Hunter Education Classes

There are five types of courses. The Online, Hybrid, Classroom, and Bonus Point Field Day are all Hunter Education courses that also award a lifetime bonus point after successful completion. The Ethically Hunting Arizona course is NOT Hunter Education but an expanded course that is Arizona specific to obtain a lifetime bonus point. 

Online – Must be 9+ years old AND a resident. Two options; ‘Hunter-ed.com’ & ‘ilearntohunt.com’. Both have virtual field days and are self paced. There is no in-person requirement. 

Hybrid – Must be 9+ years old, can be resident or non-resident. Online portion and in-person field day with live fire at the range. The online portion is self paced. After it is passed it requires the student to take the second half in-person within 90 days. Recommended for students with little firearm handling or hunting experience. 

Classroom – Must be 9+ years old, can be resident or non-resident. Several day fully in-person course with a curriculum that involves in-person classroom and live fire at a shooting range. Recommended for students with little firearm handling or hunting experience.

Bonus Point Field day – Must be 18+ years old with 3 years of hunting experience. Can be resident or non-resident. Students take the hybrid online course option then attend in-person Bonus Point Field Day to “test out”. The in-person portion typically takes 1 hour. 

Ethically Hunting Arizona – Must be 18+ years old, can be resident or non-resident. Online course that with successful completion awards a Lifetime Bonus Point. This course is NOT Hunter Education.

Classroom Course, Hybrid Course, Online Course and Bonus Point Field Test

Requirements: Preregistration is required for all Hunter Education class formats. While you must be 10 years of age to hunt big game you may complete Hunter Education at the age of 9 however, the Hunter Education completion card and certificate does not become valid until the child’s 10th birthday.

Customer ID – Students will need to provide a Customer ID number found on their AZGFD Portal.  Students should provide this number ONLY on their Hunter Education class registration.  This number is required to complete any registration. Students must have their own portal or be attached to their parents portal. If you need help accessing your CID, please stop into an office or call customer service at 602 942-3000, choose 7.

Purpose: The purpose of the hunter education program is about more than safety. It is also to develop responsible, knowledgeable and involved hunters who understand the importance of complying with hunting laws and behaving ethically.

Course Content: At a minimum your hunter education course will include the following topics:

• Responsibility, safety, skills
• Funding sources
• Conservation, fair chase, fair share, hunters’ ethics and hunters’ image
• Planning and preparation, maps and compasses, survival skills, coping with extreme weather and basic first aid
• Firearm safety, nomenclature, function, handling and shot-selection
• Wildlife conservation, management and identification
• Marksmanship, rifle and shotgun shooting, hunting strategies, vital shots and care of game
• Arizona hunting laws and regulations and licensing

If you can’t find a Hunter Education class: Our courses are conducted by volunteers. As volunteers are able to conduct courses in your area our website will be updated each Tuesday with new offerings.

The award-winning Outdoor Skills Network is your one-stop source for hands-on, in-the-field, “learn how to hunt” events. If you’re a beginner wanting to learn and gain more knowledge about hunting, outdoor skills, wildlife conservation, ethics, safety and more – look no further.

Outdoor Skills Network

Visit ilostmycard.com – You will need to provide your name and date of birth.  If your records cannot be found, call the HE helpline or email our dedicated address at azhuntereducation@azgfd.gov

Note that for both Hunter Education and Ethically Hunting Arizona the course must be completed 30 days prior to draw deadline day to be entered into our system and for your lifetime bonus point to be applicable for the draw. If you do not complete the course within 30 days prior to deadline day your lifetime bonus point will not be added to your portal account until at least 30 days after the draw deadline day.

If we are not in a draw period and it has been more than two weeks since completing Ethically Hunting Arizona or a month since graduating from Hunter Education, reach out to the Hunter Education staff with your name, date of birth and completion date at azhuntereducation@azgfd.gov.

Non-residents, please note: Non-resident students can take the classroom, hybrid, or bonus point field day courses to achieve hunter education certification and the lifetime bonus point. Those course options require an in-person component. The online course is not available to non-resident students. Adult non-residents have the option to take the virtual Ethically Hunting Arizona course to obtain the lifetime bonus point.

Will Arizona accept Hunter Education certification from another state? Yes, currently all 50 states have reciprocity. However, another state’s hunter education will not qualify for Arizona’s lifetime bonus point. 

I’m going hunting in another state that requires Hunter Education: All states accept other states’ Hunter Education certifications. You can take Arizona Hunter Education to hunt in a state requiring a certificate. 

Arizona’s Hunter Education program strives to create a collaborative environment for volunteers, staff and partners to develop the best program for our customers.  We believe in our program mission that: Through a quality educational experience we can develop/teach present and future hunters to be safe, ethical and responsible that will carry on the hunting heritage for future generations.

Hunter education instructor portal

A policy implemented by the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) that allowed students to defer from scheduling the in-person field day requirement of the Hunter Education program expired June 30, 2024. 

If a resident student has taken the online course from Oct. 1, 2019 to Aug. 28, 2024, they will have until Dec. 31, 2024 to complete an in-person or virtual field day before their certificate expires, including the online course at no cost. A voucher was emailed to the student from Hunter-Ed.