Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
You need a California falconry license. That means an 80 percent written exam, a qualified sponsor, inspected housing, and a state permit. Add a hunting license if you hunt. Federal rules set apprentice, general, and master classes and a two-year apprentice floor. Fees and processing change. Confirm both with CDFW before you build or trap.
Do you need a license for falconry in California?
Yes. You need a California falconry license before you possess, trap, receive, or fly a raptor for falconry. There is no pet exception. A hawk in the backyard without that license is an illegal take and an illegal possession.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it unlawful to take, possess, or transport migratory birds "except as permitted by regulations adopted by the Secretary" of the Interior. Almost every falconry species sits under that statute. [5] California then layers its own Fish and Game Code on top. The Fish and Game Commission may adopt raptor rules. The Department of Fish and Wildlife issues the actual falconry licenses. [3][10]
California is a federally certified falconry state. After the 2008 federal rewrite, USFWS stopped issuing a separate federal falconry permit in states that meet 50 CFR 21.82. California issues the ticket. Federal class rules still bind the state. You still sit in apprentice, general, or master. [1][9]
If you hunt game with the bird, you also need a valid California hunting license. Taking a rabbit or a pheasant without one is a separate offense under Fish and Game Code section 3007. [4][6]
People skip the license question and ask about perches. Don't. Paper first. A pretty mews with an illegal bird is still a crime. Read 14 CCR 670 and Fish and Game Code sections 395 and 396 yourself. Then read the falconry license in California walkthrough before you spend on lumber.
How long does falconry take in California?
Plan on months of paper before you hold a bird, then a two-year apprentice floor before you can even apply for general class. Nobody can honestly promise you a start date. CDFW regional offices move at different speeds. Confirm current processing with the office that will inspect you.
Federal law sets the clock California has to honor. Apprentice class lasts a minimum of two years. In each of those years you must maintain, train, fly, and hunt the raptor for at least four months. General class is the next step, and you need five years as a general falconer before you can apply for master. Minimum age for an apprentice is 12. General class starts at 16. [1]
The pre-bird stretch is the part forums flatten. You find a sponsor. You study. You sit the exam. You build or rent legal housing. You get inspected. You pay for the state falconry license (confirm the current fee with CDFW). Then, and only then, you trap or receive a bird. That pre-bird stretch can be a few months or more than a year. Sponsor scarcity is usually the bottleneck, not the test booklet.
I would not tell a friend this is a six-week hobby launch. It is a multi-year permit class with a live animal attached. If you need a short project, pick something else.
What is the real paper path to start falconry in California?
The path is linear. Skip a step and CDFW will send you back.
First, read 14 CCR 670 and 50 CFR 21.82. Then find a sponsor who is a general or master falconer willing to put their name on you. California follows the federal sponsor rule. Your sponsor is not a vibe. They are a named person on the application. [1][2][11]
Next, pass the supervised written exam. Federal rules say you must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions. California administers that exam. Confirm the current sitting, fee, and study outline with CDFW. Do not treat a random quiz app as official. [1][2]
Then build or arrange housing that can pass inspection. Indoor mews, a weathering area, and perch and bath gear have to meet the federal facility standards that California adopted. An officer will look at them. Fail the inspection and you do not get the license, even with a passing exam score. [1]
After you pass paper and facilities, you apply for the California falconry license in the apprentice class. Confirm forms, ID, and fees on the CDFW falconry licensing page. Do not mail last year's packet from a forum post. [2]
Only after the license is in hand do you acquire a bird. Wild take, transfer from another falconer, or a captive-bred bird all have extra paper. You report the acquisition. You band what the rules require. You keep the records. That is the whole path. It is boring on purpose.
How much does falconry cost in California?
Nobody publishes a clean California first-year total. The closest honest answer is a wide working range, because housing and telemetry swing the number more than the license.
State pieces you must confirm with CDFW: the exam sitting fee, the falconry license fee, and any duplicate or nonresident add-ons. Those numbers change. I will not invent this year's figure. Look at the current CDFW falconry licensing page and the hunting license fee table before you budget. [2][6]
The hunting license is a separate purchase if you hunt. Resident and nonresident prices differ. Upland validations can apply depending on quarry. Again, use the current CDFW table. [6]
The money that actually hurts is stuff, food, and the building. A legal mews and weathering yard can be a few hundred dollars in scavenged lumber if you already have a yard and tools. A contractor-built box in a coastal county can run into the thousands. I would build simple, weather-tight, and inspectable. Fancy cedar is a waste in year one.
