Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
You need a valid AGFC falconry permit to keep or fly a raptor in Arkansas. There is no separate federal falconry card. Renewal is state paperwork under 50 CFR 21.82: the 80 percent exam, class times, facilities, and 3-186A records. Hunting game also takes the matching hunting license and a $25 Federal Duck Stamp for waterfowl. Confirm current fees and forms with AGFC.
Do you need a license for falconry in Arkansas?
Yes. You need a current Arkansas Game and Fish Commission falconry permit to take, possess, or fly a raptor for falconry. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes unpermitted possession unlawful. Federal rules hang the legal permission on a valid state, tribal, or territorial falconry permit, not on a handshake with a sponsor [1][2].
There is no separate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service falconry card for ordinary possession in a certified state. The 2008 federal rule ended the old dual-permit stack. States that meet 50 CFR 21.82 issue the permit you carry in the field [3].
AGFC holds wildlife authority under Amendment 35 to the Arkansas Constitution, including licenses and the manner of taking [8]. The Commission writes the state falconry code, prints the permit, and inspects housing. You still hunt under AGFC seasons. Falconry paper and hunting paper are two different stacks.
Do not fly on a friend's permit. Possession is personal. A bird in your mews without your name on a live permit is unpermitted possession. If that bird later crosses a state line, Lacey Act exposure can stack on top of the original problem [9].
The first license is not a renewal. You pass a supervised exam, lock a sponsor as an Apprentice, pass a facility inspection, and then AGFC can issue the permit. Renewal is the later cycle for people who already hold that paper. Same agency. Different packet.
How does falconry renewal work in Arkansas?
Renewal is an AGFC process. You keep the same federal class rules and ask the Commission to extend the state permit before it dies. The feds do not mail you a new falconry card [1][3].
Call the Wildlife Management side of AGFC and ask for the current falconry renewal packet, fee, and deadline. I would not trust a Facebook post or a form you saved in 2019. Codes and payment portals move. Nobody honest can promise you a processing time from a desk in another state.
What usually sits in the packet is simple, even when the wait is not. Proof you still qualify at your class. A facilities statement if you did not move. Current 3-186A acquisition and disposition records for every bird that touched your permit [4]. Payment of whatever fee AGFC is charging that cycle. If you moved, changed names, or rebuilt the mews, say that up front.
Keep the old permit on you until the new one is in hand. Then carry the new one when you trap, transport, or fly. 50 CFR 21.82 expects the permit to be with you or readily available during those acts [1].
If you also hold a raptor propagator permit or an education authorization, those renew on their own clocks. One check does not renew every paper in the file.
Other states run the same federal floor with different desks. If you are comparing packets, falconry renewal in Alabama and falconry renewal in Georgia are useful next reads. Then you still call both agencies.
What papers do you actually need to renew?
You need the current AGFC falconry renewal form, payment, and a clean record of every bird. Confirm the exact checklist with the Commission. Do not invent a form number from memory.
The federal piece that never changes is reporting. USFWS Form 3-186A is how you report acquisition, transfer, loss, and death of falconry raptors. Renewal staff will notice a bird that appeared on last year's list and vanished with no 3-186A [4].
Be ready to show your expiring permit, government ID, sponsor information if you are still Apprentice, and photos or a short description of the mews if they ask. If a bird is banded, the number on the paper should match the band on the leg. Recaps and ISO microchips follow the same honesty test.
Print the 3-186A history before you start the form. Screens die. Feed-store receipts in a glovebox are not a records system.
Hunting licenses, HIP registration, and stamps are not falconry renewal paper, but wardens do not sort your wallet into philosophical piles. If you hunt, renew those on their own calendar [7].
A comparison helps when you hold permits in more than one state. Falconry renewal in Florida and falconry renewal in California use the same 3-186A spine with different state coversheets.
How much does falconry cost in Arkansas?
The AGFC falconry permit fee is set by the Commission and it changes. I will not quote a dollar figure I cannot pin to today's fee table. Confirm the current permit and renewal amounts with AGFC before you write a check.
The costs that actually hurt are not the permit. Housing that meets 50 CFR 21.82, a scale that reads in grams, perches, anklets, jesses, a giant hood or travel box, food, and vet access add up fast [1]. Used gear from a retiring falconer beats a catalog binge. Fancy telemetry before you have a legal bird is a waste of money.
