How the falconry board in Georgia handles new permits

Last updated 2026-08-21

Do you need a license for falconry in Georgia?

Yes. You need a Georgia falconry permit from the Wildlife Resources Division, and you need a Georgia hunting license to hunt game with the bird. Federal law does not mail you a second falconry card on top of a certified state program. Georgia issues the permit under the standards in 50 CFR 21.82. ^[1][3]

Skip this step and you have a Migratory Bird Treaty Act problem, not a hobby problem. 16 U.S.C. 703 says that, unless permitted by regulation, it is unlawful "to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill" migratory birds, or to possess them. The hawks, falcons, and owls used in falconry sit on that protected list. ^[7][9]

A city exotic-pet card does not fix that. Neither does a USDA exhibitor license. Those papers answer different statutes. Falconry in Georgia is hunting law plus captive-wildlife law plus migratory-bird law stacked on the same bird.

If you already fly legally in Alabama or Florida, do not assume the hawk can sit in a Georgia mews on the old card. Ask WRD how a transfer works. I will not invent a wait time. Confirm it with the people who stamp the permit.

I would not put money on a bird until the exam is scheduled and a sponsor has said yes in writing. That is the boring order. It is also the one that keeps you out of a possession charge. Buy lumber after paper, not before.

Who is the falconry board in Georgia?

There is no separate Georgia Falconry Board with appointed public members and a published hearing calendar. The Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is the authority. Special-permit staff take the application. A field inspector walks the mews. People still say "the board." They mean WRD. ^[3]

Use the current falconry page on georgiawildlife.com for the packet, the exam contact, and the mailing address. Those items move when offices move. I am not going to freeze a phone number in this article. Confirm the contact block on that page before you mail anything. ^[3]

WRD also publishes the hunting regulations you hunt under once the hawk is legal to fly. Seasons, bag limits, and Wildlife Management Area rules live in that book. Your falconry permit does not rewrite them. ^[5]

If you trained in a state that really does run an advisory committee, Georgia will feel more like a permit desk plus an inspection. That is how this state is built. Work the desk. Be polite. Keep copies of every letter.

The federal layer sits behind that desk. In 2008 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shifted day-to-day falconry permitting to states that meet national standards. The Service said the revision "eliminate[s] the requirement for a Federal permit to practice falconry." Georgia is one of those administering states. You still live under 50 CFR 21.82. You just apply locally. ^[2][1]

What falconry permit classes does Georgia use?

Georgia follows the three federal classes: Apprentice, General, and Master. That structure is written into 50 CFR 21.82, which every certified state program has to meet. States may add tighter conditions. They may not go looser than the federal floor. Confirm Georgia's current possession limits and any extra state conditions with WRD before you plan a second bird. ^[1][3]

Federal minimum ages are 12 for Apprentice, 16 for General, and 18 for Master. A 12-year-old still needs a parent or guardian in the picture on applications, and a sponsor who will actually show up. Age alone does not get you a hawk. ^[1]

Apprentice is the tight class on purpose. Federal rules cap you at one wild raptor and limit the species you may take. The usual federal list for apprentices is American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, and red-shouldered hawk, with Harris's hawk allowed where the state says yes. Do not assume Harris's hawk is on Georgia's apprentice list. Ask WRD. ^[1][3]

General class is the first point where most people hunt without a sponsor standing over the weathering yard. Federal rules let a General falconer possess more birds than an apprentice (the federal ceiling is three, unless Georgia sets a lower number). Master class is the long game. Federal rules require at least five years at General before you can even apply. ^[1]

I would not chase Master status as a goal in year one. Get good with one passage red-tail. The class upgrade is paperwork that follows skill, not the other way around.

How long does falconry take in Georgia?

Plan on more than a season. The federal floor is two years at Apprentice class, and those years have to include real work with a raptor, not a card sitting in a drawer. 50 CFR 21.82 requires that you practice falconry at Apprentice class for at least 2 years, including maintaining, training, and hunting with the raptor for at least 4 months in each of those years, before you can move to General. Georgia implements that floor. ^[1]

The clock does not start when you buy a book. It starts when you hold a valid Apprentice permit and a bird you are actually flying. Before that you still have the exam, a sponsor letter, a facility build, and an inspection. None of those have a published guaranteed turnaround on this page, because I will not invent one. Confirm current scheduling with WRD. ^[3]

After General, Master is another long wait. Federal rules want at least five years of General-class experience. Add the two apprentice years and you are looking at seven years of permitted practice before Master is even on the table. Plenty of solid hunters never bother. That is fine.

People who already hold a comparable class in another state sometimes move faster on paper. Sometimes they do not. A transfer is a new Georgia decision, not a courtesy stamp. Compare the packet you used in Arkansas or Illinois with what WRD actually asks for here.