Starter kit gear (glove, jesses, leash, swivel, scale, giant hood or carrier, bath pan) often lands in the low hundreds if you buy used and skip boutique leather. Telemetry is the gear people overbuy. A used single-channel setup can wait until the bird is hunting. Buying a top-end system before you have a sponsor is how you own expensive junk.
Food is the quiet monthly bill. Quail, rats, and day-old chicks add up. Vet care for raptors is real and not cheap in California metro areas. Budget an emergency fund or do not get the bird.
A wild-caught apprentice hawk has a low cash price and a high time price. A captive-bred bird can cost more than the mews. I would not buy a hybrid as an apprentice. Your sponsor and 14 CCR 670 decide what you may possess. [11]
If you want one paper packet that lines up exam topics, sponsor questions, and a mews checklist, FalconryPath sells a $149 one-time State Exam + Sponsor + Mews Kit at /start. It does not replace CDFW, and it does not get you a license.
What score do you need on the California falconry exam?
You need at least 80 percent. That number is federal, not a California rumor. 50 CFR 21.82 says, in the examination standard, "You must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on an examination administered by the State, tribe, or territory under which you will apply for your permit." California gives that exam. [1]
The test covers law, raptor biology, health, facilities, and hunting practice. It is not a personality quiz. People who hunt already still fail the facilities and disease questions. Study the federal facility standards and 14 CCR 670, more than species ID flashcards. [1][11]
Confirm the current sitting process with CDFW. Locations, appointment rules, and any retest wait are board-controlled. I will not invent a wait period. If you fail, you study and sit again. That is cheaper than building the wrong mews.
I would take the exam before I order lumber. A failed test with a finished building is just a shed.
How do you get a falconry sponsor in California?
You ask a licensed general or master falconer to sponsor you, in writing, on the state's terms. There is no CDFW matching service. Federal rules require a sponsor for apprentices. California follows that. [1][2]
The California Hawking Club is the usual place people meet sponsors. NAFA's become-a-falconer guidance is the national version of the same advice: go to meets, be useful, do not lead with a shopping list. [8] A cold email that says you want a "cool hawk" dies in the inbox. A person who has already read 14 CCR 670 and has a yard sketch gets a callback.
Sponsors take on liability and time. They can drop you. Treat that as part of the deal. I would not pay a stranger for a signature. Paying for a bird, for legal gear, or for a shared hunt is different from buying a sponsor.
If you cannot find anyone in your county, widen the radius or wait. Starting without a real sponsor is how apprentices wash out in month four.
What mews and facilities does California inspect?
California inspects indoor housing (the mews), a weathering area, and the perches, baths, and security that keep the bird healthy and inside. The standards come from 50 CFR 21.82. California adopted them in 14 CCR 670. An officer looks at the actual structure, not your Pinterest board. [1][11]
Expect questions about shelter from sun and weather, a secure door, floors you can clean, a bath pan, and perches that will not wreck the bird's feet. Tethers, leashes, and outdoor weathering need to keep the hawk off fences and away from dogs. Apartment balconies fail this test more often than people admit.
I would build to the written standard and then add a little extra shade and a lock you can explain. Do not hide a travel box in a garage and call it a mews. Inspectors have seen that.
Pass the inspection before you trap. A bird in unapproved housing is a bad day for you and a worse day for the hawk.
What raptor can you start with in California?
As an apprentice you possess what California and your sponsor allow, inside the federal class limits. Federal apprentice rules cap you at one raptor and tightly limit wild take. Many states still steer apprentices to an American kestrel or a red-tailed hawk. California writes the species list in 14 CCR 670. Confirm that list before you scout a trap site. Do not trust a 2014 forum thread. [1][11]
I would start on a passage red-tail if the regs and the sponsor agree. They forgive sloppy weight management better than a kestrel. I would not start on a hybrid, a peregrine, or anything you cannot replace if you mess up the manning.
Wild take has seasons, age classes, and reporting. Captive-bred transfers have invoices and 3-186A reporting. Both paths are legal when the license and the species line up. Neither path is a loophole around the apprentice limits. [7]
Do you need a California hunting license to fly a hawk?
