How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in British Columbia
How to start getting your driver's licence in British Columbia through ICBC's graduated licensing program, from the learner stage to a full Class 5 licence.
How to Get a Hunting Licence in British Columbia
BC hunting licences: CORE hunter education, the FWID and hunting credential, the $32 resident licence, species licences, and the $19 initiation licence.
Applies in: British Columbia
Hunting in British Columbia starts with education, not with a purchase. You complete the province's hunter education program, register for a Fish and Wildlife ID, add a hunting credential to that ID, and only then buy a licence. This guide follows that order. It is a different licence from the BC freshwater fishing licence: fishing needs no education course, hunting does, and the two licences are bought separately in the same WILD system.
Step 1: Complete CORE hunter education
CORE, the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education program, is British Columbia's hunter education program. The BC Wildlife Federation operates it on behalf of the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and successful completion is required for BC residents aged 10 or older who wish to obtain hunting credentials. The program covers safe and ethical hunting, conservation, wildlife and bird identification, first aid, and firearms safety, and it consists of a written examination and a practical firearms handling test. You can take CORE in person or study online at your own pace through the BC Wildlife Federation, then complete the exams in person with a certified CORE examiner. After passing, submit your completed course report with a $30 administration fee to the BC Wildlife Federation to receive your official CORE graduation certificate. There is a $30 fee payable to the examiner for each of the two required tests, written and practical, or for exam retakes.
Step 2: Register for a Fish and Wildlife ID
Your Fish and Wildlife ID, or FWID, is your permanent identification number in the Wildlife Information and Licensing Data system, known as WILD, and you need one to buy a hunting licence. Register for an FWID online in WILD using a Basic BCeID or a BC Services Card Account, or in person at FrontCounter BC, a Service BC office, or a participating vendor. There is no cost for the FWID. Before an FWID is issued you must prove you are a BC resident and meet the minimum age requirements. Hunting licences in BC are available to those aged 10 or older who hold a valid FWID and are not suspended or prohibited from holding a licence under the Wildlife Act.
Step 3: Add the hunting credential to your FWID profile
A hunting credential on your FWID profile confirms that you have successfully completed hunter safety training, and it determines the type of hunting licences, authorizations, applications, and services you qualify for. Add it by uploading your CORE graduation certificate in WILD, or by taking it to a FrontCounter BC or Service BC office. Online applications can take up to 3 business days for review, while in-person applications are active immediately if approved. Hunter safety training completed in another province, territory, or country is also accepted as proof, with a notarized translation if the document is not in English or French. You also need a BC residency credential on your profile to buy a resident licence, and the province states that resident hunters must prove BC residency every three years.
Step 4: Buy the annual hunting licence
Buy your licence online through WILD, in person at FrontCounter BC, a Service BC office, or a vendor location, or through your guide outfitter or a resident hunter who holds a permit to accompany you. Hunting licences are electronic, and the licence information is associated with your FWID profile, so conservation officers can view it on their devices. Prices do not include 5 percent GST. A BC resident hunting licence is $25 plus a $7 Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation surcharge, $32 in total. The licence for residents aged 65 and over and the youth licence are $6 plus a $1 surcharge, $7 in total. With few exceptions, licences are non-refundable and non-transferable, so review them before completing the purchase.
Step 5: Add species licences for the animals you will hunt
A basic hunting licence alone does not let you hunt big game. Species licences are required, in addition to basic hunting licences, for bison, black bear, bobcat, caribou, cougar, deer, elk, lynx, moose, mountain goat, mountain sheep, and wolverine, and for non-residents also for upland game birds and wolf. Buy them online through WILD, in person at FrontCounter BC, a Service BC office, or a vendor location. For BC residents, a mule deer or white-tailed deer species licence is $12 plus a $3 surcharge, $15 in total; moose or elk is $20 plus a $5 surcharge, $25 in total; black bear is $16 plus $4, $20 in total; and cougar is $24 plus $6, $30 in total, all before GST. Species licences bought online are mailed to you and are subject to Canada Post delivery timelines, so if you plan to hunt within the next few days, buy them in person to receive them immediately. Some species licences require a two-day waiting period before they can be used, beginning at 12:01 a.m. the day after you buy. BC residents must submit a mandatory hunter report for moose and caribou species licences.
Step 6: Check Limited Entry Hunting before you plan a hunt
Some hunts are awarded by draw, not over the counter. Limited Entry Hunting is the service by which hunting authorizations are awarded to resident hunters based on a lottery or random draw, and it covers species including bison, black bear, caribou, elk, moose, mountain goat, mountain sheep, deer, and turkey in certain areas. For the 2026-27 season, applications had to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, and the application fee was $6.30 including taxes, non-refundable. Apply online through WILD or in person at FrontCounter BC or a Service BC office. You need an FWID and a BC resident credential to apply.
