Alberta · licensing

How to Get a Hunting Licence in Alberta

By Hunters Guide. Checked against My Wild Alberta, Alberta eServices, and AHEIA sources on September 18, 2026.

Getting an Alberta hunting licence takes three things: an active Wildlife Identification Number, a hunter education certificate if you are a first-time hunter, and a wildlife certificate to hang your species licences on. All of it runs through AlbertaRELM.

Alberta is faster than most provinces to get into, because the hunter education course is online and self-paced. There is no examiner to book and no waiting list. What trips people up instead is the order of operations, so here it is properly.

What do you need before you can hunt in Alberta?

An Alberta hunting licence sits on top of three separate prerequisites, and each one gates the next. You cannot buy your way past a missing step.

1. An active WiN. A 10 digit Wildlife Identification Number, activated once for $10.00 plus GST. Nothing else can be purchased without it.
2. Hunter education. First-time hunters complete the Alberta Conservation and Hunter Education course. Some people are exempt.
3. A wildlife certificate. $35.00 for a resident. This is the base permit that makes you eligible to buy licences.
4. Species licences and permits. Bought per animal, plus tags where the licence requires one.

Tags are the one piece that is not instant. If your licence requires a paper tag, you order it by phone or pick it up from a licence issuer or a Fish and Wildlife district office. Sort that out before opening weekend, not during it.

What is a WiN, and how do you get one?

A Wildlife Identification Number is the 10 digit number Alberta uses to identify you across every hunting and fishing transaction in the province. The same number covers both, and it also covers a Public Lands Camping Pass.

The province is blunt about how mandatory it is. My Wild Alberta states that"All anglers and hunters must have an Active Wildlife Identification Number (WiN) before purchasing any licence, wildlife certificate or draw application."

The WiN changed recently, and a lot of published advice has not caught up. Activation is now a one-time $10.00 fee plus GST, and after that the number never expires. There are no more five-year renewals. Physical cards are no longer mailed either, so a card for your wallet is an optional $3.00 plus GST. If you read somewhere that a WiN card costs $8 and lasts five years, you are reading about the old model.

Who has to take the Alberta hunter education course?

The Alberta Conservation and Hunter Education course is the province's hunter education program, delivered by the Alberta Hunter Education Instructors' Association (AHEIA) online or in a classroom. AHEIA describes it plainly:"This course is a provincial requirement for all first time hunters in Alberta".

The exemptions are narrower than people hope, but they are real. The requirement applies to first-time hunters who have not already passed an equivalent course or competency test elsewhere, and it does not apply to non-residents hunting with a licensed guide. So a BC CORE certificate or an Ontario credential generally carries over. Bring the paperwork.

The online certification runs $70.00, or $99.95 bundled with the manual. Content spans wildlife management and conservation, game identification, firearms and bowhunting, survival and first aid, field technique, and legal responsibility. If you want to know whether any of that has stuck, ourAlberta hunter education practice exam is written to the same curriculum.

One thing we will not tell you: the pass mark, or how many questions the exam has. AHEIA does not publish either figure on its public course pages, and numbers floating around on third-party sites are not sourced. Study the whole manual and the question is moot.

What is a wildlife certificate, and why does it come first?

A wildlife certificate is the base permit that makes you eligible to buy Alberta hunting licences, and it is bought annually. It is not itself permission to hunt anything. Think of it as the membership, with species licences as the tickets.

Alberta spells the stack out for game birds. To hunt grouse, partridge, ptarmigan, pheasant or waterfowl you need a WiN card, a wildlife certificate, a Game Bird Licence, a Pheasant Licence if you are after pheasant, and a federal Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permit for waterfowl. Big game works the same way, with a species licence in place of the bird licence.

What does an Alberta hunting licence cost?

Alberta prices hunting licences by species and by residency, so there is no single licence fee to quote. A resident wildlife certificate is $35.00 and most common big game licences are $50.00 on top of it.

Those are pre-tax. The province notes that"Fees are in Canadian dollars and do not include the 5 percent federal Goods and Services Tax (GST)."

Youth and seniors get a genuinely good deal here. Residents aged 10 to 17 and residents 65 and over pay $12.00 for a Resident Youth or Senior Wildlife Certificate, which includes the Game Bird Licence, and $12.00 for the qualifying deer and black bear licences. A youth or senior can also partner onto any special licence holder for $12.00.

How do Alberta hunting draws work?

Alberta hunting draws are annual lotteries for a limited number of special licences covering specific species, seasons, and areas. They run every June, and they are separate from the general licences you can simply walk in and buy.

The 2026 cycle is a fair template. Big game special licence and Minister special licence draws opened at 9:00 AM on June 2 and closed at 9:00 AM on June 25, results posted July 14, and general big game licences went on sale August 4. The dates shift a little each year but the shape does not, so if you want a draw species, June is the month that matters.

Eligibility is tighter than for regular licences. Residents can apply broadly, non-residents who are Canadian can apply for certain draws and must apply alongside a resident hunter, and non-resident aliens cannot apply for special licences at all. Unsuccessful applications build priority, which is why experienced Alberta hunters apply for sheep or moose every year regardless of expectation.

How long does the whole process take?

Most of the process is same-day, which makes Alberta unusually quick compared with provinces that require a scheduled exam. Activating a WiN and buying a certificate and licence on AlbertaRELM takes minutes.

The real variable is you. The hunter education course is self-paced, so it takes as long as you let it, and AHEIA mails a hard copy certificate after you finish. Allow for that mail time if you are cutting it close to a season opener, and allow for tag pickup separately. Two other things run on their own clocks and are worth starting early: a federal PAL application, which takes months, and the June draw deadline, which does not move.

Frequently asked questions

How old do you have to be to hunt in Alberta?

Ten. Alberta sets the floor at age 10 to hold a hunting licence, and since August 1, 2025 hunters who are 10 or 11 can buy big game licences. Anyone under 16 needs written permission from a parent or guardian to buy a licence, and hunting with a firearm under 18 requires a federal minor licence or an accompanying adult.

Does an Alberta WiN card expire?

No longer. Activation is a one-time $10.00 fee plus GST, and after that your WiN never expires and needs no renewal. Physical cards are not mailed out any more, so if you want one in your wallet it costs an extra $3.00 plus GST.

Can you hunt in Alberta with a hunter education certificate from another province?

Generally yes. Alberta requires a conservation and hunter education course only of first-time hunters who have not already passed such a course or test elsewhere. A BC CORE credential or an Ontario certificate normally satisfies that. Carry proof, because the exemption is only as good as your ability to show it.

Do you need a PAL to hunt in Alberta?

Not to hunt, but effectively yes to hunt with a firearm. Your provincial licence authorizes the hunt. The federal Possession and Acquisition Licence is what lets you buy a firearm and ammunition, and the two are issued by different governments on separate timelines.

What does it cost to start hunting in Alberta?

Roughly $165 before GST for a first-year adult resident chasing whitetail. That is $70 for the online hunter education course, $10 to activate a WiN, $35 for the wildlife certificate, and $50 for a White-tailed Deer Licence. Youth and seniors pay $12 for several of those items.