# North Carolina Out-of-State Licenses for Georgia Residents



## GP Burdell (Aug 29, 2018)

I was looking at hunting in North Carolina this season but in looking at the NC regs, it appears that Georgia residents have to pay a significant premium for a non-resident license.  The standard non-resident license is only $80.  But Georgia residents have to pay $100 for the basic license plus an additional $195 for a big game license (what NC calls a privilege license) for a total of $295.  I called NC for an explanation and the lady could only say that residents for Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee have to pay more than other states.  

Does anyone have any insights on why?


----------



## NCHillbilly (Aug 29, 2018)

GP Burdell said:


> I was looking at hunting in North Carolina this season but in looking at the NC regs, it appears that Georgia residents have to pay a significant premium for a non-resident license.  The standard non-resident license is only $80.  But Georgia residents have to pay $100 for the basic license plus an additional $195 for a big game license (what NC calls a privilege license) for a total of $295.  I called NC for an explanation and the lady could only say that residents for Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee have to pay more than other states.
> 
> Does anyone have any insights on why?


Probably because those states charge us NC residents through the nose to go there and hunt. I own land and pay taxes in SC, and it still costs me nearly $300 to deer hunt on my own land, and that's before I also have to pay $80 more for two buck tags and a doe tag.


----------



## GP Burdell (Aug 29, 2018)

I’m in the same situation in NC. Own a bunch of land that costs me a lot of taxes and then have to pay extra to hunt my own land.


----------



## lagrangedave (Aug 29, 2018)

$101 in Pennsylvania. I'm going scouting when this heat wave bleaves.


----------



## Milkman (Aug 29, 2018)

GP Burdell said:


> I was looking at hunting in North Carolina this season but in looking at the NC regs, it appears that Georgia residents have to pay a significant premium for a non-resident license.  The standard non-resident license is only $80.  But Georgia residents have to pay $100 for the basic license plus an additional $195 for a big game license (what NC calls a privilege license) for a total of $295.  I called NC for an explanation and the lady could only say that residents for Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee have to pay more than other states.
> 
> Does anyone have any insights on why?



Do they have a provision for 3 day or similar. Maybe buy as needed if they do


----------



## Mexican Squealer (Aug 29, 2018)

What Hillbilly said...I pay through the roof to hunt my own SC property.


----------



## lampern (Aug 31, 2018)

GA residents are charged what NC residents pay to hunt in GA at least for deer


----------



## NCHillbilly (Aug 31, 2018)

lampern said:


> GA residents are charged what NC residents pay to hunt in GA at least for deer


Actually, looks like it would cost me $325 to hunt deer in GA: $100 hunting license and $225 big game license. So at $295, you're still hunting in NC for $30 less that it would cost me to hunt in GA.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Aug 31, 2018)

lagrangedave said:


> $101 in Pennsylvania. I'm going scouting when this heat wave bleaves.


Except in PA, they have a one-week rifle season, and you can only kill one buck, plus one doe if you buy the extra antlerless deer license.


----------



## lampern (Aug 31, 2018)

NCHillbilly said:


> Actually, looks like it would cost me $325 to hunt deer in GA: $100 hunting license and $225 big game license. So at $295, you're still hunting in NC for $30 less that it would cost me to hunt in GA.


I wonder if NC accounted for the recent GA license increase?


----------



## NCHillbilly (Aug 31, 2018)

Probably not yet.


----------



## patcavscout (Aug 31, 2018)

Out of state license rates are ridiculous everywhere. I too paid almost $300 to SC just to not get a single deer. The reasoning behind this is somehow legislatures and DNRs think that in state residents licenses are somehow _subsidized_ by their tax dollars. This is of course ** because as pointed out above, property owners already pay taxes on their properties. Also, conservation is barely funded by general funds from income taxes. It's the result of earmarked funds that come from licenses, permits, and excise taxes. All high license fees do it limit the pool of eligible purchasers. Want to get more hunters, lower the prohibitive cost to entry. It's pretty simple economics, not that government is known for its acumen of this subject.

   I'm a wisconsin resident living in Georgia, I get an instate license though because of the way the law exempts certain people with military affiliations. An obvious violation of Equal Protection Clause found in the 14th Amendment. But hey, why start following the constitution now? But I own property here, and I guarantee I pay more in taxes then someone who works a minimum wage job and gets to hunt for the "subsidized price" Some states out West though have Landowner Tags. Some people think this is unfair but those people can go pound sand. If life was fair I wouldn't get raked over the coals for working harder and being more successful than others. 


    It won't change anytime in the near future though. At least not until people stop defending high license fees with crummy arguments like "BuT LicenSeS FunD CoNVersAtion so EyE DonT MInD!"


----------



## lampern (Aug 31, 2018)

Adult non resident hunters pay a lot because youth non res pay a lot less in most cases

If youth were charged full price?


----------



## 119bowhunter (Sep 1, 2018)

Licenses prices are ridiculous everywhere, but food for thought...NC does still offer lifetime licenses for non-residents...a bit steep at $1200 but if you plan on hunting in the state for more than a few years it would pay for itself and that's for a sportsman license which includes fishing, etc. I have my lifetime licenses for North Carolina that my parents bought me before I turned 1 and I will remain forever grateful to them for that.

Now on the other hand, if I get drawn for my Georgia quota hunt that I've applied for this fall it's going to cost me $210 for a 3 day hunting license, also very steep but what else can you do? I don't see things getting any better in the future as hunter numbers continue to decline and wildlife agencies are forced to squeeze the ones left for the license dollars needed to operate.


----------



## C.Killmaster (Sep 5, 2018)

patcavscout said:


> It won't change anytime in the near future though. At least not until people stop defending high license fees with crummy arguments like "BuT LicenSeS FunD CoNVersAtion so EyE DonT MInD!"