If someone promises you a bird next month with no exam and no inspection, walk away. That is not a shortcut. That is a violation waiting on a badge.

How much does falconry cost in Georgia?

Nobody publishes a clean first-year cost study for falconry in Georgia. The closest public numbers are DNR's posted license fees and the federal facility rules that drive the mews build. Confirm every state fee on the current WRD license and falconry pages. Fees change. I will not invent this year's dollar figure. ^[3][4]

Budget the boring stack first. You will pay whatever Georgia charges for the falconry permit itself, plus a hunting license if you hunt game, plus any Wildlife Management Area license if you hunt WMAs. Those prices live on the licenses-permits-passes page, not in forum folklore. ^[4][5]

Then the real money. A legal mews and weathering area can be a few hundred dollars in lumber if you build it yourself to the federal size and shelter rules. Hired work runs much higher. I would build it myself and have the sponsor walk the frame before I set posts in concrete. Do not buy a cathedral-style weathering yard for an apprentice kestrel. That is ego, not husbandry.

Food is the quiet monthly bill. Quail, chicks, and rats add up. Vet care for raptors is specialist work and it is not cheap when you need it. A used radio transmitter beats a lost passage hawk. I would spend on telemetry before I spent on a carved perch from another continent.

If you want a paper checklist for the exam, sponsor hunt, and mews layout, FalconryPath has a $149 one-time State Exam + Sponsor + Mews Kit at /start. It is not a DNR form. It does not move your application. The board still runs the test.

Skip the imported furniture until you have trapped, manned, and lost sleep over one bird. Most first-year money problems come from buying gear for the falconer you want to be, not the apprentice you are.

What score do you need on the Georgia falconry exam?

You need at least 80 percent. That number is not a Georgia folk rule. 50 CFR 21.82 says, in the examination standard certified states must use, "You must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on an examination administered by the State, tribe, or territory under which you apply for the permit." WRD administers that test here. ^[1][3]

The exam covers law, raptor biology, field identification, facilities, and husbandry. It is not a personality test. If you cannot tell a Cooper's hawk from a sharp-shin on a photo, you are not ready. If you cannot explain why a bath pan matters in July, you are not ready.

I would study the federal facility standards and Georgia's hunting regulations in the same week. The test writers like both. Read 50 CFR 21.82 once like a statute, not like a blog. Then read it again with a pencil. ^[1][5]

Ask WRD how to schedule, where it is given, and whether they still use a paper booklet. Do not take a stranger's memory of the 2014 version as current. Confirm format with the people who print it. No pass is guaranteed. No retake window is guaranteed on this page.

Failing is not a moral event. It means you study and sit again. Passing is not a license. It is one gate in front of the sponsor letter and the inspection.

Do you need a sponsor and a mews inspection in Georgia?

Yes, if you are coming in as an Apprentice. Federal rules require a sponsor who is a General or Master falconer, and they require an inspection of your facilities before you possess a raptor. Georgia runs both steps. Confirm who WRD will accept as a sponsor and what the inspector will measure. ^[1][3]

A sponsor is not a Facebook reaction. You want someone who will stand in your yard and say the perch is wrong. North American Falconers Association materials on getting started are blunt about this for a reason. Paper mentors vanish. Local ones do not. ^[11]

Facilities have to meet the federal mews and weathering-area standards in 50 CFR 21.82. Think shelter, protection from predators, a bath, perches that do not wreck ceres, and enough room for the species you named on the application. The inspector is not decorating. If the wire gauge is wrong, you fail. ^[1]

I would have the sponsor walk the build before you call for inspection. Redo a wall on a Saturday. Do not redo it after an official no.

Do not house a hawk in a shed that also holds lawn gas and a freezer. That fails the smell test and the regulation test. Keep the mews for the bird. Keep the junk in the other shed.

What hunting license do you need to fly a hawk in Georgia?

You need the hunting license Georgia requires for the game you take, on top of the falconry permit. The falconry card authorizes the raptor. It does not replace the hunting license. Current resident and nonresident prices sit on DNR's licenses-permits-passes page. Confirm them there. They change. ^[4][3]

If you hunt Wildlife Management Areas, Georgia has long required the extra WMA license on top of the base hunting license. Read the current hunting regulations before you park at a WMA gate with a hawk on the backseat. WMA rules can also limit methods, hours, and species. ^[5]

Bag limits still apply. A hawk does not get you a bonus rabbit. Seasons still apply. If small game is closed, you are exercising the bird, not hunting, and you should know the difference when a ranger walks up.

Nonresidents pay more. If you live across the line and only hunt Georgia some weekends, run the nonresident table on the fee page and decide if the drive is worth it. I would not guess from last year's screenshot.

