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Like To Hunt Or Fish? Time To Renew Your License

by Nikki Gaskins Campbell
Pictured: Whitetail Deer
Pictured: Whitetail Deer

License sales for 2015-2016 hunting and fishing licenses, permits and tags begin on Tuesday, June 16, 2015.

You can buy your South Carolina hunting and fishing licenses multiple ways. Licenses are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-866-714-3611 or by visiting the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website at www.dnr.sc.gov/purchase.html.

Having your state issued identification ready and a current SC hunting/fishing license that displays your customer identification number will speed your purchase.

Licenses are also available in person at any of the four regional DNR offices or by visiting one of the 450 license vendors across the state.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources began issuing annual and three year recreational licenses that expire on the anniversary date of issue beginning Jan. 1, 2015. This is commonly referred to as a 365 day license.

The following licenses and permits will expire on the anniversary of the date of issue:

  •  Freshwater Fishing License  *
  • Saltwater Fishing License*
  •  Combination License
  •  Junior Sportsman License
  • Sportsman License
  • Hunting License *
  • Apprentice Hunting License *
  • Big Game Permit *
  •  Wildlife Management Area Permit *

The following 3 Year licenses and permits will expire on the third anniversary of the date of issue:

  •  Freshwater Fishing License *
  •  Saltwater Fishing License*
  • Combination License
  • Sportsman License
  • Big Game Permit
  • Hunting License
  • Wildlife Management Area Permit

* Applies to both resident and non-resident licenses.

Residents and nonresidents age 16 and older must purchase the required licenses to hunt and fish in South Carolina. Persons born after June 30, 1979, must have successfully completed a hunter education course prior to obtaining a hunting license. To find a course near you or complete hunter education online, visit www.dnr.sc.gov/education/hunted.html.

Hunting license applicants who do not have a hunter education certification may use a onetime exemption and apply for an annual Apprentice Hunting License. The apprentice hunter must be accompanied by a SC licensed hunter who is not licensed as an apprentice hunter, is at least 21 years of age, has not been convicted of a hunting or hunter education violation or received deferred adjudication of the same, and stays within a distance that enables uninterrupted, unaided, visual and oral communication with the apprentice hunter and provides adequate direction to the apprentice.

South Carolina hunters and anglers remain the state’s top conservationists. Through your purchase of a state recreational hunting and fishing license, combined with excise tax collected on hunting and fishing gear, hunters and anglers contribute funding to South Carolina’s wildlife and sportfish restoration projects.

This includes wildlife management, habitat management, research and education research, education and boating access. Without these dollars, fish and wildlife conservation projects would be very limited in South Carolina.
Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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