Non-residents pay more because wildlife doesn't belong to them, wildlife belongs to the residents of the state.  You have no constitutional right to the wildlife in another state.


----------



## Aztec (Sep 5, 2018)

Where would Georgia deer hunting be if it not for other states sending deer to Georgia C> Killmaster?


----------



## Mexican Squealer (Sep 5, 2018)

My only rub is that I pay more in property taxes than most residents and still must buy a non resident license (in SC). Pretty sure it’s the same if you own land in GA but live out of state? Rediculous. I understand if you are a non-resident with no skin in the game but paying high taxes year end and year out should allow you to get a resident license rate in my opinion.


----------



## Aztec (Sep 5, 2018)

The truth is non-resident license fees account for a good amount of funds for DNR. Money that they cannot jerk out of the residents


----------



## NCHillbilly (Sep 5, 2018)

Mexican Squealer said:


> My only rub is that I pay more in property taxes than most residents and still must buy a non resident license (in SC). Pretty sure it’s the same if you own land in GA but live out of state? Rediculous. I understand if you are a non-resident with no skin in the game but paying high taxes year end and year out should allow you to get a resident license rate in my opinion.


I'm with you. After paying property taxes in SC and the $305 per year to deer hunt on my land, I also pay $50 a year for a non-resident catfish jugging permit, $35 for a freshwater fishing license, $35 for a saltwater fishing license, and $76 for a non-resident WMA license, for deer hunting and dove shoots.


----------



## patcavscout (Sep 5, 2018)

C.Killmaster said:


> Non-residents pay more because wildlife doesn't belong to them, wildlife belongs to the residents of the state.  You have no constitutional right to the wildlife in another state.



Wildlife doesn't belong to the state. It is held in use for the _public _in accordance with the public trust doctrine found in common law. This is a concept that is long standing prior to the Constitution's ratification. The Constitution doesn't lay out a right to wildlife only for residents of a state where the wildlife is found in. Wildlife roams. The states merely have authority to manage wildlife within its boundaries. This still has to occur in accordance with the interstate commerce clause.


----------



## lampern (Sep 5, 2018)

In state residents vote.

Out of state residents do not vote.

Its why politicians are afraid of making license increases except on non residents


----------



## C.Killmaster (Sep 5, 2018)

patcavscout said:


> Wildlife doesn't belong to the state. It is held in use for the _public _in accordance with the public trust doctrine found in common law. This is a concept that is long standing prior to the Constitution's ratification. The Constitution doesn't lay out a right to wildlife only for residents of a state where the wildlife is found in. Wildlife roams. The states merely have authority to manage wildlife within its boundaries. This still has to occur in accordance with the interstate commerce clause.


I didn't say it belonged to the state, I said it belonged to the people of the state.  In Georgia wildlife belongs to the people of the state and is held in trust for their benefit.

27-1-3
(b)  The ownership of, jurisdiction over, and control of all wildlife, as defined in this title, are declared to be in the State of Georgia, in its sovereign capacity, to be controlled, regulated, and disposed of in accordance with this title. Wildlife is held in trust by the state for the benefit of its citizens and shall not be reduced to private ownership except as specifically provided for in this title. All wildlife of the State of Georgia is declared to be within the custody of the department for purposes of management and regulation in accordance with this title. However, the State of Georgia, the department, and the board shall be immune from suit and shall not be liable for any damage to life, person, or property caused directly or indirectly by any wildlife.


----------



## C.Killmaster (Sep 5, 2018)

Aztec said:


> Where would Georgia deer hunting be if it not for other states sending deer to Georgia C> Killmaster?



3/4 of the deer restocked in Georgia came from Georgia, the others were purchased from other states.


----------



## C.Killmaster (Sep 5, 2018)

Aztec said:


> The truth is non-resident license fees account for a good amount of funds for DNR. Money that they cannot jerk out of the residents


Yep, around 50% comes from non-residents.


----------



## Lilly001 (Sep 5, 2018)

I hate to pay the non resident fee to hunt my land that I also pay taxes on, with no exemptions.
But the alternative is to not hunt, or hunt illegal.
I'm not up to eigther option.


----------



## patcavscout (Sep 5, 2018)

I meant to say "doesn't belong to the *people of the* state" All the same, public trust of wildlife and case law holds wildlife belongs to the public. Not just those citizens that fall within a given jurisdiction. Again, animals migrate. Public trust also means citizens of other countries. Which is why we have harvest agreement with other countries when it comes to migratory birds and salmonid species of fish. I'm simply pointing out the disparatgate license pricing is pretty incongruent with long standing laws. But then again, we have states that don't allow hunting on Sundays yet have Right to Hunt listed in their constitutions.


----------



## patcavscout (Sep 5, 2018)

C.Killmaster said:


> Yep, around 50% comes from non-residents.



I wonder how many of those are from Florida? I know Florida hunters are a favorite whipping boy on here (and yes often for good reason) I would wager most of them are probably from surrounding states like SC where it seems the hunters and govn't are doing everything in their power to demise the deer herds. What would be interesting would be to compare the non-resident hunting license fees in GA with the Non_resident Fishing license in Florida.


----------



## AllTerrainAngler (Oct 1, 2018)

For tundra swan in NC I have to pay $100 for a hunting license before I can even apply for the drawing for a tundra....


----------



## lampern (Oct 7, 2018)

Georgia's non resident license is 100 dollars for small game, waterfowl ect


----------



## lampern (Oct 16, 2018)

Just saw where NC set non resident license fees for alligator and elk hunting.

500 for alligator hunting and 1000 for elk hunting.

Compared to 250 for non resident in Georgia


----------

