GENERAL HUNTING LICENSE

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code ch. 42

in effect

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.001. DEFINITIONS.

In this chapter: (1) "Resident" means: (A) an individual who has resided continuously in this state for more than six months immediately before applying for a hunting license; (B) a member of the United States armed forces on active duty; (C) a dependent of a member of the United States armed forces on active duty; (D) if approved by the director, a terminally ill individual who is participating in an event sponsored by a charitable nonprofit organization; (E) a member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas who possesses documentation of membership sanctioned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or (F) a member of any other category of individuals that the commission by regulation designates as residents. (2) "Nonresident" means an individual who is not a resident. (3) "Carcass" means the body of a dead deer or antelope, as listed in Section 63.001 (a), that has not been processed more than by quartering. (4) "Final destination," for a carcass or wild turkey or any part of a carcass or wild turkey, means: (A) the permanent residence of the hunter; (B) the permanent residence of any other person receiving the carcass or wild turkey or the part of a carcass or wild turkey; or (C) a cold storage or processing facility. (5) "Final processing," for a carcass or wild turkey, means the cleaning of the dead animal for cooking or storage purposes. For a carcass, the term also includes the processing of the animal more than by quartering. (6) "Cold storage or processing facility" means a stationary facility designed and constructed to store or process game animals and game birds. (7) "Wildlife resource document" means a document prescribed by the department, other than a tag or permit, that allows a person to give, leave, receive, or possess any species of legally taken game bird or game animal, or part of a legally taken game bird or game animal, if the game bird or game animal is otherwise required to have a tag or permit attached or is protected by a bag or possession limit. (8) "Quartering" means the processing of an animal into not more than two hindquarters each having the leg bone (femur) attached down to the knee and two front shoulders each having the leg bones (scapula and humerus) attached down to the elbow. The term also includes removal of two back straps. Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 218 (S.B. 1122 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009. Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 317 (H.B. 1718 ), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.002. RESIDENT LICENSE REQUIRED; EXEMPTIONS.

(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b), (c), and (d), no resident may hunt any bird or animal in this state without having acquired a hunting license. (b) A resident possessing a valid resident trapper's license or fur-bearing animal propagation permit is not required to have a license issued under this section to take or possess the species covered by the license or permit. (c) A resident landowner or any person, with the consent of the landowner, may take feral hogs on the resident landowner's land without having acquired a hunting license. (d) A person who is a resident and who is a veteran of the United States armed forces is not required to have a license issued under this section if the person is acting under Section 11.208 and complying with rules adopted under that section.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.005. NONRESIDENT LICENSE REQUIRED.

(a) No nonresident in this state may hunt a mule deer, white-tailed deer, turkey, pronghorn antelope, desert bighorn sheep, or alligator in this state without first having acquired a nonresident general hunting license. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), no nonresident may hunt any bird or animal in this state without first having acquired a nonresident general hunting license or a nonresident five-day hunting license. (c) A nonresident possessing a valid nonresident trapper's license is not required to have a license issued under this section to take or possess the species governed by the license. (d) Repealed by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 312 (S.B. 1247 ), Sec. 7(1), eff. September 1, 2025. (e) A nonresident may not acquire or possess during a license year more than one nonresident general hunting license. (f) A nonresident landowner or any person, with the consent of the landowner, may take feral hogs on the nonresident landowner's land without having acquired a hunting license required by this chapter.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.006. POSSESSION OF LICENSE; RULES.

(a) The commission by rule may prescribe requirements relating to possessing a license issued under this chapter. (b) Rules adopted under Subsection (a) must allow for a person to present for the purpose of verification of possession a hunting license as an image displayed on a wireless communication device. The image displayed may be either an image of information from the Internet website of the department or a photograph of a hunting license. (c) The display of an image that includes hunting license information on a wireless communication device under this section does not constitute effective consent for a law enforcement officer, or any other person, to access the contents of the wireless communication device except to view the hunting license information. (d) The authorization of the use of a wireless communication device to display hunting license information under Subsection (b) does not prevent a court of competent jurisdiction from requiring a person to provide a paper copy of the person's hunting license in a hearing or trial or in connection with discovery proceedings. (e) A telecommunications provider, as defined by Section 51.002 , Utilities Code, may not be held liable to the holder of a hunting license for the failure of a wireless communication device to display hunting license information under Subsection (b). Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 931, Sec. 5, eff. June 16, 1995.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.010. ISSUANCE AND FORM OF LICENSES AND TAGS.

