New Hampshire · Hunter safety · 2026 Edition
New Hampshire Hunter Safety Course 2026: Cost & Online Options
No birth-year cutoff. New Hampshire requires hunter education of anyone buying their first hunting or archery license — one combined course certifies you for both.
New Hampshire is the strictest state in this silo on one count: there is no way to certify without attending in person, ever — even the online route ends at a mandatory field day with a live-fire practical exam. It's also the most centralized: exactly one approved online provider, and even the traditional classroom route is capped at $5 by the state rather than left free. The one-time Apprentice License is a genuine one-shot, not a recurring deferral like the apprentice licenses in most other states — use it once, and next time you need the course first.
01 — Who needs it
No birth-year cutoff. New Hampshire requires hunter education of anyone buying their first hunting or archery license — one combined course certifies you for both.
A once-in-a-lifetime Apprentice Hunting License lets a first-time hunter of 16 or older hunt through December 31 of that year under an accompanying licensed adult of 18 or older, no course required — but it can never be renewed or bought a second time, and it does not itself count as a prior license toward skipping the course later. Anyone convicted of a felony cannot attend any Hunter Education course, per RSA 159:3 and RSA 625:11,V.
Statute: RSA 214:23-a
02 — Course options
| Course | Format | Who | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-person course | In person | 12 and older | Up to $5 | Instructors may charge up to $5 per student for facility use and minor expenses. Classroom lessons, an 80%-to-pass written exam, and a field day assessment with practical exam, all in person. |
| Online course with mandatory in-person field day | Online + field day | 12 and older | — | Self-paced online, then one in-person field day — New Hampshire never certifies online alone — the field day's practical exam is mandatory whichever route you take. The $29 fee covers the New Hampshire Field Day Qualifier Exam as well as the course itself. |
A dash means NH Fish and Game 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 |
|---|---|---|
| huntercourse.com | $29 | The only online option NH Fish and Game links to; the $29 is the same fee the FAQ calls the Field Day Qualifier Exam, not an extra charge on top. |
huntercourse.com is the sole approved online provider — there is nothing to compare it against.
04 — Your certificate, and other states
No expiration — New Hampshire checks for a certificate or prior license "from any year, any state."
New Hampshire accepts hunter or bowhunter education certification from any other state, from any year.
There's no separate bowhunter course to take or skip: New Hampshire's single Hunter Education course already covers archery equipment, bowhunting topics like judging distance and game recovery, and certifies you for both a firearms and an archery license at once.
05 — Where to register
Courses are booked through New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
FAQ
Can I take the New Hampshire hunter safety course online?
New Hampshire does not offer a route that certifies entirely online — see the course formats above for what NH Fish and Game does accept. No birth-year cutoff. New Hampshire requires hunter education of anyone buying their first hunting or archery license — one combined course certifies you for both.
Is there a free hunter safety course in New Hampshire?
Every NH Fish and Game-approved online provider charges a fee; the cheapest is huntercourse.com at $29. In-person courses run by the agency itself are often free — see the formats above.
How much does the New Hampshire hunter safety course cost?
Approved online providers run from $29 (huntercourse.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 7, 2026.
Verified · New Hampshire Fish and Game Department · Last verified 2026-08-07
Publisher's note. Requirements and course fees read from NH Fish and Game, retrieved 2026-08-07. Review due 2027-08-01. Course providers set their own prices and change them without notice — confirm before you pay.