We are proud to be partnered with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission to teach NC Hunter Safety to upcoming hunters of all ages. Our instructors are licensed by the state to provide this course for you and we do it free of charge.
Who Needs the Certificate?
On or after July 1, 2013, a person, regardless of age, may not purchase a hunting license in North Carolina without producing one of the following: a hunter education certificate of competency, a NC hunting heritage apprentice permit, or a NC hunting license issued prior to July 1, 2013.
Good in Other States
All states and provinces that have mandatory hunter education requirements will accept North Carolina Hunter Education certifications. Likewise, North Carolina will accept hunter education certifications that are issued by other states and provinces that meet official IHEA-USA requirements. (This is known as “reciprocity.”)
Why Hunter Education?
Since states have begun requiring hunter education, over the last 30 years hunting incidents have drastically decreased, while the number of hunters has increased. Today, hunting is one of the safest outdoor activities you can enjoy.
Age Restrictions
There are no minimum age requirements from the state of North Carolina to take the Hunter Education course, however, we have a few guidelines for younger children. The absolute youngest age we will teach is 9 years old. This is because the NC Hunter Safety Education final test is a state exam. We have no choice on the exam questions and it is not an open book test. The test is written on a sixth grade level, so a younger child might have a hard time taking it. We are not allowed by the state to provide a retest unless the child goes through the entire course again from start to finish. In short, we don’t want a younger child to feel they are less smart than they really are and we aren’t allowed to help guide them or reason out the answer (even though we’d love to). For that reason we suggest not enrolling an child under 10 years of age in the class.
We at S.A.F.T. and the NC Department of Wildlife Resources Commission are determined to see anyone that wants to learn to hunt become successful at it. There is absolutely zero discrimination and ALL are welcome to attend. If you have a deaf child that would like to take our course, let us know in plenty of time and we will arrange an interpreter at no cost to you. If your child speaks spanish, we will provide an interpreter for you at no cost. We are absolutely committed to providing this educational opportunity to anyone that wants to learn!
More about the course
Hunter Education is a fairly long course, usually running about six to seven hours with breaks every 50 minutes. This class is designed to work for everyone, so if we need to take more time with the class it might run longer. Because this class usually involves some children as well as adults, we try to structure it in such a way as to not have additional trips for mom and dad if they’re bringing their kids and dropping them off. Here are some guidelines for the course (class specifics will be given to you at the time you sign up via email so you’ll know what to bring and when to arrive.)
- We don’t do a traditional lunch break – so be sure to pack a lunch and any snacks/drinks you might want. We do have a refrigerator in the classroom as well as a microwave.
- If you are dropping off children for the course, we need to fill out an emergency contact form when you arrive so we have a way to get in touch with you if the need arises.
- We reserve the right to remove an individual from the classroom (regardless of age) for disrupting the class – you will need to come pick them up immediately.
- Please do not be late picking up a child after class – they don’t like being left with strangers in parking lots after dark, ya know?
Getting Your Certificate After Class
As soon as the course is completed, our instructors log in to the NCWRC web site to update a student’s information. The state will then MAIL your certificate to you. We have no way to issue you an immediate certificate on-the-spot. For this reason it is CRITICAL that you provide the address you receive mail at when you sign up. It usually takes about ten days to get your certificate after we upload records.