Maine Hunting License: Cost, Moose Lottery, Online Purchase & Seasons (2026)

Maine's hunting licenses are valid for the calendar year (January 1 through December 31). The Resident Hunting (Big Game) license costs $26, covering deer, bear, and moose (with permit). A Resident Small Game license costs $16. The Resident Combo (hunt + fish) is $42. Maine's most comprehensive option is the Resident Super Pack ($202) — it bundles big game hunting, fishing, archery, muzzleloader, and crossbow permits plus a free moose lottery entry (application still required). Youth ages 10–15 pay $7 for a resident license. Non-residents pay $115 for big game hunting or $75 for small game only.

Maine offers one of the most generous senior hunting benefits in the northeastern US: residents age 70 and older receive a FREE lifetime combination hunting and fishing license — no annual renewal ever required. Disabled veterans with 100% service-connected disability receive free licenses and permits. Active duty military stationed in Maine pay resident rates. NR landowners who own 25 or more acres in Maine may hunt on Maine's Residents-Only Day (November 1), a special provision that gives resident hunters first access before the general firearms season opens November 3.

Hunter education is required for anyone born on or after January 1, 1976. The free course requires a mandatory in-person field day. Youth under 10 may hunt with a licensed adult without a license. A muzzleloader season requires a separate Muzzleloader Permit ($16 resident / $25 NR). A Pheasant Permit ($18) is required for stocked pheasant hunting areas. Maine does not allow Sunday hunting — a long-standing tradition that provides a weekly rest day for the woods and limits conflicts with non-hunting recreationists. All deer season hunting in Maine is on Monday through Saturday only.

Maine moose hunting is handled through a lottery across multiple zones. Resident moose permits cost $52; NR permits cost $585. The application fee is $15 for one lottery entry; non-residents may purchase up to 10 chances for $55. A sub-permittee system allows a second hunter to share the permit and participate in the hunt. The hunting period runs September through November depending on zone.

Maine allows bear hunting through several regulated methods. The baiting season runs August 25 through September 20, hound hunting for bear is legal September 8 through October 31, and bears can also be taken during the concurrent firearms deer season. The season limit is 2 bears per license year using these combined methods. Bear permits cost $10 resident; NR bear hunting with bait or hounds requires a $74 NR Bear Permit.

Maine's North Woods and other working forestlands provide major hunting access, but access is not uniform. The North Maine Woods organization manages access on part of the privately owned timberland system through a fee-based permit system. Ruffed grouse, woodcock, snowshoe hare, and deer all use this boreal and mixed-hardwood landscape, but hunters should confirm land access, road fees, and seasonal closures before planning around a particular tract.

Maine manages deer through a Wildlife Management District (WMD) system with 29 districts. Antlerless harvest requires a WMD-specific Antlerless Deer Permit ($12 resident / $12 NR) that is only available where population objectives support antlerless harvest. Some WMDs are designated Any-Deer zones allowing antlerless without a special permit. Antlered bucks must have at least 3-inch antlers to be legal — a minimum antler point restriction that differs from the 3-point antler restriction used in some states. The firearms season runs November 3–29 (27 days). Rifles are legal statewide.

Maine's archery deer season structure includes a statewide regular archery season October 4–31, plus an Expanded Archery zone that runs September 6 through December 13 in designated urban/suburban areas — providing nearly 3.5 months for bowhunters in those regions. Crossbows are fully legal for archery seasons. An extended muzzleloader season from December 1–6 (statewide) and December 8–13 (select WMDs) adds additional late-season opportunity. Maine's deer herd size varies significantly between northern industrial forest WMDs (lower density) and central/southern agricultural and mixed-forest zones (higher density).

Deer hunting on Sunday is prohibited throughout Maine — this applies to archery, firearms, and muzzleloader seasons without exception. Saturday November 1 is Residents-Only Day (the day before the general firearms opener on Monday November 3) — only Maine resident license holders and qualifying NR landowners may hunt deer on this day. Maine uses carcass import rules to reduce CWD risk: hunters generally should not bring whole carcasses or unprocessed high-risk parts from most outside jurisdictions into Maine. Only low-risk parts such as boned-out meat, clean skull caps, cleaned teeth, hides without heads, and finished taxidermy mounts are permitted under current rules.