Get an Outdoors Card

Outdoors Card

An Outdoors Card is a plastic, wallet-sized identification card issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry that allows you to hunt or fish. You are required to carry this card with you at all times while hunting or fishing.

An Outdoors Card is valid for three calendar years. If you buy a three-year fishing or small game licence at the same time you renew or buy an Outdoors Card, these licences will be printed on the back of the card.

A valid Outdoors Card is required for:

• Ontario residents
• Canadian residents
• non-residents
• apprentice hunters (only Ontario residents 12 to 14 years old are eligible to participate in the Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program)

Ontario residents: your hunter accreditation must be on file with the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service in order to buy hunting licences and products. This can only be done at a participating ServiceOntario location.

Non-residents: you must submit your hunter accreditation by contacting the Natural Resources Information Support Centre prior to visiting Ontario, or visit a licence issuer or participating ServiceOntario before purchasing hunting products online, by automated telephone, at a licence issuer, or from a participating ServiceOntario location.

The following information is required to buy, renew or replace an Outdoors Card:

• legal first, middle and last name
• date of birth
• mailing and/or residential address
• height and eye colour
• parental consent (for resident hunters 12 to 14 years old)

Licence Summary

If you are waiting for your Outdoors Card to come in the mail, you can carry your Licence Summary given to you at the time of purchase to immediately go fishing or hunting. You can carry it in a paper or digital format (for example, on a smartphone).

Updating your Outdoors Card

To update the name on your Outdoors Card, please call the Natural Resources Information and Support Centre at 1-800-387-7011 within 10 days of the change.

You can update your address online through the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service, by calling 1-800-387-7011 or in person by visiting a participating ServiceOntario location or licence issuer.

Where to buy or renew an Outdoors Card and buy licences and tags

• online
• by phone (1-800-288-1155)
• at a participating ServiceOntario location
• at a licence issuer

The Outdoors Card renewal period starts the 1^st Tuesday in December every year.

Licence fees

The Province of Ontario no longer accepts credit card payments by American Express. The province continues to accept payments by Visa and Mastercard.

The cost to buy, renew or replace your lost, stolen or damaged Outdoors Card is:

• $8.57

Costs vary depending on the type of licence.

Fees for fishing licences

• Ontario residents
• non-Canadian residents
• Canadian residents

Fees for hunting licences

• Ontario residents
• non-residents of Ontario

Fishing licences

Two types of fishing licences are available:

1. Sport fishing licence, which includes full catch-and-possession fishing privileges
2. Conservation fishing licence, which includes reduced catch-and-possession limits. This is ideal for anglers who want to release the majority of fish they catch.

Fishing licences are available for different durations, including:

• one day
• eight days
• one year
• three years

You can buy your fishing licence online and save it in a digital format (for example, on your smartphone), print it from home, or print it through a participating ServiceOntario or licence issuer location.

You must follow catch and possession limits.

Hunting licences and game tags

Anyone wanting to hunt in Ontario must have a valid Outdoors Card. You will also need appropriate hunter accreditation to buy hunting licences and tags.

Before you can buy a hunting licence, your hunter accreditation must be on file with the Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service.

Ontario residents must provide proof of successfully completing Ontario’s Hunter Education Program requirement (or an Ontario-recognized equivalent) to a participating ServiceOntario location.

Non-residents must plan ahead and submit their hunting accreditation in advance. To do so, call the Natural Resources Information and Support Centre at 1-800-387-7011 prior to visiting Ontario.

Hunting licences and tags expire on December 31 of the year they were issued.

It is your responsibility to know the open seasons for the species you’re hunting.

Small game hunting

There are two licences available to hunt small game:

• one-year
• three-year

You can buy your three-year small game licence when you buy or renew your Outdoors Card. It may be printed on the back of your Outdoors Card, but if not, you must carry your Licence Summary with you when participating in small game hunting.

In some cases, a game tag for the small game species you wish to hunt is required (for example, wild turkey or wolf/coyote in certain areas).

For more information, read the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary.

Big game hunting

In Ontario, species-specific hunting licences are available for the following:

• black bear
• moose
• white-tailed deer
• elk

These hunting licences are valid for one year, in the relevant open season, and only for the type, age and sex of animal specified on your Licence Summary or tag.

You must enter a draw if you wish to hunt a particular type, age and sex of animal, including:

• antlerless white-tailed deer
• bull or cow moose (and calves in some Wildlife Management Units)
• bull or cow elk

View the Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary for more information.

Game tags

Game tags are required for some species, including

• white-tailed deer
• moose
• elk
• black bear
• wild turkey
• wolf or coyote (in select Wildlife Management Units)

Your tag will specify the type, age and sex of the animal you are permitted to harvest, as well as the location, season and firearm type (if applicable).

For species that require a tag: you must carry the paper tag along with your valid Outdoors Card and Licence Summary listing the hunting licence for the species you are hunting. If your small game licence is printed on the back of your Outdoors Card, then you are required to carry your valid Outdoors Card and any required tags.

New Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service

The new Fish and Wildlife Licensing Service is now available – and we want to ensure you know what’s changing.

You can visit the new Licensing Service to buy:

• Outdoors Cards
• fishing licences
• small game licences
• all hunting products during their regular timeframes. This includes licences and the ability to enter draws.

