Utah · Hunter safety · 2026 Edition
Utah Hunter Safety Course 2026: Cost & Online Options
Completion of a basic hunter education course is required to get a Utah hunting license if you were born after Dec. 31, 1965.
Utah's fee structure is genuinely unusual in this project: before taking either course option, everyone first buys a Hunter Education Registration Certificate ($12 resident / $17 nonresident), and for residents that $12 already includes that season's Utah hunting license — so a first-time resident hunter can walk away having paid less total than the $40 standalone hunting license costs on its own. From there, the entirely in-person course adds no further fee, while the online-plus-field-day route adds whatever the chosen vendor charges ($24.95-$39.95) on top of the same $12/$17 base. Either path ends the same way: a live-fire shooting exercise and final test, in a classroom for the in-person option or at a mandatory field day for online students — Utah has no route that skips the in-person component entirely.
01 — Who needs it
Completion of a basic hunter education course is required to get a Utah hunting license if you were born after Dec. 31, 1965.
02 — Course options
| Course | Format | Who | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entirely In-Person Instructor-Led Course | In person | Not stated | $12 | Price is the mandatory Hunter Education Registration Certificate ($12 resident / $17 nonresident) — no separate course fee for the in-person path. Unusually, the resident $12 fee bundles that season's Utah hunting license in with the registration, per DWR's own fee schedule. Ends in a live-fire shooting exercise plus a written test. |
| Online Course + Required In-Person Field Day | Online + field day | No minimum age stated by DWR | — | Self-paced online, roughly 4-6 hours, then one in-person field day — Total cost is the $12/$17 Registration Certificate plus a separate online-vendor fee — see the provider table below. The field day covers the hands-on exercises, live-fire shooting, and final test that the online portion doesn't include. |
A dash means DWR 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 | $24.95 | |
| Recademics | $39.95 | Pass guarantee or money back. |
All of these are approved by DWR and produce the same certificate, so the cheapest one certifies you just as well — hunter-ed.com at $24.95.
04 — Your certificate, and other states
The $12/$17 Hunter Education Registration Certificate — the required first step before taking any course — is valid for 365 days from purchase. The completion card ("blue card") issued once the course is finished doesn't expire.
Utah recognizes out-of-state or out-of-country hunter education certificates, but with an extra step most reciprocity states skip: a new Utah resident has to formally transfer their old certification to a Utah certificate via a DWR transfer affidavit before it's valid for buying Utah licenses and permits.
Bowhunter education itself isn't mandatory in Utah — DWR recommends it for archery hunters but the standard hunter education certificate already covers all weapon types. A separate, narrower requirement does exist for a specific subset of archers: anyone hunting Utah's extended archery areas must complete the DWR Archery Ethics Course annually, on top of (not instead of) the one-time hunter education requirement.
05 — Where to register
Courses are booked through Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Find and register for a Utah course →
Got your certificate? Next step: Utah hunting license costs and permits →
Everything else we track for the state: Utah hunting seasons →
Looking for somewhere to hunt? Utah public hunting land — WMAs by county & access rules →
FAQ
Can I take the Utah hunter safety course online?
Utah does not offer a route that certifies entirely online — see the course formats above for what DWR does accept. Completion of a basic hunter education course is required to get a Utah hunting license if you were born after Dec. 31, 1965.
Is there a free hunter safety course in Utah?
Every DWR-approved online provider charges a fee; the cheapest is hunter-ed.com at $24.95. In-person courses run by the agency itself are often free — see the formats above.
How much does the Utah hunter safety course cost?
Approved online providers run from $24.95 (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 13, 2026.
Verified · Utah Division of Wildlife Resources · Last verified 2026-08-13
Publisher's note. Requirements and course fees read from DWR, retrieved 2026-08-13. Review due 2027-08-01. Course providers set their own prices and change them without notice — confirm before you pay.