Hunter education is a mandatory program that is designed to introduce students to several life-long skills that are important to the many different types of outdoor recreational opportunities. The course teaches students basic survival and first aid skills, water safety, wildlife identification, and the basics of wildlife management, hunting laws, and firearm/archery safety. Hunter education also stresses the importance of individual responsibility and outdoor ethics.

Iowa law requires that anyone born after January 1, 1967 must be certified in hunter education before they are eligible to purchase an Iowa hunting license. The minimum number of hours to complete the class is 10. Typically there is no charge for the course, unless lunch is furnished or room rental is required. Iowa recognizes hunter education certificates issued by another state or foreign nation.

A person who is 11 years old or older may enroll in a course, but those who are 11 and successfully complete the course shall be issued a certificate which becomes valid on that person's 12th birthday. Individuals under the age of 12 can be issued a deer or turkey license; however, a licensed adult hunter must accompany each youth hunter. If the certificate is lost, a replacement certificate maybe obtained from any ELSI vendor during regular business hours for $ 3.50.

The following are your options for obtaining a hunter education certificate from the State of Iowa:

1. Search our Statewide Online Database for a course in your area!
2. Contact the IHEA website for a Home Study Class

The Iowa DNR has developed a home study hunter education course designed for adults that work evenings and weekends making it difficult to attend a conventional hunter education course.

Process to complete home study course:

1. Contact IHEA website at http://homestudy.ihea.com/
2. Complete all quizzes from Internet course (must have 100% correct answers from Internet course quizzes and printed to bring along to classroom session). Normally takes 8-10 hours to complete.
3. Contact the RSO in your area (RSO Map and Contact Information)
4. Each student is required to attend a 4-hour classroom session.
5. Upon arrival at the classroom session the instructors to make sure they have been successfully completed will inspect the Internet quizzes.
6. The student will take the pretest and must pass the pretest with a score of 80% or better to continue with the class.
7. The four-hour class topics will include ethics and responsibility, laws, gun handing and final testing.
8. The student must contact the same RSO one-week prior to the date set for the four-hour classroom session to confirm attendance. A class will be cancelled if there are no confirmations to the RSO.

The dates, times and locations for the home study four-hour classroom sessions are listed below:

Johnson County
April 8, 203 from 10:00 am - 2:30pm
Fin & Feather Store Iowa City, Iowa DNR
Contact RSO Craig Jackson @ 563-357-1812 to register