Hunting Without a Licence in Ontario:

I Received a Hunting Without a Licence Ticket or Summons.  What Should I Do?

Read every document carefully and do not ignore the response deadline or court date. Receiving a ticket or summons does not automatically mean you will be convicted.

A ticket, formally called a Provincial Offence Notice, generally provides response options and a deadline.  Paying the ticket will usually be treated as pleading guilty and will result in a conviction without a trial.

A summons is a court document requiring you to attend court or respond in the manner stated.  A summons should not be treated like an ordinary payable ticket.

Before deciding how to respond, check:

• The exact wording of each charge;
• The section of law listed on the ticket or summons;
• The wildlife species or legal category involved;
• The alleged date, time, and location;
• The applicable Wildlife Management Unit;
• Whether you were treated as a resident or non-resident;
• Whether you held the required licence before the alleged hunting began;
• Whether another tag, permit, allocation, validation, or authorization was required;
• Whether other hunting charges were laid;
• Whether wildlife or other property was seized; and
• The response deadline or court date.

Keep your Outdoors Card information, Licence Summary, purchase receipts, confirmation emails, licences, tags, permits, photographs, messages, GPS records, and any documents provided by the Conservation Officer.

Consider obtaining legal advice before giving an additional written or recorded explanation.  Further statements may become part of the prosecution evidence.

Should I Pay a Hunting Without a Licence Ticket?

Paying the ticket will generally be treated as a guilty plea and will result in a conviction. Before paying, make sure you understand the exact allegation and the possible consequences.

A person who held a valid licence but could not immediately produce the required document may face a different allegation from someone accused of never holding the licence.  The issue may also involve the wrong licence, an expired licence, a licence purchased too late, or a licence that did not authorize the wildlife involved.

Questions to consider include:

• Did you hold the licence required for the wildlife involved?
• Was the licence valid on the alleged offence date?
• Was the licence purchased before the alleged hunting began?
• Did the licence apply to your residency status?
• Did the licence authorize the species or activity involved?
• Was another tag, permit, allocation, or validation required?
• Were you legally hunting or participating in another activity?
• Was the correct person identified as the hunter?
• Do the Ministry records match your receipts and Licence Summary?
• Does the section written on the ticket match the conduct alleged?

The amount shown on the ticket may not describe every possible consequence.  A conviction may also affect your hunting privileges, related charges, and property seized during the investigation.

What Is Hunting Without a Licence?

This charge generally alleges that you hunted or trapped wildlife without holding the licence required by Ontario law.

A hunting licence provides legal authority to hunt a particular species or category of wildlife, subject to the conditions that apply to the licence.  The required licence may depend on the wildlife, season, location, residency status, and type of hunting activity.

A hunting-without-a-licence allegation may arise where:

• No required hunting licence was purchased;
• The hunter purchased the wrong type of licence;
• The licence was expired, cancelled, suspended, or otherwise invalid;
• The licence was purchased after the alleged hunting began;
• The licence did not cover the wildlife involved;
• The hunter was not eligible to hold or use the licence;
• The activity fell outside the authority of the licence; or
• An alleged exemption did not legally apply.

Holding an Outdoors Card does not, by itself, authorize a person to hunt.  Depending on the hunt, a person may also require a tag, permit, allocation, validation, Licence Summary, or federal Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permit.

This is a general page.  The species-specific pages below provide more detailed information about the licence requirements that apply to particular wildlife.

Which Species-Specific Licence Charge Matches Your Ticket or Summons?

Select the linked heading that most closely matches the wildlife and wording identified on your ticket, summons, seizure notice, or other documents.

Hunting Without a Deer Licence

This charge alleges that you hunted deer without holding the Ontario deer licence required for the season, location, residency class, and activity involved.

Hunting Without a Moose Licence

This charge may involve hunting moose without a valid moose licence, relying only on another hunter’s moose tag, or participating in a moose hunt without holding the individual licence required for each hunter.

Hunting Without a Black Bear Licence

This charge may involve hunting black bear without the required resident or non-resident licence or without satisfying another licensing condition that applied to the hunt.

Hunting Without a Wild Turkey Licence

This charge alleges that you hunted wild turkey without holding the licence required for the spring or fall season and hunting activity involved.

Hunting Small Game Without a Licence

This charge may involve hunting rabbits, hares, grouse, pheasants, squirrels, or other prescribed small game without holding the required small game licence.

Hunting Furbearing Mammals Without a Licence

This charge may involve hunting or trapping prescribed furbearing mammals without the hunting, trapping, or other licensing authority required for the activity involved.

