Washington falconry license

First-year fees

No fee — Chapter 220-420 WAC prescribes no permit fee for the Washington falconry permit (confirm with WDFW when applying)

A WDFW hunting license is required to hunt with your bird. Falconers moving to Washington transfer at their current class after 90 days of residency, with a facility inspection but no re-exam.

Exam & minimum age

Exam: 80% to pass. 80% on a WDFW written exam — 178 questions across seven categories in 90 minutes, covering biology, equipment and facilities, training and hunting, health, and law (WDFW falconry requirements page); re-takes are by appointment.

Minimum age: 12 — Apprentice applicants must be at least 12 (WAC 220-420-070(1)); applicants under 18 need a parent or legal guardian signature.

Classes: Apprentice → General → Master

Birds by class & trapping

Apprentice (12+): one raptor; wild take limited to red-tailed hawk or American kestrel; nestlings and imprints barred, but captive-bred birds of any non-eagle Falconiform or Strigiform species are allowed. General (16+, 2 apprentice years incl. 4 months hunting per year): up to 3 raptors; wild take of ten listed species — red-tail, kestrel, merlin, prairie falcon, gyrfalcon, sharp-shinned, Cooper's, goshawk, great horned and barred owls — with kestrels and great horned owls of any age at any time of year. Master: five wild raptors; eagles beyond the barred four need federal qualifications.

Wild take is capped at two raptors per falconer per year (WAC 220-420-160(2)), reported within 10 days of capture; passage birds (under one year) may be taken at any time of year. A wild raptor transferred in its capture year counts against the trapper's take, not the recipient's.

Notes from the official sources

Regulation of record: Chapter 220-420 WAC (recodified 2017). A facility inspection by WDFW or its designee (often a Washington Falconers Association representative) is required before the permit issues; acquisitions and losses are reported through the USFWS Form 3-186A system.