(a) The department shall prescribe the form of and issue the licenses and tags authorized by this chapter. (b) The department may issue tags for animals or birds allowed by law to be killed during each year or season to holders of licenses authorizing the killing of animals or birds. The commission may establish fees for the tags. (c) A person commits an offense if the person does not enter the required information on a license or tag before hunting or if the person possesses a tag without a name entered on the tag. (d) No person may issue or receive a license or tag authorized by this chapter except on the form provided by the department. (e) The commission by regulation shall determine the number of tags that may be issued to an individual for taking animals or birds.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.011. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION TO HELP FEED HUNGRY TEXANS.

(a) When a person applies for a hunting license of any type under this chapter, the person may contribute $1 or more to a nonprofit organization, designated by the commission, whose purposes include the administration of a statewide program that provides hunters with a way to donate legally harvested deer to local food assistance providers. The program must include the recruitment of meat processors who, for a nominal fee to cover processing costs, process and package the venison and contact the food assistance providers to pick up the venison. (b) The department shall: (1) include space on each application for a hunting license that allows a person applying for the license to indicate the amount that the person is voluntarily contributing to the nonprofit organization; and (2) provide an opportunity for a person to contribute to the nonprofit organization during the application process for a hunting license on the department's Internet website. (c) After deducting the department's administrative costs, the department shall hold in trust the remainder of the amount a person contributes under this section to the nonprofit organization. Not later than November 1 of each year, the department shall send the money held in trust to the nonprofit organization. (d) Money received by the nonprofit organization under this section may be used only to administer, operate, support, and promote the program described by Subsection (a). (e) The nonprofit organization shall submit an annual report to the legislature and the department that includes the total dollar amount of contributions received by the organization under this section. (f) The commission may adopt rules to implement this section, including rules related to processes for the selection, inspection, and periodic review of the nonprofit organization. Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1229 (S.B. 1978 ), Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2015.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.012. RESIDENT LICENSE FEE.

(a) The fee for a resident hunting license is $8 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more. (b) The commission may set a lower fee or waive the fee or license requirement for a resident who is under 17 years old, 65 years old or older, or participating in an event that is sponsored or co-sponsored by the department with the approval of the director. The commission shall waive the fee for a qualified veteran with a disability and for a resident on active duty as a member of the United States military forces, the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, or the Texas State Guard. (c) "Qualified veteran with a disability" means a veteran with a service connected disability, as defined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, consisting of the loss of the use of a lower extremity or of a disability rating of 50 percent or more and who is receiving compensation from the United States for the disability.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.017. DUPLICATE LICENSE AND TAGS.

(a) If a person licensed to hunt under the provisions of this chapter loses the license or tags or if the license or tags are destroyed, the person may apply to the department for and receive a duplicate license or tags. (b) The application for a duplicate license or tags is in the form of an affidavit and must contain a statement of fact concerning the loss or destruction of the license or tags and a statement of the number of birds or animals, if any, killed under the authority of the lost or destroyed license or tags. The commission by regulation may prescribe additional requirements for the issuance of a duplicate license or tag under this section. (c) A duplicate license entitling the holder to hunt any bird or animal shall be clearly marked to indicate those birds or animals previously killed under the authority of the lost or destroyed license or tags and to prevent the killing of more birds or animals than allowed for the year. (d) The fee for a duplicate license or tags is $5 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.018. TAG TO BE ATTACHED TO DEER.

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d) or commission rule, no person may possess the carcass of a deer before the carcass has been finally processed at a final destination unless there is attached to the carcass a properly executed deer tag from a hunting license provided by the department and issued to the person who killed the deer. (b) A tag is properly executed only when the month and the date of the kill are cut out and the tag is filled out to show the place the deer to which the tag is attached was killed and to show other information required on the tag by the commission. (c) If the deer's head is severed from the carcass, the properly executed tag must remain with the carcass. (d) A wildlife resource document completed by the person who killed the deer must accompany the head or other part of the deer not accompanied by a tag if at any time before the carcass is finally processed the head or other part of the deer no longer accompanies the carcass. If a portion of the carcass is divided among persons and separated and the person who killed the deer retains a portion of the carcass, that person shall retain the tag with the portion of the carcass retained by that person. A wildlife resource document shall be retained with the head of a deer that is not kept with the carcass until the head is delivered to the owner after taxidermy or, if not treated by a taxidermist, until delivered to a final destination. (e) Final processing for a deer carcass may occur only at a final destination. (f) This section does not prohibit a person before delivering a deer carcass to a final destination from removing and preparing a part of the deer if the removal and preparation occur immediately before the part is cooked or consumed. (g) A landowner or the landowner's agent operating under a wildlife management plan approved by the department is, if authorized by the commission, exempt from the tag requirements of this section.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.019. POSSESSION OF CERTAIN PARTS OF ANTELOPE.