You can continue to visit licence issuers and participating ServiceOntario locations to purchase licences.

New fishing and hunting regulations

A number of rules and requirements for fishing and hunting in Ontario are changing to help improve services and support a new licensing service.

You’ll get one version of the Outdoors Card

• all existing Outdoors Cards (and any licences printed on your Outdoors Card) will remain valid until their expiry date
• we’ll track hunter accreditation using a new licensing service to determine what products you are eligible to buy
• valid small game and fishing licences can still be printed on the back of your Outdoors Card if they are purchased at the same time as your Outdoors Card
• you must carry your Outdoors Card when hunting or fishing, unless you have just recently purchased the card and not yet received it in the mail. In this case, you must have a copy of your Licence Summary available.

You’ll get a Licence Summary that lists all your valid fishing and hunting products

Your licences will no longer exist in multiple formats. Instead, you:

• will get a Licence Summary as soon as you buy fishing and/or hunting products, either online, at licence issuers or at participating ServiceOntario locations – you will no longer receive anything in the mail
• will have the option to print your Licence Summary at home, at a licence issuer or a participating ServiceOntario location. You can also carry it in a digital format on your smartphone. If you carry your Licence Summary in a digital format, you must download and save the ministry-provided PDF copy – a screenshot of your Licence Summary is not valid.
• must carry your Licence Summary when hunting or fishing, unless your licence is listed on the back of your Outdoors Card (for example, small game or fishing licences)

Firearms Licence requirements

The Firearms Act (Canada) sets out the requirements for firearm possession. Hunters should be aware of these requirements if hunting with a gun in Ontario.

If you are in possession of a gun for the purpose of hunting in Ontario, you are required to carry proof of your firearms accreditation under the Firearms Act (Canada) – this includes apprentice hunters (12- to 14-year-old residents) who cannot yet obtain a firearms licence.

In accordance with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, every gun hunter must carry one of the following:

• a valid possession and acquisition licence
• a valid minor’s licence, or official documentation showing the successful completion of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course

For non-residents, this could also include:

• a valid non-resident firearms declaration form confirmed by a Canadian customs officer
• a valid temporary firearms borrowing licence for non-residents issued under the Firearms Act (Canada)

You are required to produce this documentation to a Conservation Officer upon request.

Tags will replace game seals

Hunters, you are able to print your tags from home, or at a licence issuer or a participating ServiceOntario location. Yellow sticky stock game seals will no longer be mailed. It is illegal to copy, alter or modify a tag (except as required for notching the tag). They are equipped with document security features to discourage fraudulent activities.

You must also:

• ensure the paper tag is protected from the weather elements, intact and legible at all times. It is recommended that hunters use a plastic tag holder or resealable plastic bag to protect the tag.
• follow the specific tagging instructions provided when your tag is printed
• carefully (or properly) notch your tag with the date, month and time immediately after the kill, at the site of the kill and before moving the animal
• keep relevant sex and age identifying features attached to the animal while the animal is transported to the processing site and is being processed for long-term storage (as specified on the tagging instructions)
• carry the tag at all times – it is only required to be securely attached to the animal if you are not accompanying the animal or immediately available to produce the tag for inspection
  • For example, the tag holder may carry their notched/invalidated tag in their pocket while they are bringing the harvested animal out of the bush provided that the tag holder remains with the animal at all times

Mandatory hunter reporting

A simple and consistent mandatory reporting process has now replaced the past hunter reporting process.

You:

• are required to complete a mandatory hunter report if you purchase or are issued a tag to hunt moose, elk, deer, bear, wild turkey and wolf/coyote (in Wildlife Management Units where a tag is required)
• are required to complete your report even if you didn’t hunt or harvest an animal
• are required to submit your report(s) online or by phone – you will no longer receive postcards by mail. The new licensing service will help you remember important dates by sending you email reminders.

Failure to accurately complete and submit your hunter report may make you ineligible to obtain licences for the next season.

Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program

If you’re an apprentice hunter 12 to 14 years old – we’re changing the Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program.

You are now:

• required to purchase an Outdoors Card – the Ministry will no longer issue hunter apprenticeship safety cards. However, you can use your existing hunter apprenticeship safety card until it expires.
• able to buy your own licence and tag with the purchase of an Outdoors Card – except for those tags obtained through a draw. For example, apprentice hunters will be able to purchase their own small game licence, Wild Turkey Tag, deer licence with antlered Deer Tag and hunt under their own limits for those species, while supervised by a properly licenced mentor.
• required to carry documentation that you have successfully completed the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and exams

All other rules under the Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program stay the same, including:

• sharing a single firearm
• hunting with a licensed mentor
• being under the direct and immediate supervision of a mentor

Combined dog licences

Three different types of dog licences will be combined into a single dog licence.

Dogs and dog handlers who are tracking or recovering a wounded deer, moose or elk will be exempt from requiring a licence when:

• the dog handler does not carry a gun
• your dog is under your physical control and is on a leash that’s a maximum length of 10 metres
• the dog and the dog handler are accompanied by the licensed hunter who wounded the animal

Game bird hunting preserves

To hunt on a game bird hunting preserve, you now will require:

• a valid Outdoors Card
• proof of hunter accreditation
• firearms accreditation if hunting with a gun