If you hunt waterfowl with the hawk, budget the Federal Duck Stamp. USFWS publishes that stamp at $25 [5][6]. You still need the matching AGFC hunting license and Harvest Information Program registration to take migratory game birds [7]. Those prices live on the AGFC license list. Look them up. Do not copy a number from an old forum thread.
First-year people also spend on the exam attempt, sponsor travel, and the inspection-ready mews. NAFA's getting-started guidance is blunt about the time and the housing, not about a single national price tag [10]. Nobody has a clean public study of what Arkansas apprentices actually spend. Anyone who quotes a statewide average is guessing.
Here is what I would do. Call AGFC, lock a sponsor, sit the exam, then build the smallest legal mews that will pass. Do not pour a slab for a five-chamber breeding barn in year one.
How long does falconry take in Arkansas?
The federal floor is the only timeline I will treat as firm. An Apprentice must put in at least 2 years of experience, with a sponsor, before applying for General class. A General falconer must put in at least 5 years at that class before Master [1]. Those clocks do not start when you buy a glove. They start when you are permitted and actually keeping, training, flying, and hunting a bird.
How long until the first permit lands is local. You need an exam date, a willing sponsor, and a facility that passes. AGFC sets that calendar. I will not invent a processing window. People who tell you "six weeks, always" are not the ones signing the permit.
The supervised exam is no weekend hobby quiz. 50 CFR 21.82 says you must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on care, handling, and the laws that apply [1]. Fail it and you wait for the next sitting the state offers. That wait is real time, and no agency publishes it as a national service window.
Hunting skill runs on a different clock. Two legal years can still leave you clumsy in the field. That is normal. Do not rush class upgrades to impress anyone. General class is when most people finally have enough birds and enough seasons to know if they will stay.
If you let the permit lapse, ask AGFC in writing whether your class time still counts. Federal language cares about documented experience. State practice on a dead permit is a Commission call. Get it in an email.
What federal rules still apply when you renew?
Every possession, housing, take, and reporting rule in 50 CFR 21.82 still applies the day after AGFC reprints your card [1]. Renewal does not freeze you in amber. If the Code of Federal Regulations changed a band, a take limit, or a reporting path, you live under the new text.
The 2008 rule is why you renew with Little Rock instead of a federal regional office. The Fish and Wildlife Service dropped the requirement for a separate federal falconry permit and left states to issue the paper if they meet the national standards [3]. Arkansas still has to stay inside that box.
Form 3-186A stays a federal form even when the clerk is an AGFC employee [4]. Lost birds, stolen birds, and birds that die on the perch still get reported. "I will fix it at renewal" is how people walk into interviews they will not enjoy.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is still the criminal statute under the permit. "Unless and except as permitted by regulations made as hereinafter provided in this subchapter, it shall be unlawful at any time, by any means or in any manner, to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill" a migratory bird, the statute says, and the list of forbidden acts runs on from there [2]. Your state card is that permission. No card, no permission.
Eagle work is extra. Do not assume a Master class falconry renewal covers eagle possession. Read the current eagle sections in 50 CFR before you even talk about it, then ask AGFC. Most people should not go there.
Do you also need an Arkansas hunting license to fly game?
Yes, if the flight is a hunt. A falconry permit lets you possess and fly the raptor. It does not replace the hunting license for the quarry [7][8]. AGFC treats manner of take and license class as ordinary hunting rules that still apply when the weapon is a bird.
Migratory game birds add layers. 50 CFR 20.20 requires the specified hunting permit and Harvest Information Program registration before you take those species [7]. Waterfowl also takes a Federal Duck Stamp. USFWS publishes that stamp at $25 [5][6]. State waterfowl stamps or privileges, if AGFC is charging them this season, sit on the Commission fee list. Confirm them. I will not guess.
Small game (rabbits, squirrels, and the like) follows the resident or nonresident hunting license you should already be carrying. Seasons and bag limits still bind you. A hawk does not get a bonus squirrel because the paperwork said falconry.
Here is what I carry in the field: falconry permit, hunting license, HIP acknowledgment, duck stamp if the quarry is a duck or goose, and a phone photo of the 3-186A for the bird on the fist. Wardens have heard every excuse. Paper is faster.
