Hawaii Resident Priced Hunting License for Service Members

A nonresident active duty service member stationed in Hawaii, and their dependents, may purchase a hunting license at the resident price. The saving is meaningful because Hawaii's nonresident hunting license costs several times the resident figure, a gap that reflects how much of the state's hunting is on public land managed for a resident population. This is a benefit of current service rather than of veteran status, and there is no disability rating anywhere in it. Hawaii does not operate a free or reduced-fee hunting or fishing license for disabled veterans of the kind most states in this catalog provide. A veteran who has moved here from a state with such a program should not assume it carries over. That gap is worth stating plainly rather than leaving a reader to search for something that is not there. Hawaii also does not require a license for most recreational saltwater fishing, which is a larger practical benefit than any veteran discount would be in an island state. Freshwater fishing does require a license, and commercial fishing is separately regulated. Hunting in Hawaii is administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and hunting seasons, units, and rules differ substantially by island. A service member new to the state should read the island-specific rules rather than assuming a single statewide season. Buy the license through the Department of Land and Natural Resources, with military identification and orders showing the Hawaii assignment.