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), no person may possess the carcass of an antelope before it has been finally processed at a final destination unless there is attached to the carcass an antelope permit provided by the department that is executed legibly, accurately, and completely by the person who killed the antelope. (b) If the antelope's head is severed from the carcass, the properly executed permit must remain with the carcass. (c) A wildlife resource document completed by the person who killed the antelope must accompany the head or other part of the antelope not accompanied by a permit if at any time before the carcass is finally processed the head or other part of the antelope no longer accompanies the carcass. If a portion of the carcass is divided among persons and separated and the person who killed the antelope retains a portion of the carcass, that person shall retain the permit with the portion of the carcass retained by that person. A wildlife resource document shall be retained with the head of an antelope that is not kept with the carcass until the head is delivered to the owner after taxidermy or, if not treated by a taxidermist, until delivered to a final destination. (d) Final processing for an antelope carcass may occur only at a final destination. (e) This section does not prohibit a person before delivering an antelope carcass to a final destination from removing and preparing a part of the antelope if the removal and preparation occur immediately before the part is cooked and consumed.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.020. BIRD OR ANIMAL TAGS: PROHIBITED ACTS.

(a) No person may purchase or use more bird or animal tags during a license year than the number and type authorized for the year by the commission, excluding duplicate licenses issued under Section 42.017 of this code. (b) No person may: (1) use the same bird or animal tag on more than one bird or animal; (2) use a bird or animal tag issued in the name of another; (3) use a tag on a bird or animal for which another tag is specifically required; (4) kill a bird or animal required to be tagged and fail to immediately attach a properly executed tag to the carcass; or (5) hunt a bird or animal that requires a tag without having in his immediate possession the tag required to be attached to the carcass of the bird or animal being hunted.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.021. BAG LIMITS AND SEASON NOT AFFECTED.

The provisions of this chapter do not authorize any person to exceed any bag limit or to hunt deer or turkey during a closed season, and the attachment of deer or turkey tags as provided by this chapter is not prima facie evidence that the deer or turkey was lawfully killed.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0021. LIFETIME RESIDENT HUNTING LICENSE.

The department may issue to residents of this state a lifetime resident hunting license. Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 267, art. 2, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1986.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.022. ONE LICENSE FOR EACH YEAR.

(a) No person may acquire or possess more than one hunting license during a license year. For purposes of this section, a violation does not occur unless a person acquires or possesses more than one license having the same expiration date. (b) This section does not apply to the acquisition and possession of a duplicate hunting license acquired as provided in this chapter. (c) This section does not apply to the acquisition and possession by a nonresident of more than one nonresident hunting license if the nonresident does not acquire or possess during a license year more than one nonresident general hunting license. (d) For purposes of this section, a license year begins on September 1 or another date set by the commission and extends through August 31 of the next year or another date set by the commission.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.023. HUNTING UNDER LICENSE OF ANOTHER.

No person may hunt under a license issued to another or permit another to hunt under a license issued to him.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.024. EXHIBITING LICENSE.

(a) No person required by the provisions of this chapter to have a hunting license may fail or refuse to show the license to an officer on demand. (b) If on or before the trial of any person charged with a violation of this section, the person produces for the court or the prosecuting attorney the proper hunting license issued to the person and valid at the time of the offense, the court having jurisdiction of the suit shall dismiss the charge.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.025. PENALTY.

A person who violates any provision of this chapter commits an offense that is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0101. DIGITAL TAGS; RULES.

(a) The commission by rule may develop and implement a program for the issuance of digital tags for animals, including birds, to holders of hunting licenses authorizing the taking of those animals. (b) A program developed under this section may include: (1) providing for the issuance of digital tags to the holder of a hunting license; (2) allowing a person using a digital tag to create a digital record at the time of the taking of an animal that includes information required by the department; (3) requiring a person using a digital tag to create the digital record described by Subdivision (2) as soon as possible after the taking of the animal; and (4) requiring a person using a digital tag to retain in the person's possession documentation of the digital record described by Subdivision (2) at all times before the carcass is finally processed. (c) Unless the context requires otherwise, a reference under this code to a tag includes a digital tag issued under a program developed under this section. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 485 (H.B. 3081 ), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2021.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0121. LIFETIME RESIDENT HUNTING LICENSE FEE.