If you only fly at an artificial lure on private ground and never take game, ask AGFC whether a hunting license is still expected. Do not take a stranger's answer on that. Get it from the agency that would write the ticket.
What happens if your Arkansas falconry permit lapses?
You must not keep the bird. Unpermitted possession is the legal problem, not the expired plastic [1][2]. Transfer the raptor to another permitted falconer or a permitted facility on a 3-186A the day you know the permit is dead [4]. Hoping AGFC "knows you" is not a plan.
Reinstatement is a Commission decision. Some people reapply at the same class with documented experience. Some get asked to retest. I have not seen a public AGFC table that spells out every lapse path, and I will not invent one. Ask in writing. Keep the reply.
A lapse can also strand a wild-take opportunity. Limits and seasons run on the permit year, not on your feelings about the bird you meant to trap in November. If the card is dead, you are not a falconer that day.
Crossing into another state with a lapsed Arkansas permit and a bird on the back seat is how Lacey Act language gets real. The Act reaches wildlife taken, possessed, or transported in violation of state or federal law [9]. Do not test that on I-40.
If money is the issue, call AGFC before the date. A late conversation beats a seizure. If the issue is a messy 3-186A file, fix the file first. Renewal staff can smell a reconstructed history.
How do you move a permit into Arkansas from another state?
You do not "transfer" a plastic card across the line and keep flying. You apply to AGFC as a new resident or as a nonresident, whichever box you actually fit, and you ask them how they map your existing class. 50 CFR 21.82 lets a state accept equivalent class status from another certified program, but the receiving state still issues its own permit [1].
Bring the old permit, the exam record if you have it, sponsor letters, inspection notes, and the full 3-186A history. AGFC may inspect your Arkansas mews before any bird sits in it. Housing that passed in another climate can fail here. Heat, owls, and raccoons are not theoretical in this state.
Do not move the bird first and sort paper later. Possession in Arkansas without an Arkansas authorization is the same statute problem you already have on the books [2]. Temporary transport rules exist in the federal text for people in transit. Read them. Then call AGFC anyway.
Class mapping is where people get surprised. Two years as an apprentice in one state should mean something. It means nothing until Arkansas says it does. Get the yes in writing before you give notice at the old house.
Still shopping states? Read falconry renewal in Arizona, falconry renewal in Colorado, and falconry renewal in Illinois for how those desks handle incoming General and Master applicants. Then ignore the blogs and phone the agency.
What does the facility inspection look like at renewal?
The first inspection is the hard one. Renewal inspections are often lighter if you did not move and did not change the mews. That is practice, not a promise. AGFC can look whenever it wants, and a complaint or a lost-bird report will get you a visit faster than any calendar cycle.
Federal housing language is the floor. Indoor facilities (mews) need protection from the environment, predators, and domestic animals, with a pan of clean water and enough room for the bird to fully extend its wings [1]. Outdoor weathering areas have their own perch, shade, and security rules. Read the current 50 CFR 21.82 text. Do not build off a YouTube still.
What fails in Arkansas is usually boring. A latch a raccoon can work. Welded wire with gaps at the dirt line. A dirt floor that holds water against the bird's feet. A perch so high the hawk brains itself on a joist. Fix those before you invite anyone out.
I would not pour money into decorative stone or stained glass vents. Inspectors care about escape, injury, and sanitation. A clean, tight, dull building beats a pretty one with a gap over the door.
If you moved counties, treat it as a new inspection even if renewal is months away. A change of address on a hunting license is not the same as a mews sign-off.
Which raptors can you keep at each class when you renew?
Class limits ride with you at renewal. Passing a year does not bump you a class. Apprentice, General, and Master are federal categories that Arkansas implements, and the possession counts live in 50 CFR 21.82 [1].
Apprentice possession is tightly limited. One bird, and only the species both AGFC and the current federal list allow. Do not take a bird because a forum said Harris's hawks are fine now. Open the current 21.82 text and the current AGFC falconry code. If those two pages disagree, the stricter one wins.