You need a hunting license to take game. Fish and Game Code section 3007 says, with the code's usual exceptions, "every person who takes any bird or mammal shall procure a hunting license." Falconry is not a free pass around that. [4]
Flying a bird at starlings on a permitted site is a different fact pattern than slipping a red-tail at a pheasant. Know your quarry. Upland game birds can need extra validations. Private land still needs the landowner. Public land still needs the right season and the right method. Confirm current hunting license products on the CDFW hunting page. [6]
If you only fly at legal unprotected quarry, ask your sponsor and read the current digest. Do not invent a category because a video said "pest birds are free." Some birds people call pests are still protected.
What reporting and bands does California require?
You report acquisitions, transfers, losses, and deaths. The federal form is the 3-186A Migratory Bird Acquisition and Disposition Report. USFWS still hosts that process even though California issues the falconry license. File it on the timeline the instructions give. Late paper is how clean keepers turn into cases. [7]
Wild-caught birds need the bands or markers the regs specify. Captive-bred birds come with their own closed bands and paperwork. Do not pull a band off because it looks ugly. Do not move a bird to a friend "for a week" without the transfer rules.
Keep a binder. Inspectors and future sponsors both like a boring binder. Digital copies help. The binder still wins when the phone is dead in a field.
What first-year mistakes waste money in California?
Buying the bird first. That is the classic waste, and it can also be a crime.
The other wastes are more boring. Overbuilt mews in a rental you will leave. Brand-new telemetry before the hawk will even jump to the fist. A captive-bred falcon an apprentice cannot fly well. A giant hood the size of a suitcase for a kestrel. Memberships in every club on the West Coast before you have sat the exam.
I would spend, in order: the exam, used handling gear, a simple legal mews, food, then the bird, then telemetry. I would join the California Hawking Club when I am ready to meet people, not as a substitute for a sponsor.
The first year is weight charts and lost slippers. Budget time more than carbon-fiber perches.
How does starting in California compare with nearby states?
The federal skeleton is the same in Arizona, Colorado, and Alaska. Exam at 80 percent. Apprentice for two years. Sponsor. Inspected housing. State license. [1]
The local meat differs. California has dense people, hard housing, and long drives to legal quarry in some metros. Arizona field time can be easier to find, but summer heat changes how you house a bird. Colorado adds altitude and a shorter hunting window in a lot of counties. Alaska is a different sport. Read those state guides before you move a license across a line.
If you are choosing a state to begin, pick the state where you already live and can hunt weekly. A pretty regulation in another state does not help a California apartment. Start with how to start falconry in Arizona, the falconry license in Arizona, how to start falconry in Colorado, and the falconry license in Colorado if you actually live there or are moving. Same idea for how to start falconry in Alaska and how to start falconry in Alabama.
Where should you confirm California falconry rules before you apply?
Confirm fees, forms, exam sittings, and inspection contacts on the CDFW falconry licensing page. Confirm the legal text in 14 CCR 670 and Fish and Game Code sections 395 and 396. Confirm the federal floor in 50 CFR 21.82. Confirm hunting products on the CDFW hunting license page. [2][3][10][1][6]
Do not treat this article as a permit. FalconryPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. We do not issue licenses and we do not guarantee approval or timing.
If you want the exam, sponsor, and mews checklist in one packet, it is at /start. The board still has the last word. Call them.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for falconry in California?
Yes. You need a California falconry license before you possess or fly a raptor for falconry. Federal MBTA rules plus Fish and Game Code sections 395 and 396 close any pet loophole. If you hunt game with the bird, you also need a California hunting license. Confirm current applications on the CDFW falconry licensing page.
How much does falconry cost in California?
License and exam fees change. Confirm them with CDFW. The larger bill is housing, gear, food, and vet care. A DIY mews can be a few hundred dollars. Contractor builds and new telemetry push first-year spend into the thousands. Nobody publishes a single official California total. Budget an emergency fund before you acquire a bird.
How long does falconry take in California?
Paper and inspection can take months. Confirm processing with your CDFW region. After you are licensed, federal rules require at least two apprentice years, with four months of maintaining, training, flying, and hunting in each year, before general class. Master class needs five years as a general falconer. No one can honestly guarantee your start date.
How old do you have to be to start falconry in California?