Hunting Migratory Game Birds Without a Permit

This charge may involve hunting ducks, geese, or other migratory game birds without the required provincial small game licence, federal Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permit, or both.

What Is the Difference Between a Hunting Licence, Outdoors Card, Licence Summary, and Tag?

These documents serve different purposes and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Hunting Licence

A hunting licence provides authority to hunt the wildlife identified by the licence, subject to the applicable season, location, method, and other legal conditions.

Outdoors Card

An Outdoors Card identifies a person within Ontario’s fish and wildlife licensing system.  Holding a valid Outdoors Card does not mean that the person holds the licence required for a particular hunt.

Licence Summary

A Licence Summary lists the hunting and fishing products connected with the person’s account.  It may help establish which licences and authorizations were valid on the alleged offence date.

Tag

A tag is a separate authorization connected with harvesting particular wildlife.  A person may hold the required hunting licence but still lack the tag or authorization required for the animal involved.

Hunting without a licence is also different from Failing to Carry or Produce a Hunting Licence.  A person may hold valid licensing authority but still be accused of failing to carry or produce the required proof when requested.

What Must Be Proven?

The prosecutor—the lawyer or representative acting for the government—must prove every required part of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

Depending on the wording of the offence, the prosecutor may need to prove that:

• You were the person involved;
• The alleged activity occurred on the date and at the location claimed;
• Your conduct legally amounted to hunting or trapping;
• The wildlife involved required a licence;
• The licence identified by the charge was legally required;
• You did not hold that licence at the relevant time;
• You were not acting under another valid licence or authorization; and
• No statutory, regulatory, constitutional, or other legal exception applied.

The prosecutor must prove the offence that was actually charged.  Failing to immediately produce a Licence Summary or other document does not necessarily prove that no valid licence existed.

If the allegation is that you hunted outside the authority of a licence, the prosecutor may also need to prove what the licence authorized and how your conduct fell outside that authority.

What Law Applies?

Section 6 of Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 establishes the main requirement to hunt or trap prescribed wildlife under the authority of a licence and in accordance with the regulations.

The required licensing authority may depend on whether the wildlife is classified as:

• Big game;
• A game mammal;
• A game bird;
• A furbearing mammal;
• A game reptile or amphibian; or
• Another prescribed category of wildlife.

The wildlife category matters because the licence requirement, offence wording, available exceptions, and set fine may differ.

Ontario Regulation 665/98, commonly called the Hunting Regulation, contains additional requirements involving licences, Licence Summaries, hunter qualifications, species, locations, seasons, residency, and exemptions.

The applicable legislation and regulations should be checked using the law in force on the alleged offence date.  The current Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary is an important practical resource, but it is a summary and not a complete statement of the law.

Are There Exceptions to the Licence Requirement?

Ontario law contains limited exceptions, but the particular exception must apply to the person, wildlife, land, season, and activity involved.

Depending on the circumstances, a claimed exception may involve:

• A licensed trapper acting within the authority of a trapping licence;
• A qualifying farmer or member of a farmer’s family acting on the farmer’s land;
• An Indigenous person exercising a constitutionally protected harvesting right;
• A person acting under another licence, permit, or authorization;
• Wildlife taken in circumstances specifically authorized by law; or
• Another limited statutory or regulatory exception.

These exceptions do not create a general right to hunt without a licence.  Each exception has legal limits, and some wildlife or activities may be excluded.

A person relying on an exception may need evidence showing that every required condition was satisfied.

Can You Be Charged if No Animal Was Killed?

Yes.  A person may face a hunting-without-a-licence charge even if no wildlife was shot, injured, captured, or killed.

Ontario defines hunting broadly.  It may include searching for, lying in wait for, following the trail of, pursuing, chasing, capturing, harassing, or shooting at wildlife for the purpose of killing, injuring, capturing, or harassing it.

A person may dispute that their conduct legally amounted to hunting and say they were scouting, travelling, retrieving property, transporting equipment, or accompanying another hunter.

The answer may depend on the person’s conduct, purpose, equipment, location, companions, statements, and the Conservation Officer’s observations.

Can You Hunt Under Another Person’s Licence or Tag?

You generally cannot use another person’s individual hunting licence. Each hunter must hold the licence required for the species and activity involved unless a specific legal exception applies.

Party hunting may allow hunters to hunt under the authority of another party member’s tag in certain circumstances.  It does not normally remove the requirement for each participant to hold the applicable individual hunting licence.

For example, a person participating in a deer or moose party hunt may still need:

• A valid Outdoors Card;
• The required individual species licence;
• Any required proof of accreditation or eligibility; and
• Compliance with the species-specific party-hunting rules.

