Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
Statewide Alligator Hunt Permit
A Statewide Alligator Hunt Permit is a type of limited entry permit required to participate in the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program. The Statewide Alligator Hunt is a highly sought after limited entry hunt; there are often more than 15,000 applicants that will apply for approximately 7,000 permits.
Each successful statewide alligator hunt applicant will receive an Alligator Trapping License, an area specific harvest permit, and two CITES tags, authorizing the holder to harvest two alligators. The harvest areas and hunt dates are specific for each permit, and the permit specifies the boundaries or limitations of the harvest area. The statewide alligator hunting season begins on August 15 and ends on November 1. The first four weeks of the season are divided into four quota weeks, and each permit is assigned one of those weeks.
Applicants who are awarded a Statewide Alligator Hunt permit will be charged automatically. The Alligator Trapping License/Permit and two CITES tags will be mailed to the successful applicants within six weeks of purchase.
A Florida hunting or fishing license is not required to participate in the statewide alligator hunt.
When we were in Crystal River in June, our tour guide told us he is also a licensed alligator tagger. I think he can do that job all year, because he was telling us how a lady complained that her dog was missing. So she called the wildlife folks and he met her. She told him there were dozens of alligators near her yard. How would they find the guilty one? He said, you hold the flashlight while I make some noise. Then all the gators went underwater except one, so he captured that one and tagged him. He said there’s a special procedure he has to go through. He can only get one tag at a time. Anyway, they euthanized him and found the dead doggy inside of him.
Gators are nothing to mess with. Call the professionals.