Landowner permission is still permission. A permit does not open posted land. Ask. Get it in writing if the property is a regular slip field. That is manners and it is also how you stay on the property next season.

Can you trap a wild raptor in Georgia?

Often yes, with the right class, the right species, the right season, and the right bands and reports. Wild take is the normal apprentice path. It is also the path that gets people in trouble when they trap the wrong bird on the wrong day. Confirm Georgia's current take season, legal species, and any closed counties with WRD before you set a bow net. ^[1][3]

Federal apprentice take is narrow. You are looking at a passage (first-year) bird of an allowed species, not a breeding adult off a nest unless a specific nest-take rule says otherwise, and not a random buteo because it looked easy. General and Master classes have broader federal take options. Georgia can still close species or shorten seasons. Ask. ^[1]

Band the bird the way the permit says. File the acquisition report. The federal 3-186A migratory bird acquisition and disposition report is the standard form for those events. Late paperwork turns a legal trap into a messy file. ^[6]

I would trap a passage red-tail over buying an expensive imprint as a first bird. Imprints forgive less. Passage birds teach you the job. That is an opinion. It is also how most people who last more than two years started.

Do not trap on a refuge or a closed WMA because the light was pretty. Place is part of legality. Read the hunting regulations and any site-specific flyer. ^[5]

How do you move an out-of-state falconry permit into Georgia?

You apply to Georgia as Georgia. A valid card from California or Colorado is evidence of class and time. It is not a Georgia permit. WRD decides whether to issue, at what class, and after what inspection. Confirm the transfer packet on the falconry page. No approval is guaranteed. ^[3][1]

Bring copies of your old permit, your 3-186A history, band numbers, and a letter that states your class and the dates you held it. If your prior state used a different facility standard, rebuild to 50 CFR 21.82 before you invite an inspector. Do not argue that another state's shed was good enough. You live here now. ^[1][6]

Moving a bird across state lines also means you follow transportation and, for some species, CITES or eagle rules that this page will not fake a shortcut through. If the bird is an eagle, stop and get species-specific advice from WRD and the Service. Eagle paper is its own pile.

People coming from Arkansas often have similar southeastern seasons in their heads. Still read Georgia's book. Seasons are not copied across the river. ^[5]

I would inspect my own mews with a tape measure the night I unload the truck. Then I would call WRD. Order matters.

What banding and 3-186A paperwork do you file?

Every legal acquisition, transfer, loss, escape, and death needs a paper trail. The federal form is FWS Form 3-186A, the Migratory Bird Acquisition and Disposition Report. USFWS still publishes that form and the filing instructions. Georgia will tell you whether they want a state copy, a portal entry, or both. Confirm the current path with WRD. ^[6][3]

Wild-caught birds get the band the regulations specify, usually a USFWS closed or cable-tie style band depending on species and take type. Captive-bred birds come with a closed band already on. Do not pull a band off because it looks ugly on Instagram. That is a violation.

If the bird dies, you still file. If it escapes, you still file. If you transfer it to another falconer, you both file. The 3-186A page is clear that the report tracks possession events, more than happy acquisitions. ^[6]

Keep a folder. Paper plus a scan. Inspectors and future-you will thank you when a band number does not match a memory from 2019.

Raptor propagation is a different federal permit under 50 CFR 21.85. Breeding is not a side quest on a falconry card. If someone offers you "just one clutch" with no propagation permit, that is not a deal. ^[10]

What should you confirm with Georgia DNR before you spend money?

Confirm the live packet, the fee, the exam schedule, the sponsor rules, the inspection checklist, take seasons, and possession limits with Wildlife Resources Division. This page is a map of the paper path, not a substitute for the current form. FalconryPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. We do not stamp permits. ^[3][4]

Write down what you were told and the date you were told it. Staff turn over. Notes help.

Build the mews to the written federal standard, not to a photo of someone else's barn. Schedule the exam before you schedule a trap line. Get the sponsor in writing. Then spend money.

If you want a non-government checklist for that order of operations, the $149 State Exam + Sponsor + Mews Kit is at /start. Useful or skip it. The hawk does not care. WRD does not either.

Nearby states run their own desks. If you split time on the road, read those guides too and do not mix the rules in your head. Georgia's bird, Georgia's paper.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license for falconry in Georgia?

Yes. You need a Georgia falconry permit from DNR Wildlife Resources Division and a hunting license to take game. Federal law does not issue a separate falconry card once the state program meets 50 CFR 21.82. Unpermitted possession of a protected raptor violates the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Confirm the current application with WRD.

How much does falconry cost in Georgia?

