DOVER — With fall hunting seasons approaching, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control reminds hunters born after Jan. 1, 1967, that they must successfully complete an approved basic hunter education course to obtain a Delaware hunting license.

Early registration is advised due to limited class seating, with sessions filling quickly as the hunting season approaches.

Course dates, times and locations are available online on the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Hunter Education Program course calendar. Additional classes will be scheduled based on demand. Classes are generally offered from July through February. Students must be 10 or older to be able to take any course. 

The basic course teaches students safety, ethics, firearm types, safe gun handling, marksmanship techniques, specialty hunting techniques, wildlife management, wildlife identification, survival, Delaware hunting laws and regulations and many other hunter safety-related topics. All basic course participants must take part in a live firearm-firing session with a trained instructor.

Two options are available for the basic course:

• A traditional, in-person course at one of the classroom locations throughout the state, which includes the required live firing session. The in-person course is free of charge.
• An online hunter education course with one of three private vendors listed on the hunter education webpage, combined with a one-day, in-person field day course to complete the firing requirement. A fee is charged for taking the course online; the field day is free.

Registration for the courses is available online through the ePermitting System.

For more information, contact the Office of Hunter Education at 735-3600, ext. 1.