General class raises the count (federally, up to three raptors) and opens more species, including some captive-bred birds, still inside state rules. Master class raises it again (federally, up to five wild raptors, with separate math for captive-bred birds). Eagles are not a casual Master perk. Extra federal paper applies.
| Class | Federal minimum age | Time in prior class | Federal wild-possession cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | 12 | none | 1 |
| General | 16 | 2 years as Apprentice | 3 |
| Master | 16, after General time | 5 years as General | 5 |
Those caps are the federal ceiling, not a shopping list. AGFC can be tighter. Hybrid and exotic questions are where people get cute and then get a seizure. If the bird is not clearly legal at your class in both books, do not take the transfer.
Wild take, if you still do it, has its own season and reporting. Confirm the current Arkansas window with AGFC. I will not invent opening day.
Where do you confirm current Arkansas fees and forms?
With the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Not with me, not with a club officer speaking off the cuff, and not with a PDF you found in a downloads folder. Amendment 35 put license issuance in the Commission's hands [8]. They can change a fee or a form without updating every website the same week.
Start with the current AGFC license fee list and the current Commission Code Book chapter on falconry. Then call and ask which office handles falconry renewals this year. Special permits sometimes sit in Wildlife Management, sometimes in a licensing unit. The person who sells deer tags is not always the person who signs a mews inspection.
NAFA's getting-started pages and affiliated-club list help you find other Arkansas falconers and a sponsor, which you still need if you are Apprentice [10][12]. A club membership is not a permit. Pay the club if you want the people. Pay AGFC if you want the bird.
For the federal layer, read 50 CFR 21.82 on eCFR and keep a bookmark to the 3-186A service page [1][4]. Those pages are the ones a warden can also read in the truck.
If two AGFC employees give you two fee numbers, ask for the written fee table. Pay what the table says. Keep the receipt with the renewal packet.
What should you do in the 60 days before your permit expires?
Pull the permit out and read the expiration date out loud. People miss it because the card lives in a ground bag for eleven months. Then open your 3-186A history and match it to the birds actually on the place [4]. Fix mismatches before you send a renewal.
Email or call AGFC for the current form and fee. Ask whether they want photos of the mews this cycle. Ask where to send it. If they still want paper, send it tracked. If they want a portal, use the portal and save the confirmation.
Renew the hunting license and HIP on their own dates so you are not standing in a license line the morning you meant to fly ducks [7]. Buy the Federal Duck Stamp if waterfowl is still the plan. The published stamp price is $25 [5].
Tell your sponsor you are renewing if you are still Apprentice. A sponsor who moved to Texas without telling AGFC is a problem you want to find now.
FalconryPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here approves a permit. If you want the study kit after you have a sponsor and an exam date, it lives at /start. The Commission still has to say yes.
Do the boring work. The bird does not care about your calendar. The statute does.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for falconry in Arkansas?
Yes. You need a current AGFC falconry permit to take, possess, or fly a raptor for falconry. Federal law (the Migratory Bird Treaty Act plus 50 CFR 21.82) makes the state permit the legal permission. A sponsor letter or club card is not a license. Confirm application steps with AGFC before you house a bird.
How much does falconry cost in Arkansas?
AGFC sets the falconry permit and renewal fee. Confirm the current number on the Commission fee list. The larger spend is housing, food, gear, and vet care. If you hunt waterfowl, add the $25 Federal Duck Stamp plus the matching AGFC hunting license and HIP registration. Nobody publishes a solid statewide first-year total.
How long does falconry take in Arkansas?
Federal rules require at least 2 years as an Apprentice before General class, and at least 5 years as a General falconer before Master. Time to the first permit depends on exam dates, a sponsor, and a passed inspection. AGFC controls that calendar. No one can honestly promise you a processing date.
Do I need a federal falconry permit in Arkansas?
No separate federal falconry card is issued for ordinary possession in a certified state. The 2008 rule left permitting to states that meet 50 CFR 21.82. You still obey federal possession, housing, take, and 3-186A reporting rules. AGFC issues the permit you carry. Confirm you are applying to the Commission, not a USFWS regional office.
Can I renew an Arkansas falconry permit online?
Maybe, in whatever year AGFC is running an online special-permit path. Systems change. Do not assume the deer-tag portal renews falconry. Ask the Commission which address or portal accepts falconry renewals this cycle, and save the confirmation. If they still want paper, send it tracked and keep a copy of every page.
