Active coverage

Germany

Regulations are sorted by topic; every block links back to its official source and verification date.

Verified

Regulations by topic

Permits

The Jagdschein, issued after the Jägerprüfung

First issue requires passing the hunting examination; the annual licence runs for at most three hunting years.

The German hunting licence, the Jagdschein, is governed by § 15 of the Federal Hunting Act. Its first issue depends on the applicant having passed a hunting examination — the Jägerprüfung — within the scope of the Act. The text provides two forms: the Jahresjagdschein, issued for at most three hunting years, and the Tagesjagdschein, valid for fourteen consecutive days. The examination syllabus is listed in § 15(5): knowledge of species, game biology, game management, the conduct of hunting, prevention of game damage, agriculture and forestry, weapons law and weapons technology, the handling of hunting weapons including handguns, the handling of hunting dogs, the treatment of shot game and the assessment of the wholesomeness of venison, as well as hunting, animal welfare, nature conservation and landscape law. Practical arrangements fall to the Länder.

Seasons

Federal seasons that each Land may restrict

The federal ministry sets hunting seasons by regulation; the Länder may shorten or abolish them.

German hunting seasons are not in the Act itself: § 22 of the Federal Hunting Act entrusts the competent federal ministry with determining by regulation the periods during which game may be hunted, and reserves to the Länder the power to shorten or abolish them. The applicable regulation is the Ordinance on Hunting Seasons of 2 April 1977, last amended on 7 March 2018. Its § 1 sets the federal window species by species: red deer from 1 August to 31 January, roebucks from 1 May to 15 October, does from 1 September to 31 January, brown hare from 1 October to 15 January. § 1(2) opens year-round hunting on wild boar, European rabbit and fox, subject to § 22(4) BJagdG. The dates that actually apply in the field remain those of the Land.

Species

A federal list of species subject to hunting law

§ 2 BJagdG lists furred and feathered game; appearing there does not mean being huntable all year.

§ 2 of the Federal Hunting Act lists the species subject to hunting law, split into furred game (Haarwild) and feathered game (Federwild). The federal list is broad: it includes wolf, wildcat and lynx among furred game, grey partridge or common raven among feathered game. Appearing on it does not mean being huntable in practice — falling under hunting law determines which management regime a species belongs to, while the actual open season depends on the periods set by the Ordinance on Hunting Seasons and, where applicable, on strict protection granted elsewhere. § 2(2) further allows the Länder to place additional species under hunting law on their territory. The Act also distinguishes Schalenwild (cloven-hoofed game), Hochwild and Niederwild, a distinction that governs several management rules.

Weapons and ammunition

The Jagdschein establishes the firearms need

§ 13 of the Weapons Act recognises the need for Jagdschein holders; the Waffenbesitzkarte must be applied for within two weeks.

Acquiring and holding hunting firearms falls in Germany under the Weapons Act, whose § 13 sets out a regime of its own for hunters. A need (Bedürfnis) to acquire firearms and their ammunition is recognised for holders of a valid Jagdschein within the meaning of § 15(1) of the Federal Hunting Act, provided the weapons serve hunting and are not prohibited by hunting law. For holders of an annual Jagdschein, that need is not examined for long guns and two handguns. The same holder may acquire long guns without prior permission, but must apply to the competent authority for a Waffenbesitzkarte within two weeks of the acquisition. Which ammunition and shooting methods are permitted for each species is set by the law of the Land.

Safety

The shooting test cannot be offset

Insufficient results in the Schießprüfung cannot be compensated by other parts of the examination.

Shooting safety conditions access to the German licence and is not a mere recommendation. § 15(5) of the Federal Hunting Act counts weapons law, weapons technology and the handling of hunting weapons including handguns among the subjects of the Jägerprüfung. The same subsection lays down a strict rule for the shooting test: insufficient results in the Schießprüfung cannot be offset by results achieved in other parts of the examination. A candidate who fails the shooting test therefore fails the examination, however strong their theory. Rules of conduct during the hunt itself — organising drives, signalling, safety distances — fall instead to the Land hunting act, which must be consulted before taking part.

Regulations

A hunting right tied to land ownership

German hunting rights are inseparable from land ownership: federal law sets the frame, the sixteen Länder complete it.

In Germany the hunting right (Jagdrecht) is defined by the Federal Hunting Act (Bundesjagdgesetz, BJagdG) of 29 November 1952, recast on 29 September 1976 and last amended on 29 March 2026. Its § 1 defines it as the exclusive power, on a given territory, to manage game, to hunt it and to take possession of it. The text states that this right «is inseparably linked to ownership of the land» and that it carries a duty of game management, the Hegepflicht. Hunting is therefore not exercised freely but within constituted districts, the Jagdbezirke, whose forms § 4 distinguishes. Federal law sets this common frame; each of the sixteen Länder then adopts its own hunting act, which refines and sometimes tightens it. A hunter coming from abroad must read both levels: the BJagdG for the principles, the Land act for the application.