The fee for a lifetime resident hunting license is $300 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more. Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 267, art. 2, Sec. 13, eff. Sept. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 931, Sec. 8, eff. June 16, 1995.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0141. NONRESIDENT GENERAL HUNTING LICENSE FEE.

The fee for a nonresident general hunting license is $100.75 or an amount set by the commission, whichever amount is more. Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 317, ch. 150, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 29, 1977. Amended by Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 1397, ch. 623, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 27, 1979; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 267, art. 2, Sec. 15, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 931, Sec. 10, eff. June 16, 1995.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0143. NONRESIDENT FIVE-DAY HUNTING LICENSE.

(a) A nonresident five-day hunting license is not valid for a mule deer, white-tailed deer, turkey, pronghorn antelope, desert bighorn sheep, or alligator. (b) A nonresident five-day hunting license is valid for five consecutive days. (c) A nonresident may acquire multiple nonresident five-day hunting licenses during a license year. (d) The fee for a nonresident five-day hunting license is set by the commission in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the amount of the fee set for a nonresident general hunting license. Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 609, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 931, Sec. 12, eff. June 16, 1995.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0175. EXPIRATION DATE.

(a) A license issued under this chapter, other than a lifetime resident hunting license or a nonresident five-day hunting license, is valid only during the yearly period for which the license is issued without regard to the date on which a license is acquired. Each yearly period begins on September 1 or on another date set by the commission and extends through August 31 of the next year or another date set by the commission. A license issued under this chapter other than a nonresident five-day hunting license that is issued before September 1 or another date set by the commission and does not expire until August 31 of the next year or another date set by the commission is valid from the date of issuance through August 31 of the following year or another date set by the commission. The commission by rule may set the amount of a license fee for a license issued during a transition period at an amount lower than prescribed in this chapter and provide for a license term for a transition period that is shorter or longer than a year. (b) A license issued under Section 42.012 (b) of this code to a person who is 16 years of age at the time the license is issued, but reaches the age of 17 during the term of the license, is valid for the entire term of the license. Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 1536, ch. 626, Sec. 2, eff. Aug. 29, 1977. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 838, Sec. 5, eff. July 15, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 931, Sec. 14, eff. June 16, 1995.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0177. BIRD OR ANIMAL CARCASSES: COMMISSION RULES.

The commission by rule may modify or eliminate the tagging, carcass, final destination, or final processing requirements or provisions of Section 42.001 , 42.018 , 42.0185 , 42.019 , or 42.020 , or other similar requirements or provisions in this chapter. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 931, Sec. 15, eff. June 16, 1995.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0185. TAG TO BE ATTACHED TO TURKEY.

(a) Except as provided by commission rule, no person may possess a wild turkey at any time after the turkey is killed and before it has been finally processed at a final destination unless there is attached to the turkey a properly executed turkey tag from a hunting license provided by the department and issued to the person who killed the turkey. (b) A turkey tag is properly executed only when the month and the date of the kill are cut out and the tag is filled out to show the place the turkey to which the tag is attached was killed and to show other information required on the tag. (c) A wildlife resource document completed by the person who killed the turkey must accompany a part of the turkey if at any time before the turkey reaches a final destination the part of the turkey no longer accompanies the tagged turkey and is possessed by the person who killed the turkey or is given to, left with, or possessed by another person, including a taxidermist. (d) This section does not prohibit a person before delivering a wild turkey to a final destination from preparing part of the turkey immediately before cooking and consuming the part. Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 613, ch. 223, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1977. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 38, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1256, Sec. 30, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

Tex. PARKS & WILD Code § 42.0211. TAKING OF UNBANDED PEN-REARED PHEASANT OR QUAIL BY CERTAIN LANDOWNERS.

(a) This section applies only to: (1) noncommercial activity; and (2) the taking of pheasant or quail on a property of at least five contiguous acres. (b) Notwithstanding any other law requiring the banding of a bird, a person, or the person's guest when accompanied by the person, may take on the person's property unbanded pen-reared pheasant or quail. (c) Nothing in this section: (1) affects the requirement to acquire a license under Section 45.001 for the propagation of game birds; or (2) authorizes a person to: (A) exceed a bag limit for pheasant or quail; or (B) take pheasant or quail during a closed season. Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 67 (H.B. 1699 ), Sec. 1, eff. May 19, 2021.

Source: TX Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Fetched: 6/29/2026