Can a Junior Hunter Legally Hold Two Licenses?

November 4, 2010

Question:My grandson is 13 years old and interested in hunting. His dad is cool to the idea but doesn’t oppose it. The weekend of Oct. 2-3, I got him his hunter’s training certificate through the California Waterfowl Association (who by the way are really doing a lot to get kids interested in hunting and shooting). I wanted to get him his license right away so that I could enter him in a youth drawing to hunt the Tejon Ranch. The deadline was near and so I had a mental lapse and got him a regular adult license instead of a junior license. Afterwards I realized I had made a mistake and so had my son go get him a junior license. Yes, now he has two hunting licenses, a junior license and an adult license, and that’s the problem.

My son is concerned that there is some illegality in having two hunting licenses. I don’t think there would be a problem unless my grandson attempted to use the two licenses in some way. If it is illegal for him to have both a junior hunting license and an adult hunting license, can I just cure the problem by running the adult license through the paper shredder? I don’t care about reimbursement and will just consider it a donation. Thanks for your assistance. (Charles V., Ventura)

Answer: Hunters may only possess one license, and hunters 15 years and younger may only possess a junior hunting license. It is illegal for your grandson to possess an adult license until he turns 16 years old. The best solution for this situation is for you to return the adult hunting license, along with a copy of the junior license and a note explaining what happened, to the DFG License and Revenue Branch, 1740 N. Market Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95834. This will allow for the adult license issued under his name to be removed from the database and you will be reimbursed for the cost of the adult license purchased in error. Happy hunting with your grandson!