Do I need a new facility inspection every renewal?
Not always. The first inspection is required before you keep a bird. Later visits are more likely if you moved, rebuilt the mews, changed class, or drew a complaint. AGFC can still inspect at renewal. Build to 50 CFR 21.82 so a surprise visit is boring. Confirm this year's practice with the Commission.
What if my sponsor moved out of state?
Apprentices need a resident sponsor who actually oversees the work. If your sponsor left Arkansas, tell AGFC before you renew and find a new one who meets the federal General or Master requirements. Do not wait for a denial letter. A club roster (including NAFA-affiliated clubs) is a way to find names, not a substitute for the agency's yes.
Does a lapsed permit reset me to Apprentice?
Not automatically under the federal text, which cares about documented experience at a class. Arkansas can still make you retest, sit out, or reapply. There is no public cheat sheet I can cite. Ask AGFC in writing and keep the answer. While the permit is dead, do not keep the bird.
How do I report a bird I lost before renewal?
File USFWS Form 3-186A for the loss, theft, or death when it happens, not at renewal. Then keep a copy with the renewal packet so the bird count matches. A hawk that disappears from the paper with no 3-186A is the record problem wardens notice first. Confirm any extra AGFC notice they want on top of the federal form.
Is the Arkansas Hawking Association required for renewal?
No. Club dues are optional. AGFC issues the permit. A club helps you find a sponsor, borrow a giant hood, and hear about trapline etiquette. Pay them if you want that. Do not send a membership card to the Commission and call it a renewal. NAFA affiliation works the same way. Useful people, not a license.
Can a nonresident hold or renew an Arkansas falconry permit?
That is an AGFC policy question, and it can differ for people who only hunt here versus people who keep birds here. Do not move a mews across the line on a guess. Call the Commission, ask how they treat nonresident falconry and incoming class status, and get the answer in writing before a bird travels.
What hunting stamps do I need on top of falconry?
If you take game, carry the AGFC hunting license that matches the quarry. Migratory birds also take HIP registration under 50 CFR 20.20. Waterfowl takes a Federal Duck Stamp (USFWS publishes it at $25) plus any current Arkansas waterfowl privilege on the AGFC fee list. Falconry paper does not replace those.
When is the wild take season for raptors in Arkansas?
Do not use a date you memorized from another state. 50 CFR 21.82 sets a federal frame, and AGFC can run a tighter season. Confirm this year's wild-take window, species, and reporting steps with the Commission before you set a trap. Take without a live permit, or outside the posted window, is just illegal take.
Sources
- eCFR, 50 CFR 21.82 Falconry standards and falconry permitting: State falconry permit required; 80 percent supervised exam; Apprentice 2-year and General 5-year class times; ages; facility standards; possession caps; permit must be available when trapping, transporting, or flying
- Cornell LII, 16 U.S.C. § 703 Migratory Bird Treaty Act: Unlawful to take or possess migratory birds except as permitted by regulation
- Federal Register, Migratory Bird Permits; Changes in the Regulations Governing Falconry (E8-23759): Federal falconry permitting shifted to certified states that meet national standards; separate federal falconry permit requirement eliminated
- Cornell LII, 16 U.S.C. § 718a Hunting and conservation stamp required: A Federal Duck Stamp is required to hunt migratory waterfowl
- eCFR, 50 CFR 20.20 Migratory Bird Hunting: Taking migratory game birds requires the specified hunting permit and Harvest Information Program registration
- Justia, Arkansas Constitution Amendment 35 (Game and Fish Commission): AGFC has constitutional authority over wildlife, seasons, manner of taking, and licensing in Arkansas
- Cornell LII, 16 U.S.C. § 3372 Lacey Act prohibited acts: It is unlawful to possess or transport wildlife taken or possessed in violation of state or federal law
- North American Falconers Association, Getting Started: Entry path runs through a state program, exam, sponsor, and adequate facilities rather than a single national price
- eCFR, 50 CFR 20.21 Hunting methods: Federal migratory-bird hunting-method rules still apply to how game may be taken, including when a raptor is the method
- North American Falconers Association, Affiliated Clubs: NAFA lists affiliated state and regional falconry clubs that can help apprentices find sponsors, not issue permits