Florida · Squirrel · 2026 Edition
Florida Squirrel Season 2026: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Gray squirrel | Statewide, general/private land (WMAs set their own dates) | Jan 1 – Dec 31 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily (gray squirrel) | 12 |
|---|---|
| Possession (gray squirrel) | 24 |
| Fox squirrel (all subspecies, statewide) | Closed — no open hunting season anywhere in Florida. Season closed within Big Cypress fox squirrel range in 1972 and on all WMAs statewide in 1991; not reopened after the southern fox squirrel's 2018 delisting. |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (January 1, 2026) 06:52 — 18:14
Rule: One-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset — FWC's single rule for hunting game, whose only exceptions are spring wild turkey and migratory game birds. Individual Wildlife Management Areas can set their own shooting hours, so check that WMA's brochure. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Florida sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Squirrel hunters in Florida need a Florida hunting license — Hunting a WMA requires an additional Management Area Permit on top of the standard hunting license, and individual WMAs may run shorter, WMA-specific gray-squirrel seasons instead of the year-round general-land rule.
Florida hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Florida — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does squirrel season start in Florida?
Florida runs squirrel season year-round — there's no opening day to wait for.
When does squirrel season end in Florida?
It doesn't — Florida has no closed season on squirrel, per Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Is there a difference between fox and gray squirrel rules in Florida?
See the bag limit table above — most states run one combined limit across both species, but this is worth confirming against Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before you hunt.
How many squirrels can you shoot in Florida per day?
2026 bag limits: Daily (gray squirrel) — 12. Possession (gray squirrel) — 24. Fox squirrel (all subspecies, statewide) — Closed — no open hunting season anywhere in Florida. Season closed within Big Cypress fox squirrel range in 1972 and on all WMAs statewide in 1991; not reopened after the southern fox squirrel's 2018 delisting. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
Can I hunt squirrels on my own land in Florida without a license?
Florida's exemption is narrower than 'any land you own' — it only covers hunting (or freshwater fishing) on your own homestead property, or that of your spouse or minor child. Whether deer, turkey, or waterfowl permits are still required on a homestead-exempt hunt isn't spelled out in the statute — check with FWC directly before relying on it.
Verified · Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. Official FWC season-dates page (myfwc.com/hunting/season-dates/), fetched directly and via a text-extraction proxy since the page is script-heavy. Under the resident-game section covering 'Gray squirrels, rabbits, wild hogs, raccoons, opossums, skunks, beaver, & coyotes' the page states gray squirrels 'may be taken year round' on general/private land, with a 12-daily/24-possession limit — no opener or closing date, exactly mirroring Florida's rabbit rule already on file for this state. The same page notes 'seasons, dates and bag limits do not apply to wildlife management areas' — each WMA sets its own gray-squirrel season in its own brochure (myfwc.com/hunting/wma-brochures), so the year-round rule applies to general/private land only. Fox squirrel does NOT appear anywhere on the season-dates table — cross-checked against FWC's own species profile pages (myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/big-cypress-fox-squirrel/ and .../southern-fox-squirrel/) and a Species Action Plan PDF, which confirm the season on fox squirrel was closed within Big Cypress fox squirrel range in 1972 and across ALL wildlife management areas statewide in 1991; the southern (formerly Sherman's) fox squirrel was delisted from the state's Threatened/Species of Special Concern list in 2018 but 'Species Conservation Measures and Permitting Guidelines remain in effect,' and no FWC page anywhere restores an open hunting season for any fox squirrel subspecies. Treated here as closed/no season statewide. Shooting hours were not found to have a squirrel-specific exception in Florida; none is set here rather than guessed. The full 2026-2027 Florida Hunting Regulations PDF was not opened to cross-check word-for-word — treat that PDF as the authoritative fallback if anything here needs a second check.