New Jersey Bear Season 2026: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits

The earliest 2026 opener is October 12, 2026. See the table above for each method and zone.

The latest 2026 closing date is December 19, 2026. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.

requires a valid firearm, bow and arrow, or All-Around Sportsman hunting license PLUS a separate Black Bear Permit (up to two per hunter per year, one per Bear Management Zone, valid only in the zone and year printed on it, non-transferable); apprentice licenses are not valid for bear hunting; exact 2026 permit fee not confirmed on an official page this round

2026 bag limits: Statewide (BMZ 1-5) — 1 bear per permit, either sex, any age, live weight over 75 lbs or dressed weight over 50 lbs; only 1 bear may be harvested per segment regardless of how many permits the hunter holds; an adult bear accompanied by cub(s) under 75 lbs may not be taken. Season closure — NJDEP closes the entire season once the cumulative harvest rate reaches 30% of bears tagged that year statewide in open BMZs; the closure takes effect 24 hours after the daily legal closing time of the day the threshold is confirmed. Permits — 11,000 total permits allocated by zone (Zone 1: 2,000, Zone 2: 3,000, Zone 3: 3,000, Zone 4: 2,000, Zone 5: 1,000; Zones 6 and 7: 0 — closed); a hunter may hold permits for up to 2 BMZs per year. Check-in — A completed Black Bear Transportation Tag must be attached to the bear immediately after the kill, and the bear brought to a designated check station by 9:00 PM the day of the kill during Segment A or by 7:00 PM the day of the kill during Segment B; a bear recovered too late must be phoned in immediately to the nearest Bureau of Law Enforcement regional office and checked the next weekday. Method restrictions — Hunting bear with dogs is prohibited; no person may carry a loaded hunting firearm, or take a bear, within 300 feet of a baited area; bears may not be taken from a den; hunter orange (a fluorescent cap or 200+ sq. in. of fluorescent outer garment) is required while hunting bear with a firearm. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.

On opening day (October 12, 2026) legal light runs 06:36 to 18:52. The rule is: Half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset — NJDEP's bear digest segment prints this in the Hunting Hours column for both Segment A and Segment B. Read from the 2025-26 digest segment; the wording has been stable across years, but re-check once the 2026-27 digest is published. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local New Jersey sun times for any other date.

A New Jersey farm occupant who actually lives on a qualifying farm (5 or more acres, at least $500 gross farm income, assessed as farmland) — plus immediate family living there too — may hunt, trap, and fish it without a license. They still need a free Conservation ID for harvest reporting, and the exemption doesn't extend to tenants, employees, or other non-family residents.