State permit and hunting-license fees are whatever DNR currently posts. Confirm them on the licenses and falconry pages. The larger bill is the mews, food, telemetry, and vet care. A DIY mews that meets federal rules can stay in the low hundreds. Hired builds and impulse gear run much more. Nobody has a solid published first-year total for Georgia.

How long does falconry take in Georgia?

At least two years at Apprentice class under 50 CFR 21.82, with real flying time of at least four months each year, before General class. Add exam, sponsor, build, and inspection time before the clock even starts. Master class needs five more years at General. WRD does not guarantee processing times. Confirm scheduling with them.

How old do you have to be to start falconry in Georgia?

Federal minimums that Georgia implements are 12 for Apprentice, 16 for General, and 18 for Master. A young apprentice still needs a qualified sponsor and legal facilities. Age is the floor, not the permit. Confirm any extra Georgia guardian or application rules with WRD before you study for the exam.

Do you also need a federal falconry permit?

No separate federal falconry permit is required when you hold a valid permit from a state program that meets 50 CFR 21.82. The 2008 federal rule shifted that card to the states. You still obey federal take, banding, and 3-186A rules. Eagle work is a different stack. Ask WRD if your species is anything unusual.

What birds can a Georgia apprentice fly?

Federal apprentice rules limit you to one wild raptor of an allowed species, typically a passage American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, or red-shouldered hawk. Some states also allow Harris's hawk. Do not assume Georgia does. Confirm the current apprentice species list and take season with Wildlife Resources Division before you trap.

Is the Georgia falconry exam open book?

Treat it as a closed, proctored state exam unless WRD tells you otherwise in writing. Federal rules require a score of at least 80 percent on the examination the state administers. Confirm format, location, and retake practice with WRD. Do not rely on an old forum post about take-home booklets.

Can you keep a rehab raptor for falconry in Georgia?

Not as a casual handoff. Rehabilitation sits on a different permit. Moving a rehab bird into falconry is tightly limited under federal rules and needs the right paperwork on both sides. If a rehabber offers you a bird "off the books," refuse. Ask WRD about any legal nonreleasable path before you say yes to anything.

What if your sponsor drops you mid-apprenticeship?

You need a replacement sponsor who meets Georgia and federal class rules, or you stop possessing the bird. The two-year apprentice clock only counts while you are properly permitted and actually practicing. Tell WRD quickly. Do not sit on a hawk with a dead sponsor letter. Confirm the replacement process with the division.

Do you need landowner permission to hunt with a hawk?

Yes, on private land. A falconry permit and a hunting license do not open posted property. On WMAs you also need whatever extra license and site rules Georgia currently posts. Get permission first. Keep it simple and written if you plan to slip the same fields all winter.

Are hybrid falcons legal to fly in Georgia?

Federal rules allow hybrids with extra conditions, including transmitter requirements in many situations. Georgia can add limits. Confirm hybrid possession, hunting, and lost-bird rules with WRD before you buy. Do not import a hybrid on a handshake. Paper first, then the bird.

How do you report a lost or dead falconry bird?

File a 3-186A disposition report and follow any extra Georgia notice rules. Keep the band number in the file. Tell WRD if they want a parallel state notice. Do it even if the loss is embarrassing. An unreported escape is worse than an honest report. Confirm the current filing method on the FWS 3-186A page and with WRD.

Sources

1. eCFR, 50 CFR 21.82 Falconry standards and falconry permitting: Federal falconry standards: state permit required, 80% exam, Apprentice/General/Master classes, minimum ages 12/16/18, 2-year apprentice practice with 4 months per year, facility inspection, take and possession limits
2. Federal Register, Migratory Bird Permits: Changes in the Regulations Governing Falconry (E8-23286): 2008 final rule eliminated the separate Federal falconry permit and placed administration with certified state, tribal, and territorial programs
3. Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, Falconry page: Georgia WRD is the state authority that issues falconry permits and posts current application instructions
4. Georgia DNR, Licenses, Permits & Passes: Current Georgia hunting and related license fees and products are published by DNR and must be confirmed there
5. U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 16 U.S.C. § 703: Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes unpermitted take, hunt, or possession of migratory birds unlawful
6. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918: FWS administers the MBTA, which is the statute behind permitted falconry possession of native raptors
7. eCFR, 50 CFR 10.13 List of Migratory Birds: Hawks, falcons, and owls used in falconry are listed migratory birds protected unless take is authorized
8. eCFR, 50 CFR 21.85 Raptor propagation permits: Captive raptor breeding requires a raptor propagation permit, not only a falconry permit
9. North American Falconers Association, Getting Started: National practitioner body guidance on sponsorship, apprenticeship, and beginning falconry under state programs
10. Cornell Law School LII, 50 CFR § 21.82: Accessible text of the federal falconry standards including the 80 percent examination requirement