must be accompanied by a certified Mentor.
Before setting a wolf trap in Montana, a person must successfully complete either a Montana FWP or Idaho offered trapper education and certification course.
Trappers who successfully completed a wolf trapping education and certification course in Montana or Idaho do not need to retake the course. Idaho trappers must present a certificate of completion/certification for the Idaho course issued by Idaho Fish and Game.
Some FWP regional offices will offer wolf trapper education and certification courses. Contact the regional office near you for more information.
The Montana wolf trapper education and certification courses are free and open to individuals age 11 and older. Each course will be a comprehensive education session taught by FWP staff and experienced wolf trappers. The trapping portion of each course will be taught by trappers who have considerable experience trapping wolves.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has approved this course in compliance with 45-8-321(3)(b) as an alternative firearms safety course that meets the training requirement to apply for a Montana concealed carry permit. There is no field day or hands-on requirement and is available to anyone 18 years-of-age or older.
This course is NOT a replacement for hunter education and does not satisfy the requirements in 87-2-105.
Duplicate certificates of completion for the Montana hunter education and bowhunter education courses may be obtained online at MyFWP using the Hunter/Bowhunter Education Certificate Form.
Remedial Hunter Education
Hunting is a privilege and the Remedial Hunter Education Program is designed to help make that point. The program consists of a series of exercises that illuminate Montana's rich hunting legacy and how important legal and responsible behavior is to the future of hunting in Montana.
The Remedial Hunter Education Program looks at the history of hunting in Montana (Montana Hunting Story), explores a hunter's reasons and motivations for hunting (Why I Hunt), and tests an individual's values by presenting various dilemmas and asking the hunter what they would do (Choose a Path For Hunting). If you are taking this program optionally, disregard the instructions for defendants and skip ahead to begin the exercises.