If you have never hunted, consider the initiation licence first
The initiation hunting licence is a mentoring licence for a person aged 18 or older who has never previously held a hunting licence in British Columbia, other than a youth licence, to try hunting for a one-year period. The CORE requirement is waived for this one-time-only licence, which costs $19 plus tax. You still need an FWID and a BC resident credential. You must be under the close personal supervision of a licensed adult who meets the prescribed qualifications, and it is an offence to hunt without a supervising hunter. The supervisor signs a supervisor form before you start to hunt on each day of hunting, and you must carry it at all times. Initiation hunters cannot obtain species licences for themselves, cannot take part in Limited Entry Hunting, and any game harvested counts against the supervising hunter's bag limit.
Figures the opened official pages do not state
The opened provincial pages state the licence fees, the CORE structure, and the initiation licence rules set out above. They do not state the tuition charged by in-person CORE course providers, which varies by provider, or a processing time for a hunting licence purchase beyond the 3-business-day review for an online hunting credential application. Those figures were cut from this guide rather than filled in from a course provider's site.
Related guides:
- How to get a hunting licence in Ontario: Ontario's separate system, with its hunter education accreditation, OUTDOORS Card, and tags.
- How to get a fishing licence in British Columbia: BC's freshwater fishing licence, which uses the same FWID and WILD system but needs no education course.
- How to get a hunting licence in Alberta: Alberta's separate system, with its WiN number, wildlife certificate, and hunter education course.
The BC hunting licence path
- Complete CORE hunter educationThe Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education program, run by the BC Wildlife Federation for the province
- Register for a Fish and Wildlife IDA free, permanent FWID in the WILD system, using a Basic BCeID or a BC Services Card Account
- Add the hunting credential to your FWIDSubmit your CORE graduation certificate in WILD or in person; online review can take up to 3 business days
- Buy the annual hunting licenceBC resident licence $32, youth and senior licences $7, all before GST
- Add species licences for big gameA species licence is required on top of the basic licence for deer, moose, elk, and other listed animals
- Check draws and carry your licencesSome hunts need a Limited Entry Hunting authorization, and species licences must be carried while hunting
Questions people ask
What is CORE, and do I need it to hunt in BC?
CORE is the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education program, British Columbia's hunter education program, operated by the BC Wildlife Federation on behalf of the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Successful completion is required for BC residents aged 10 or older who wish to obtain hunting credentials. The program has a written examination and a practical firearms handling test. The one exception is the one-time initiation hunting licence, which waives the CORE requirement.
What is a Fish and Wildlife ID, and what is a hunting credential?
A Fish and Wildlife ID, or FWID, is your permanent identification number in the province's Wildlife Information and Licensing Data system, known as WILD. You need an FWID to buy a hunting licence. A hunting credential on your FWID profile confirms you have successfully completed hunter safety training, and it determines which licences you qualify for. You earn the credential by submitting your CORE graduation certificate in WILD or in person at FrontCounter BC or a Service BC office.
How much does a BC hunting licence cost?
Prices do not include 5 percent GST. A BC resident hunting licence is $25 plus a $7 Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation surcharge, $32 in total. The licence for residents aged 65 and over and the youth licence are $6 plus a $1 surcharge, $7 in total. The one-time initiation licence is $15 plus a $4 surcharge, $19 in total. Species licences are extra: $15 for mule deer or white-tailed deer and $25 for moose or elk for a BC resident, before GST.
Do I need a species licence as well as a hunting licence?
Yes, for the animals listed on the province's species licences page, including bison, black bear, caribou, cougar, deer, elk, moose, mountain goat, and mountain sheep. Species licences are required in addition to the basic hunting licence. They are issued on waterproof, tearproof paper, cannot be printed by hunters, and must be carried while hunting, including both cancelled and uncancelled species licences for the current year. You must notch your species licence to cancel it as soon as you harvest an animal.
What is the initiation hunting licence?
It is a mentoring licence that lets a person aged 18 or older who has never previously held a hunting licence in British Columbia try hunting for a one-year period, with the CORE requirement waived. It costs $19 plus tax, can be bought only once, and the holder must be under the close personal supervision of a qualified supervising hunter at all times. Initiation hunters cannot obtain species licences for themselves and cannot take part in Limited Entry Hunting.
Do I need a firearms licence to hunt in BC?
A hunting licence is not a firearms licence. If you plan to hunt with a firearm, you need a federal Possession and Acquisition Licence, earned through the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. CORE and the firearms course are separate programs. If you have passed the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, you are exempt from the CORE practical test, and you prove that with your course report.
Sources
- Government of British Columbia, Hunting licences — the four licence types, the general requirements, where to buy, the licence fees, and the refund rules.
- Government of British Columbia, Species licences — which animals need a species licence, the resident and non-resident fees, and the carrying and cancellation rules.
- Government of British Columbia, Initiation licence — the one-time initiation licence, its $19 cost, the supervision rules, and its limits.
- Government of British Columbia, WILD credentials — the hunting credential, the CORE program as BC's official hunter safety training, and the BC Wildlife Federation's role.
- BC Wildlife Federation, CORE Program — CORE as the first step to hunting licences, the written and practical tests, the $30 certificate fee, and the free FWID.
- Government of British Columbia, Limited Entry Hunting Regulations Synopsis 2026-2027 — the LEH draw, the June 23, 2026 deadline, and the $6.30 application fee.