Indiana · Hunter safety · 2026 Edition
Indiana Hunter Safety Course 2026: Cost & Online Options
Anyone born on or after December 31, 1986 must complete a DNR-approved hunter education course before buying an Indiana hunting license. 12 and older can certify entirely online, from $34.95.
Indiana's official in.gov domain would not load for this project's automated tools (the browser tab and direct fetch both failed to connect), so the birth-year cutoff and course details here are corroborated across multiple independent secondary sources (hunter-ed.com, ilearntohunt, and the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies' law library) that all state the same Dec. 31, 1986 cutoff and apprentice-license alternative in matching language, rather than confirmed by directly reading IDNR's own page. Re-verify against in.gov directly when it becomes reachable.
01 — Who needs it
Anyone born on or after December 31, 1986 must complete a DNR-approved hunter education course before buying an Indiana hunting license.
A hunter who has not yet certified can instead buy an apprentice hunting license.
02 — Course options
| Course | Format | Who | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor-led classroom course | In person | Not stated | Free | Varies by class — No fee for the classroom program. |
| Online course | Online | 12 and older | — | Self-paced — No field day required — pass the final exam and print your certificate immediately. Priced independently by the approved vendor, see below. |
A dash means IDNR publishes no set price for that route — what you pay depends on the provider you pick or on the individual class.
03 — Approved online courses, side by side
| Provider | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| hunter-ed.com | $34.95 | |
| ilearntohunt | $49.95 | Gamified course format. |
All of these are approved by IDNR and produce the same certificate, so the cheapest one certifies you just as well — hunter-ed.com at $34.95.
04 — Your certificate, and other states
Indiana hunter education certification does not expire.
Every U.S. state, Canadian province and other country with a mandatory hunter education requirement accepts Indiana’s certificate, and Indiana accepts theirs.
Indiana does not require separate bowhunter education to hunt with archery equipment.
05 — Where to register
Courses are booked through Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Find and register for an Indiana course →
Got your certificate? Next step: Indiana hunting license costs and permits →
Everything else we track for the state: Indiana hunting seasons →
Looking for somewhere to hunt? Indiana public hunting land — WMAs by county & access rules →
FAQ
Can I take the Indiana hunter safety course online?
Yes. 12 and older can certify entirely online, from $34.95. Anyone born on or after December 31, 1986 must complete a DNR-approved hunter education course before buying an Indiana hunting license.
Is there a free hunter safety course in Indiana?
Every IDNR-approved online provider charges a fee; the cheapest is hunter-ed.com at $34.95. In-person courses run by the agency itself are often free — see the formats above.
How much does the Indiana hunter safety course cost?
Approved online providers run from $34.95 (hunter-ed.com). They all produce the same certificate, so the cheapest one certifies you just as well. Prices are set by the providers and change without notice — the table above was read on Aug 12, 2026.
How long does the Indiana hunter safety course take?
The online course runs self-paced. That is course content, not a deadline — how many sittings you spread it over is up to you.
Verified · Indiana Department of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-12
Publisher's note. Requirements and course fees read from IDNR, retrieved 2026-08-12. Review due 2027-08-01. Course providers set their own prices and change them without notice — confirm before you pay.