Bear hunting

Read this important notice

Bear season is closed. Information on this page and pages linked to it applies to the 2023 season and may be outdated.

Details for the 2024 season will be available in April.

View lottery and license dates and hunting dates on the hunting and trapping seasons page.

News & notices

Bear guide list available

The sortable list of bear guides and outfitters is updated. The DNR provides this list as a courtesy. Being listed does not constitute an endorsement.

See a bear, report a bear

Minnesota's black bear range has been slowly expanding southward and westward. If you see a bear outside of the animal's normal range, use the online application to report it to the DNR. You also can view other bear sightings.

Season

Lottery application deadlineMay 5
Winner notificationBy June 1
Licenses on saleJune 1
License purchase deadlineAug. 1
Licenses offeredListing by permit area
Unsold licenses availableAug. 4
Area 451 licenses availableAug. 5
Baiting beginsAug. 11
HuntingSept. 1 - Oct. 15

Licenses

Resident, age 18 and older: $45 (includes fee)
Non-resident, age 18 and older: $231 (includes fee)
Ages 13-17, regardless of residency: $6 (includes fee)
Ages 10-12, regardless of residency: $1 issuing fee

Limits & requirements

Quota areasOne adult bear per licensed hunter; includes permit area 451
No-quota areaOne adult bear per licensed hunter
All areasSuccessful hunters must submit a tooth sample
Don't shoot collared bears

Methods

Firearm legal for big game
Bow and arrow legal for big game

Tagging & registration

A person who takes a bear must tag it appropriately before transporting it. You may register a bear at a bear registration station, by phone, or the internet, but you must also obtain a bear tooth envelope at a bear registration station. To register in person, the hunter must present the harvested bear for registration at a bear registration station within 48 hours after taking and obtain a big game possession tag. See complete rules in the tagging and registration section of the bear hunting regulations.

A person may not place bait for bears unless the person has a current-year bear license or is operating under the direction of a person with a current-year bear license. Registration of all bait stations is required. See the complete rules in the bait stations section of the bear hunting regulations.

Guides & outfitters

DNR provides names and contact information for current-year licensed bear outfitters when all registrations are complete. This is not an endorsement of any individual on the list. We do not provide referrals or other types of information, and licensure by the state does not mean that the outfitter has been certified as to competence, quality of hunt, success, etc.

Learn to hunt

Do you value strong connections to your outdoors and the food you eat? Are you looking for a new way to interact with the fields, woods, and waters around you?

Then discover September forests with help from our getting started guide to bear hunting.

Management

Hunting is only one aspect of the DNR's effort to manage bear for the public trust. We are committed to socially and ecologically responsive and responsible bear management for the benefit of all Minnesotans now and into the future.

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