Please Note: WDFW will not process deferral applications for the 2009 hunting license year until April 1.

Information On Obtaining A Hunter Education Deferral

In 2007 the Washington State Legislature approved a measure that now allows a one-year, once-in-a-lifetime deferral of hunter education training. The deferral option is available to individuals who are accompanied by an experienced hunter who has held a Washington hunting license for the previous three years. A $20 application fee is required. Please click on the following links if you are interested in further details on the law or administrative regulation, see the links below:

• RCW 77.32.155
• WAC 232-12-228

Deferral Overview

Interested individuals may apply for a once in a lifetime, one license-year deferral of hunter education training.

Plan on a two week turnaround from the time your deferral application arrives at the Olympia office. Hunters purchasing a hunting license via this deferral process MUST purchase their hunting license from the Department of Fish and Wildlife headquarters in Olympia. Please note that purchases can be made via telephone. There is no need to appear in Olympia in person. Individuals who exercise the deferral option MUST subsequently complete hunter education in order to purchase future hunting licenses.

The accompanying hunter MUST have valid Washington State hunting licenses for each of the three preceding years. A non-refundable $20 check or money order MUST accompany each application for a hunter education deferral. If you already have a WILD identification number, please put it on your application. Anyone who has purchased a fishing license already has a WILD number.

Deferral Hunter Information

Please print legibly.

Be sure that you include a photocopy of the identification you list in the application. Valid forms of identification are a driver’s license, a government identification card that includes your birth date, an active duty Military Identification Card, a copy of a birth certificate, or a school identification card that includes your birth date.

Your application for a hunter education deferral will be returned and you forfeit your application fee if you do not provide a photocopy of your valid identification Sign your name at the bottom of the application. If you are under 18 years of age, a parent or legal guardian is also required to sign in the space provided.

Finally, make sure that you have enclosed your non-refundable $20 check or money order.

Accompanying Hunter Information

Please print legibly.

As an accompanying hunter you must be at least 18 years of age. In addition, you must have had a valid Washington hunting license for each of the previous three (3) years. Be sure to include your WILD identification number. Applications will not be processed without the WILD number.

Remember that you are required to provide direct supervision over the deferred hunter. You must remain within normal voice and vision communication at all times.

Take your new responsibility as an accompanying hunter seriously!

If either a deferred licensee or the accompanying hunter is convicted of a fish and wildlife violation, the Department of Fish and Wildlife may revoke all hunting licenses and tags of one or both the deferred license and the accompanying hunter.

Hunter Education Training

Washington State requires all hunters born after January 1, 1972 to successfully complete hunter education training. Training is available via traditional classes and online.

For class schedule information, please pick up a copy of Washington Outdoors where hunting licenses are sold. Washington Outdoors lists all hunter education classes by county. You may also find class schedule information on line at wdfw.wa.gov.

Online hunter education training is available at http://www.hunter-ed.com/wa/

Please remember that classes are taught by volunteer instructors who are not paid for their time, and that classes fill rapidly. Plan ahead to complete your hunter education training requirement.

This program receives Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is the policy of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to adhere to the following: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 5604 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The U.S. Department of the Interior and its bureaus prohibit discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability and sex (in educational programs). If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity or facility, please contact WDFW ADA Coordinator at 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington 98501-1091 or write to:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Office of External Programs
4040 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 130
Arlington, VA 22203