Kentucky falconry license

First-year fees

$79.28 resident / $79.28 nonresident (KDFWR License & Permit Fees)

Expires 3 years after the date of issue

No fee is due to upgrade to the next class or relocate a facility while the current permit is valid (301 KAR 2:195 §4(22)).

Exam & minimum age

Exam: 80% to pass. Department-administered written exam, 90 minutes, minimum 80% with photo ID; one sitting per day and at most three exams in any 12-month period. The permit application must follow within 12 months of passing.

Minimum age: 12 — Apprentice applicants must be at least 12 years old (301 KAR 2:195 §4(2)(a)); applicants under 18 need a parent or legal guardian co-signature.

Classes: Apprentice → General → Master

Birds by class & trapping

Apprentice: one bird — American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk or Harris's hawk (wild or captive-bred; no nestlings, no imprints), trapped only under a sponsor's direct supervision. General (16+): up to 3 raptors; eagles barred. Master (5 general years): up to 5 wild raptors plus any number of captive-bred; golden, white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles need prior departmental approval.

Passage take Sept 1 – Jan 31; great horned owl (adult or passage) Sept 1 – Oct 31; adult American kestrels Sept 1 – Jan 31, General/Master only. Eyas take Jan 1 – Jul 31 by General/Master, with a sharp-shinned eyas quota of 10 resident / 5 nonresident a year, three-eyas nests only. Residents may take at most 2 wild raptors per calendar year; nonresidents one, with a Nonresident Raptor Take Form filed 15 working days ahead.

Notes from the official sources

Peregrine (passage tundrius) take is by annual drawing open to resident Master falconers only, take window Sept 20 – Oct 20. Sponsors may mentor up to three apprentices; a lost sponsorship must be replaced within 30 days or the permit is revoked.