Holding or relying on another hunter’s tag is therefore different from using that person’s hunting licence.

What Is the Fine for Hunting Without a Licence?

The set fine depends on the wildlife category, the provision charged, and whether the hunter is an Ontario resident or non-resident.

Ontario set fines identified for residents include:

• Hunting big game without a licence: $500;
• Hunting a game mammal without a licence: $200;
• Hunting a game bird without a licence: $250;
• Hunting a furbearing mammal without a licence: $250; and
• Hunting certain other wildlife without a licence: Generally $200.

Ontario set fines identified for non-residents include:

• Hunting big game without a licence: $600; and
• Hunting most other listed wildlife categories without a licence: Generally $300.

A set fine is the fine assigned when an offence is dealt with by ticket.  The total payable amount may be higher after the victim fine surcharge and applicable court costs are added.

The exact fine should be confirmed using the wording of the charge, the provision listed on the ticket, the wildlife category, the person’s residency status, and the set-fine schedule in force on the alleged offence date.

What Other Penalties Are Possible?

A conviction may involve consequences beyond the amount printed on a ticket.

Possible additional consequences may include:

• Cancellation or suspension of hunting privileges;
• Restrictions on obtaining future licences, tags, or authorizations;
• Seizure or forfeiture of wildlife or other property;
• Orders affecting firearms, vehicles, boats, ATVs, or equipment;
• Probation or another court order;
• Consequences arising from related hunting charges; and
• Imprisonment in a serious case where authorized by law.

Section 102 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 provides a general maximum penalty for an individual that may include a fine of up to $25,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.

This is the statutory maximum, not the automatic or usual outcome of every hunting-without-a-licence charge. The result depends on the offence, circumstances, prior record, and manner in which the case proceeds.

For more information, see What Are the Fines for Hunting Offences? and Hunting Licence Suspensions.

What Evidence Is Commonly Used?

Hunting-without-a-licence cases often depend on Ministry records, purchase timestamps, officer observations, location evidence, and statements made during the investigation.

Evidence may include:

• Ministry licence and Outdoors Card records;
• The Licence Summary;
• Purchase receipts and confirmation emails;
• Payment records and transaction timestamps;
• Tags, allocations, validations, and permits;
• Conservation Officer notes and reports;
• Photographs, video, or audio recordings;
• GPS, mapping, cellphone, or hunting-application records;
• Firearms, bows, ammunition, calls, or other equipment;
• Harvested wildlife or wildlife parts;
• Witness statements; and
• Statements attributed to the accused hunter.

A licence purchased after the alleged hunting began will not normally authorize earlier activity.  However, transaction records may be important where there is a dispute about when a licence was purchased, issued, activated, or recorded.

Disclosure is the evidence the prosecutor intends to use in court.  It should be requested and reviewed before deciding how to respond to a disputed charge.  Learn more on the What Is Disclosure? page.

Common Situations That Lead to This Charge

No Hunting Licence Was Purchased

The person may have held an Outdoors Card but did not purchase the licence required for the wildlife involved.

The Wrong Licence Was Purchased

The person may have purchased a hunting product, but it did not authorize the species or wildlife category involved.

The Licence Was Purchased Too Late

The licence may have been purchased after the alleged hunting began or after the person was approached by a Conservation Officer.

The Licence Had Expired or Was Invalid

The person may have relied on a licence from an earlier year or used a licence that had been cancelled, suspended, or otherwise made invalid.

The Licence Did Not Match the Hunter’s Residency Status

The Ministry may allege that the person required a non-resident licence or did not qualify for the resident licence being used.

The Person Was Participating in a Party Hunt

The person may have believed that another hunter’s tag covered the activity but did not hold the individual hunting licence required for each participant.

The Person Was Accompanying Another Hunter

The person may dispute that they were personally hunting and say they were observing, travelling, or helping with equipment.

The Person Believed an Exception Applied

The person may have believed that farming, trapping, Indigenous harvesting rights, property protection, or another legal authority permitted the activity.

Possible Defences

Possible defences depend on the exact allegation, licensing records, applicable law, and available evidence. Not every defence applies to every case.

