Hunting is one of the activities BC's Crown land Permission policy specifically authorizes, and with most of the province in public hands there's more open hunting country here than almost anywhere in North America. The licensing system and the regulations are their own world, though, and BC differs from other provinces in ways that trip up newcomers. Non-residents can't hunt big game on their own, residency must be re-proven every three years, and Limited Entry Hunting draws decide a lot of the best opportunities. This guide summarises how it works under the 2026–2028 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis (in effect July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028). The synopsis is a summary of the Wildlife Act regulations, and where they differ, the regulations win.
Step 1: your FWID and hunter training
Everything starts with a Fish and Wildlife ID (FWID), the BC credential that replaced the old Hunter Number. You can get one from age 10, free, online through WILD or in person at Service BC or FrontCounter BC. If you held a Hunter Number, you've already been assigned an FWID: it's your old number with three extra digits. You may only have one.
To buy most hunting licences you then prove your identity, your residency and your hunter safety training. In BC that's usually the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) certificate, delivered through the BC Wildlife Federation. A hunter safety certificate from another Canadian province or territory, or from a recognised foreign program, is also accepted. Classroom CORE instruction is recommended but not compulsory. You can study the manual and write the exam with a certified examiner.
BC residents must re-prove residency every three years in WILD to keep access to resident-only licences and draws. Limited exemptions cover full-time Canadian military members, students returning from school outside BC, and some minors returning to a parent in BC.
Step 2: licences and species licences
You need a basic hunting licence, plus a species licence for each big game animal you intend to hunt. Licences are electronic and attached to your FWID profile, so you don't need to carry paper for the basic licence or an LEH authorization. You must carry all your species licences while hunting, cancelled and uncancelled. When you kill a big game animal, you must cancel the species licence immediately, before handling the animal.
| Hunting licence | Fee |
|---|---|
| BC resident, all game | $32.00 |
| BC resident 65 or older | $7.00 |
| Youth hunting licence | $7.00 |
| Initiation licence (resident 18+ who has never held a BC hunting licence; try hunting under supervision before taking CORE) | $19.00 |
| Non-resident (Canadian), all game | $75.00 |
| Non-resident alien, all game | $180.00 |
| Species licence (selected) | BC resident | Non-BC resident |
|---|---|---|
| Deer | $15.00 | $125.00 |
| Black bear | $20.00 | $180.00 |
| Moose | $25.00 | $250.00 |
| Elk | $25.00 | $250.00 |
| Caribou | $20.00 | $230.00 |
| Mountain goat | $40.00 | $350.00 |
| Mountain sheep | $60.00 | $620.00 |
Fees include the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation surcharge but not GST. Special-area licences apply in the Fraser Valley and the Gulf Islands, and Haida Gwaii deer have their own licence.
Step 3: Limited Entry Hunting
Many seasons, especially for antlerless deer, cow and bull moose in some units, elk, bighorn sheep and some predators, are open only to hunters drawn in Limited Entry Hunting (LEH). You apply through WILD in the spring. The deadline for the 2026–27 seasons was 11:59 p.m. on June 23, 2026. Results appear on your FWID profile after the draw, and authorizations aren't mailed. LEH rules are in a separate synopsis, and the 2026 changes were enacted on May 25, 2026.
Non-residents: the guide rule
This is the biggest difference from hunting in Ontario or Manitoba. In BC, non-residents and non-resident aliens must be accompanied by a licensed guide outfitter, assistant guide or a holder of a permit to accompany whenever they hunt big game, whatever licence type they hold. When buying big game species licences, a non-resident has to provide the guide outfitter's licence number, and after the hunt must get a completed Guide Outfitter Report. A BC resident may get one permit to accompany per licence year to take a non-resident hunting. A non-resident alien qualifies only through specified family relationships.
Small game is different. A non-resident holding an unrestricted licence, which needs proof of hunter safety training, may hunt small game unaccompanied. Without that training you can only buy a restricted licence, and must be accompanied for everything.
Where you can and can't hunt
Management units and regional rules
BC is divided into regions (1 Vancouver Island, 2 Lower Mainland, 3 Thompson, 4 Kootenay, 5 Cariboo, 6 Skeena, 7A Omineca, 7B Peace and 8 Okanagan), and each region into numbered Wildlife Management Units (MUs), such as 3-12 or 7-38. Seasons, bag limits and weapon restrictions are set by MU in the regional sections of the synopsis. Detailed MU maps are online. Always read the general rules and the regional section together.
Roads and highways
- It's unlawful to shoot across, or hunt or shoot within, the road allowance of any numbered highway, or of any two-lane-or-wider public road maintained by the province or its contractors, the federal government or another province. The road allowance is 15 m from the middle of a two-lane road, 15 m from the pavement edge of a wider one, or to the boundary of private or cultivated land, whichever comes first.
