Before you buy a license

A license is permission to hunt under the rules, not a season calendar

All three states sell licenses online through their own systems. Pennsylvania uses HuntFishPA. Wisconsin uses Go Wild. Michigan sends Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses to the DNR eLicense vendor. None of those purchases is made on this website. A license still has to match the weapon, the deer, and the place. Buying early does not freeze the season dates.Source: HuntFishPA; Go Wild; Michigan DNR license portal. Checked November 7, 2026.

Prices below were read from official pages on November 7, 2026. Agencies can change a fee. The button on each state guide opens the portal that was live that day.

Pennsylvania

The 2026–27 general license went on sale June 22, 2026 and is valid July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. A resident adult general hunting license is $20.97 and includes one antlered deer tag, fall and spring turkey tags, and small-game privileges. A nonresident adult general license is $101.97. Archery seasons require an archery add-on unless a combination license or mentored permit already includes it: $16.97 resident, $26.97 nonresident. Muzzleloader and flintlock seasons require the muzzleloader add-on unless exempt: $11.97 resident, $21.97 nonresident.Source: PGC, licenses and permits; PGC, license types and fees; PGC, 2026–27 Hunting & Trapping Digest. Checked November 7, 2026.

Antlerless deer are a separate license, $6.97 resident and $26.97 nonresident, good only in the Wildlife Management Unit printed on it. Residents who bought by 7 a.m. on July 13, 2026 were guaranteed one antlerless license in the unit they chose. That guarantee date has passed. Later rounds opened more licenses, with personal caps, and reporting a harvest is how someone at the cap can buy another if the unit still has any. HuntFishPA is the inventory. This guide does not have it.Source: PGC, antlerless deer license; PGC, 2026–27 license sale announcement. Checked November 7, 2026.

First-time hunters need Basic Hunter-Trapper Education. The in-person course is free. Online options on the course page include a $49.95 interactive course, a $34.95 course for residents 16 and older, and a free NRA online course. Mentored permits exist so a new hunter can go with a licensed mentor before finishing the class.Source: PGC, hunter-trapper education courses; PGC, get started hunting. Checked November 7, 2026.

Wisconsin

Deer hunting uses a weapon license plus a harvest authorization. A gun license covers a firearm or airgun. An archery license covers a bow. A crossbow license covers a crossbow. Using both a bow and a crossbow takes the $3 upgrade. Resident gun, archery, and crossbow licenses are $24. Nonresident versions are $200. Bonus antlerless authorizations are $12 for residents and $20 for nonresidents on the fee table. The deer page also lists $5 for hunters under 12.Source: Wisconsin DNR, deer licensing requirements; Wisconsin DNR, license fees; Wisconsin DNR, deer hunting. Checked November 7, 2026.

Authorizations are not generic. A bow buck authorization is weapon-specific. An antlerless authorization names the zone, the deer management unit, and whether it is for public or private land. Junior antlerless authorizations are statewide. Someone born on or after January 1, 1973 needs hunter education on file unless they are mentored or have military basic-training proof.Source: Wisconsin DNR, 2026 deer season dates and bag limits; Wisconsin DNR, learn to hunt. Checked November 7, 2026.

Michigan

Everyone who hunts needs a base license unless a listed exception applies. For ages 17–64 the resident base license is $11. The nonresident base license is $151. Seniors 65 and older who are Michigan residents pay $5. The base license on the 2026 table is valid through March 31, 2027. Deer are additional: a resident or nonresident single deer license is $20, a resident combo is $40, and a nonresident combo is $190. A universal antlerless license is $20 for residents and nonresidents.Source: Michigan DNR, 2026 deer hunting regulations. Checked November 7, 2026.

The single license is one kill tag. The combo is how a hunter gets two tags and a chance at two antlered deer, except in DMU 117, where the antlered limit is one. There is no separate “archery deer license” in that table. Weapon legality is in the season rules, including the Upper Peninsula crossbow limits.Source: Michigan DNR, 2026 deer hunting regulations. Checked November 7, 2026.

Hunters born on or after January 1, 1960 need a hunter education certificate, or an older qualifying license, to buy a regular base license. An apprentice license covers up to two years with a mentor. Another state’s certificate is accepted.Source: Michigan DNR, recreational safety and hunter education; Michigan DNR, hunting safety. Checked November 7, 2026.