Issues that may need to be reviewed include:

• You held the required licence: Ministry records, receipts, account information, or a Licence Summary may establish that the licence had been issued.
• The licence was valid: The prosecution may be mistaken about the effective date, expiry date, residency status, species, or licence conditions.
• You were not hunting: Being outdoors or possessing hunting equipment does not automatically prove that your conduct legally amounted to hunting.
• The wrong person was identified: The evidence may not prove that you were the person carrying out the alleged activity.
• The required wildlife category was not proven: The prosecutor must establish that the licence identified by the charge was legally required.
• An exception applied: The evidence may establish that you were acting under valid statutory, regulatory, constitutional, or other legal authority.
• Due diligence: Section 101 of the Act may provide a defence where you took all reasonable steps to prevent the offence.
• Reasonable mistake of fact: You may have honestly and reasonably believed facts that, if true, would have made the activity lawful.
• The evidence is incomplete or unreliable: Licensing records, timestamps, officer notes, photographs, video, or statements may need to be challenged.
• Legal or Charter issues arose: The circumstances of a detention, search, seizure, questioning, or statement may require legal review.

A reasonable mistake of fact concerns an honest and reasonable belief about facts.  Forgetting to purchase a licence or simply not knowing that one was required may not, by itself, provide a defence.

Can Wildlife, Firearms, Vehicles, or Equipment Be Seized?

Property connected with an alleged hunting offence may be seized where lawful authority exists.

Depending on the investigation, seized property may include:

• Wildlife or animal parts;
• Firearms, ammunition, bows, or hunting equipment;
• Vehicles, boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, or trailers;
• Licences, Licence Summaries, Outdoors Cards, tags, or permits;
• Cellphones, cameras, GPS devices, or electronic records; and
• Other property allegedly connected with the offence.

Seizure means that authorities have taken and are holding property. Forfeiture means that ownership is permanently lost through a court order or another lawful process.

Property is not automatically forfeited merely because it was seized.  Keep every property receipt, inventory, officer name, occurrence number, and notice relating to the seizure.

More information is available on the pages explaining Seizure of Firearms, Seizure of Vehicles, and Forfeiture Orders.

What Happens in Court?

What happens next depends on whether you received a ticket or summons and whether you dispute the charge.

If you challenge the allegation, the process may involve requesting disclosure, attending court, discussing the case with the prosecutor, considering a possible resolution, bringing a legal application where appropriate, or proceeding to trial.

At trial, the prosecutor must prove every required part of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.  If there is a conviction, the court will determine the fine and whether any additional order should be made.

For more information, see What Happens After You Receive a Hunting Ticket? and What Happens After You Receive a Summons?.

Related Hunting Charges

A hunting-without-a-licence investigation may lead to other charges where additional card, tag, season, possession, or enforcement requirements were allegedly not followed.

• Hunting Without an Outdoors Card
• Hunting Without a Tag
• Failing to Carry or Produce a Hunting Licence
• Hunting During a Closed Season
• Illegal Possession of Wildlife
• Providing False Information
• Obstructing a Conservation Officer

One incident may result in several charges.  Each allegation should be reviewed separately because every offence has its own legal requirements and evidence.

Return to the Common Hunting Charges hub to review other Ontario hunting charges.

How DefendCharges.ca Can Help

DefendCharges.ca can review the ticket or summons, offence wording, licensing records, Licence Summary, purchase receipts, tags, Ministry information, and circumstances surrounding the allegation.

Legal assistance may include requesting disclosure, examining Conservation Officer notes and recordings, assessing whether your conduct legally amounted to hunting, determining which licence was required, and reviewing possible exceptions or defences.

DefendCharges.ca can also explain the possible fines and hunting-privilege consequences, address issues involving seized property, communicate with the prosecutor where appropriate, discuss resolution options, and help prepare the case for trial.

Have Questions About Hunting Charges?

Whether you have been charged with one hunting offence or several, understanding your legal options is important. DefendCharges.ca can review your case, explain the charges you are facing, and help you decide on the best course of action.  Contact us today to discuss your situation.

Key Takeaways

• Ontario law generally requires the correct licence before a person hunts or traps regulated wildlife;
• An Outdoors Card is not a substitute for the hunting licence required for a particular hunt;
• The required licence may depend on the species, wildlife category, residency status, and activity involved;
• The prosecutor must prove that your conduct amounted to hunting and that you lacked the required licence or legal authority;
• A person may be charged even if no wildlife was shot or killed;
• Party hunting does not normally remove each participant’s individual licensing requirements; and
• A conviction may affect hunting privileges and seized property in addition to any fine.

Conclusion

Hunting without a licence is a general allegation that may involve having no licence, purchasing the wrong licence, obtaining a licence after hunting began, or using a licence that did not authorize the wildlife or activity involved.

The detailed licensing requirements depend on the species and circumstances of the hunt.  The linked deer, moose, black bear, wild turkey, small game, furbearer, and migratory game bird pages provide more focused information about those allegations.

Before paying a ticket or responding to a summons, review the offence wording, licensing records, purchase timestamps, location, possible exceptions, and potential consequences so that you understand the charge and the available response options.