- Some routes have wider corridors. Several major highways, including parts of the Coquihalla, Highway 16 and the Cassiar, prohibit single-projectile (rifle) discharge within 400 m. Others, such as parts of Highway 3, 97C and 99, prohibit all hunting and shooting within 400 m. The synopsis lists them all.
- No hunting or shooting within 100 m of a church, school, playground, regional district park, or an occupied house, farm or ranch building.
- No hunting from a motor vehicle, and no loaded firearm (a live round in the breech or attached magazine) in or on any vehicle, including a bicycle, sleigh or aircraft.
Parks, reserves and conservation lands
- BC Parks: hunting is prohibited in many parks. Check the park's own page. Where it's allowed, it's only in an open season, and not within 400 m of a park road or highway.
- Ecological reserves: no hunting, trapping, angling or discharge of any firearm or bow.
- Recreation sites: no discharge within the developed portion (100 m from structures, camping, day-use and staging areas).
- Wildlife Management Areas and other conservation lands: hunting, firearms, vehicles and access may be restricted. Contact the regional office first.
- National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries: no hunting without a federal permit. Look for the blue loon signs.
- National parks: no hunting.
- Reserves: private land. You need permission from the band office to hunt on or cross them. The Tsilhqot'in title lands in the South Chilcotin aren't open to public hunting.
Private and leased land
You may not hunt on cultivated land, or on Crown land under a grazing lease while livestock are on it, without the consent of the owner, lessee or occupant, and the Trespass Act applies to leased land regardless. Land is posted against trespass by signs at each normal access point, a lawful fence, or a natural boundary such as a riverbank or a hedge. Private managed forest land, common on Vancouver Island, is governed by the landowner's access rules.
Motor vehicle closures
The Wildlife Act sets two kinds of closure. A "Motor Vehicle Closed Area" bans the vehicle type outright. A "Motor Vehicle for Hunting Closed Area" bans using vehicles to hunt or haul hunters, game or hunting gear. Either can be seasonal, can apply to all vehicles or only ATVs and e-bikes or snowmobiles, and includes private land unless exempted. The province publishes the maps, and where a sign and the regulation disagree, the regulation wins.
During the hunt
- Hours: no hunting game from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise. For migratory game birds, the window is half an hour.
- Weapons: big game may be hunted only with a rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader or bow (including longbows and crossbows).
- Aircraft, drones and helicopters: no hunting within 6 hours of being airborne (other than a scheduled flight), no use of wildlife locations spotted from aircraft, and no drone on a hunting expedition.
- Bait and calls: no hunting bears over bait. Baiting is allowed only for cougar, coyote and wolf where authorized.
- Wireless trail cameras: may not be used for hunting from August 1 to December 10, except in Region 1.
- Cabins: trapline and guide cabins are private. Don't enter or disturb them.
BC's regulations don't set a general hunter-orange requirement the way Ontario's do, but wearing it is cheap insurance on busy Crown land in October.
After the kill: reporting and inspection
Some species must be presented for compulsory inspection, and the synopsis sets the deadlines by species. For 2026–2028 the incisor tooth is no longer required for mountain sheep. Mandatory Hunter Reporting applies to moose and caribou, and from 2026 to every elk species licence: everyone who buys one of those species licences must report their hunting activity by March 31, whether or not they took an animal.
Chronic wasting disease reached BC in 2024 with two positive deer in the Kootenay Region, and nine cases had been confirmed by January 2026. In the highest-risk areas, deer, elk and moose heads must be submitted for testing, and brain tissue and spinal column from animals taken in the CWD Management Zone can't be transported out of it. Read the CWD section of the synopsis if you hunt the Kootenays.
Report poaching, polluting and dangerous wildlife conflicts to RAPP, the Report All Poachers and Polluters line, at 1-877-952-7277, 24 hours a day.
Treaty and Indigenous harvesting
First Nations harvesting under Aboriginal and treaty rights, and Métis harvesting where recognised, operates under different rules than licensed hunting. The synopsis encourages courtesy and respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous hunters on shared land. If you meet a harvester out of season, assume it's lawful unless you see evidence otherwise.
Planning your hunt with the map
Our BC map shows provincial parks, ecological reserves (always closed to hunting), protected areas and recreation sites. Use it with the MU maps and the regional synopsis to find Crown land that's open, then check the motor vehicle closure maps for your access route. Our guide to finding Crown land covers private land, reserves and leases, and the camping rules cover the 14-day limit for your hunting camp. For no-signal country, take a geo-referenced PDF map of your unit.
Sources
Last reviewed: October 2026. Regulations change; always confirm with the official source before you go.