What do I need to hunt legally?
Conditional: hunting is legal, but only with a hunter's card, annual licence and in authorised zones and seasons. The basis is Law 173/99 and DL 202/2004, run by the ICNF. You need the hunter's card: an ICNF theory exam, minimum age 16, medical certificate and clean criminal record. Then the annual hunting licence. If you hunt with a firearm, you need a PSP firearm-use licence (class D/C), valid 5 years — the card alone doesn't authorise the gun. You can only hunt in hunting grounds (zonas de caça) and in the hunting season (2025-26 opened 17 August). Civil-liability insurance is mandatory. In short: yes, with card, licence, firearm and season.
📋 The rules
- Hunter's card: ICNF exam, 16+, medical certificate
- Annual hunting licence to actually hunt
- Firearm: separate PSP licence (valid 5 years)
- Only in hunting zones and in the hunting season
- Mandatory civil-liability insurance
🔓 Exceptions
- Single procedure: get the card + firearm licence together
- Falconry and dog-hunting need extra authorisations
- Madeira and Azores have their own services and calendars
⚠️ Penalties & fines
The exam registration costs about €50. Hunting without a licence, out of season or above the bag limits is an offence, with fines up to a few thousand euros and seizure of the firearm and quarry; serious poaching can be a crime. Using a firearm without a valid licence is fined about €250 to €4,000 with the gun handed to the PSP. Beware the Brazil confusion: there recreational hunting is essentially banned and firearms run through the Army/SINARM ("CACs"); in Portugal hunting is legal, with a card from the ICNF and a firearm licensed by the PSP (not military). Myth: "the card lets me carry the gun" — false, the firearm licence is separate. To hunt: get the card, the annual licence, the firearm licence and respect zone and season.
📎 Official sources
❓ Frequently asked
What do I need to start hunting?
First, the hunter's card, obtained through a theory exam at the ICNF, with a minimum age of 16, a medical certificate and a criminal record. Then, an annual hunting licence. If you hunt with a firearm, you also need a PSP firearm-use licence, which is separate.
Does the hunter's card let me use a firearm?
No. The hunter's card qualifies you to hunt, but doesn't, by itself, authorise the use of firearms. For that, you need a firearm-use licence issued by the PSP, valid for five years. It's a myth to think the hunter's card serves as a firearm licence.
Where can I hunt?
You can only hunt in hunting grounds, i.e. properly constituted hunting zones, whether municipal, associative, tourist or national. Hunting outside those zones, or on unmanaged land, isn't allowed. Each zone has its own rules, seasons and bag limits set in the hunting calendar.
When is the hunting season?
The hunting season is set annually by ordinance. In the 2025-26 season, it opened on 17 August 2025, with staggered dates by species, ending between February and March 2026. There are daily bag limits. Hunting out of season or above the limits is an offence, with a fine and seizure of the quarry.
Can you really hunt in Portugal?
Yes. Unlike Brazil, where recreational hunting is essentially banned, in Portugal hunting is a legal, regulated activity. The hunter's card is issued by the ICNF and the firearm licence by the PSP, not by military authorities. What's required is to follow all the rules on card, licence, zone and season.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “hunter card exam icnf”
- “annual hunting licence”
- “hunting firearm licence psp”
- “hunting season 2025 2026”
- “where can i hunt zones”
- “hunting legal portugal”