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As amended and effective January 1, 2005 Kansas law provides:
Anyone born on or after July 1, 1957 must be certified by an approved course in hunter education before they can hunt in Kansas, except that anyone 15 years old or younger may hunt without hunter education certification provided they are under the direct supervision of an adult 18 years old or older.
Effective July 1, 2014 individuals 16 or older may purchase a two-time purchase deferral of the Hunter Education requirements by purchasing an Apprentice hunting license. Apprentice hunting license holders must hunt under the supervision of a licensed hunter age 18 or older.
Apprentice hunting licenses may be purchased at any Kansas license vendor, and online at GoOutdoorsKansas.com.
Hunter Education Certification issued by any state, Canadian Province, or some foreign jurisdictions are deemed to meet the requirements of Kansas Law.
Age Requirement to Be Certified: No one under the age of 11 will be certified in Hunter Education. Those under the age of 11 may take the course, provided space is available; however, the student will be required to take the course again for certification after turning 11.
Hunter Education Volunteer Instructors are representatives of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Hunter Education Program. They are representatives of the tradition of the hunt. They are expected to be professional level instructors who are knowledgeable about all aspects of the Hunter Education Course. Instructors are expected to be ethical and responsible hunters who can pass on the traditions of the hunt in a manner that brings credit to the sport and to those who participate in the hunt. Instructor conduct, in and out of class, must be above reproach.
Why should you become an instructor? Contribute to the community; desire to work with young people; desire to pass along the tradition to the next generation of hunters; desire to teach the ethics and responsibilities of the hunt; concern for the future of hunting; appreciation of the natural world and many others. Most often the unstated reason involves a deep love for the hunt and all that goes with it that must be shared and passed on.
After July 1st, 2025, all instructors will be classified as certified instructors once they have completed the application; passed the background check; and completed the required trainings. Instructors are authorized to teach all content in the hunter education classes. Additional certifications are required to instruct live fire of muzzleloaders and to offer the hybrid performance evaluation.
Being an Instructor involves a commitment to spend the time and personal resources necessary to become certified, remain certified and most importantly to make yourself available to assist other instructors in the conduct of Hunter Education classes. The Hunter Education Program does not reimburse Instructors for the time spent in training or conducting classes and does not routinely reimburse you for the cost of using your personal vehicle.
Instructors should expect to put fourth the necessary time to prepare class lesson plans and set-up for a class. Instructors should spend time preparing hands-on, engaging lessons to effectively teach the content.
You will be expected to portray a favorable image of hunters, hunting, and Hunter Education; to be a positive role model for the students as well as the community at large. Any action that brings discredit can result in revocation of instructor certification.
Certification as a Hunter Education Assistant Instructor requires the following:
When all these steps are completed and upon passing a detailed background check you will be certified as a Hunter Education Assistant Instructor.
Full details of the requirements for completion of each step will be provided by the Hunter Education Section upon acceptance of your application.
Remember the excitement of your first pheasant season opener - the camaraderie of family and friends? Or perhaps you can still smell the marsh as you followed your father into the predawn twilight on duck season opening day 20 years ago.
If you were fortunate enough to have been introduced to hunting at an early age, you know the magic. It rests in your memories forever, and it drives a basic desire to experience the outdoors each fall. Hunting is a valued natural heritage - one that must be passed on from one generation to the next. But hunter numbers are decreasing, and younger generations are in danger of missing these treasured experiences. And fewer hunters reduces the financial, social and political support needed for effective wildlife management.
"Pass It On" is a program designed to reverse the declining trend in hunter numbers. While the program is made up of many different subprograms, such as Outdoor Mentors, Shooting Opportunities, Hunting Access, Special Hunts, and Education and Awareness, its most valuable component is you. It takes a hunter to make a hunter, and it is critical that youth learn important life lessons in the outdoors from experienced hunters.
You can become involved by simply taking a youngster hunting this fall. Youth seasons provide ideal opportunities to get youngsters involved through uncrowded, noncompetitive conditions. Youth seasons often open a week or so before the regular season, and include deer, pheasant and quail, waterfowl and spring turkey opportunities. Find youth season dates on the When to Hunt page.
Hunter Recruitment & Retention Effort
Protecting our hunting heritage through safe, knowledgeable and responsible hunters.
Kansas Hunter Education teaches new hunters to be ethical, safe and knowledgeable. The course consists of subjects covering hunter responsibility, ethics, fair chase, history of firearms, firearms basics, ammunition, basic gun safety, field safety, bowhunting, conservation and wildlife management, wildlife of Kansas, outdoor emergencies, Kansas hunting regulations and boating safety for hunters. Where possible, students may live fire and/or go through simulated hunting conditions.
The traditional hunter education course is organized and conducted by volunteer instructors across the state. By law, the course must be a minimum of 10 hours in length. Most courses average 12 hours of instruction over two or more days. Courses are offered throughout the year with the majority being conducted in the months spanning August through October. Check the Class Schedule for a current schedule of all courses being offered throughout the state. Note: If no courses appear under the link to a specific region, no courses are currently scheduled for that region.
Protecting our hunting heritage through safe, knowledgeable and responsible hunters.
The Hybrid Course format is designed to create flexibility with learning styles and flexibility with a shorter field day. The program is designed to cover the information you need to know before going hunting – the same information delivered in the traditional classroom format. Like the traditional course, there is no required fee to take the online course. This class is open to all students 11 years of age and older.
Please complete the online course prior to registration for field day. Proof of online course completion is required by either a screenshot or printout of the field day qualifier certificate.
This hybrid method is a three-part process that requires completion of the Kansas online hunter education course, pre-registration in a hybrid field day, and successful completion of a hybrid field day.
Within 365 days prior to the Hybrid field day, you must complete the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks (KDWP) free course at ksoutdoors.com or click on the Kansas Hunter Education logo.
Once on the NRA online training portal, you will scroll down to the Kansas course. Click “start” to begin your class. Be prepared to spend at least 7 hours on the online portion of the class. Once complete you will be presented with a Field Day Qualifier Certificate, screenshot or print this and show proof at registration on the day of the hybrid field day.
To complete the course, you must attend a hybrid field day. Upon arrival at the selected hybrid field day, you must demonstrate proof of completion of the online course with a screenshot or printed certificate. The field day will be a minimum of 4 hours and is determined by the lead instructor.
Attending the last day of a 10 hour traditional instructor-led course does not qualify as a hybrid field day.
This online Hunter Education Course is provided free to all Kansas residents by the NRA, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and Kansas Hunter Education.
This course is only for students aged 18 and over. Upon successful completion of this course, students aged 18 and older will be issued a final hunter education certificate and hunter education card that can be printed from a computer.
Students under the age of 18 need to refer to the Traditional or Internet-Assisted Course for instructions on completing hunter education.
The Department has begun offering Advanced Hunter Education classes on specific types of hunting. Courses such as beginning waterfowl, goose, upland bird, deer and varmint hunting will be offered. The classes will be basic instruction in the type hunting listed. These courses are taught by volunteers. The classes will be listed here as they are scheduled by the instructors.
These Advanced Hunter Education classes do not substitute for a required Hunter Education Course.
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