Federal standards set the apprentice minimum at 12 and general class at 16. California follows that federal class structure. A parent or guardian has to be in the picture for a minor. Confirm any extra California paperwork for youth applicants with CDFW before you study for the exam.
Can you keep a hawk as a pet in California?
No. A falconry raptor is not a pet. Possession without a falconry license is unlawful under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and California Fish and Game Code. Wildlife rehabilitation is a different permit with different rules. If you want an animal that sits on the couch, this is the wrong sport.
Do you still need a federal falconry permit in California?
Not a separate USFWS falconry permit. California is a certified state and issues the license under 50 CFR 21.82. Federal standards still apply. You still file 3-186A acquisition and disposition reports. You still follow federal class limits. The state ticket is the one you carry.
How do you find a falconry sponsor in California?
Ask a general or master falconer directly. CDFW does not assign sponsors. The California Hawking Club meets are where most apprentices get a yes. Read 14 CCR 670 first, show a yard plan, and offer to help in the field. A sponsor can refuse or drop you. That is normal.
Can you start falconry in a California apartment?
Usually no. You need inspected mews and a weathering area that meet 50 CFR 21.82 and 14 CCR 670. A balcony travel box rarely passes. If you rent, get the landlord in writing before you build. I would wait until I had ground-level, securable space.
What score do you need on the California falconry exam?
Eighty percent. That is the federal minimum in 50 CFR 21.82, and California administers the exam. Confirm sitting details with CDFW. Study law, facilities, and raptor health, more than bird pictures. I would take the test before buying lumber.
Is the California Hawking Club required to get a license?
No. Club membership is not a CDFW license requirement. It is still the practical way to meet sponsors and see legal mews. NAFA is the national counterpart. Pay dues if the meets help you. Do not treat a membership card as a permit.
Can a nonresident practice falconry in California?
Sometimes, with the right home-state permit and whatever California currently requires for nonresidents. Temporary practice and full resident licensing are different paths. Confirm both with CDFW before you cross the state line with a bird. Do not assume a sister-state card is enough by itself.
What happens if you move to California with a falconry bird?
You need California paper before you settle the bird here. Import, possession, and facility inspection all attach. Your old state license does not automatically become a California license. Contact CDFW before the move and keep your 3-186A history clean. Moving first and calling later is how birds get seized.
When can an apprentice trap a passage red-tail in California?
Only after the California falconry license is issued, and only in the season, age class, and species 14 CCR 670 allows. Passage means a first-year wild bird. Dates change. Confirm the current take rules with CDFW and your sponsor. Trapping before the license is just poaching.
Do you need landowner permission to hunt with a hawk in California?
Yes on private land. A falconry license is not a trespass permit. Public land still has season, method, and area rules, plus a hunting license for game. Ask, get it in writing when you can, and do not slip a bird over a fence because the field looks empty.
Sources
- eCFR 50 CFR 21.82 Falconry standards and falconry permitting: Federal falconry standards require an 80 percent state exam, apprentice/general/master classes, minimum ages 12 and 16, a two-year apprentice period with four months of activity each year, five years as a general falconer before master, a sponsor, and facility standards.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife Falconry licensing: CDFW administers California falconry licenses, exams, and related licensing information; current fees and forms must be confirmed there.
- California Fish and Game Code section 395: California statute authorizes Fish and Game Commission regulation of raptors used in falconry.
- California Fish and Game Code section 3007: A hunting license is required for a person who takes any bird or mammal, with the code's stated exceptions.
- 16 U.S.C. § 703 Migratory Bird Treaty Act: It is unlawful to take or possess migratory birds except as permitted by Interior Department regulations.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife Hunting licenses: CDFW publishes current California hunting license products and fees that falconers who take game must hold.
- North American Falconers Association Become a Falconer: National falconry body describes apprenticeship, sponsorship, and the practical path to becoming a falconer.
- Federal Register 2008 falconry rule E8-23759: The 2008 federal rule shifted day-to-day falconry permitting to certified states and tribes that meet federal standards.
- California Fish and Game Code section 396: California statute addresses department issuance of falconry licenses.
- 14 CCR § 670 Practice of falconry (California Code of Regulations): California's detailed falconry regulations, including practice rules apprentices must follow, are in Title 14, section 670.
- California Fish and Game Code section 2000: It is unlawful to take any bird or mammal except as provided in the Fish and Game Code or adopted regulations.