Mandatory Harvest Information Program (HIP)
If you’re 16 years old or older and hunt migratory birds (ducks, coots, geese, doves, woodcock, rails, snipe, or gallinules), you must get a Harvest Information Program certification and carry proof of your HIP certification with you whenever you’re hunting migratory birds. You must get HIP-certified in every state you hunt migratory birds.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife management agencies use HIP to estimate the number of migratory birds harvested each year. The USFWS selects a random sample of HIP-certified migratory bird hunters and sends them a survey. Survey questions vary from what species you hunted and how many you harvested to a request to send in a wing from each harvested bird. Biologists use these data to determine the effect of hunting regulations on harvest levels and evaluate the ratio of young birds to adult birds in the harvest to determine recruitment rates (young surviving to enter the adult population).
How do I get HIP-certified?
Get your HIP certification online or at LDWF Headquarters at 2000 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge. No course or test is required; simply answer a few short registration questions.
HIP certification is no longer available at retail license vendors because of poor compliance with asking registration questions and thus providing invalid information on migratory bird species hunted and relative success needed for selecting hunters for harvest surveys. As part of a multi-state pilot study coordinated by the Wildlife Management Institute to address invalid registration data, LDWF has limited HIP certification to online or in-person at LDWF headquarters in Baton Rouge.
How much does HIP certification cost?
HIP certification is free.
What if I have a lifetime license?
You still must get HIP-certified every year. You can get your HIP certification online or at LDWF Headquarters at 2000 Quail Drive in Baton Rouge.
Get Your Federal Electronic Duck Stamp
Effective August 1, 2014, Louisiana waterfowl hunters can purchase a Federal Duck Stamp online and through license vendors.
At U.S. Post Offices and at www.duckstamp.com – $25.00
From LDWF license vendors, online licensing, and by phone (877-447-1318) – $27.22
The Federal Duck Stamp is required for all waterfowl hunters, including those who are not required to purchase a hunting license. Hunters under the age of 16 are exempt. Hunters, who purchase their Federal Duck Stamp online, phone or mobile, will receive a confirmation number. If you purchase your stamp from a retail vendor or LDWF online licensing, you will receive a printed receipt. Both the confirmation number and printed receipt will be accepted as evidence of the purchase for 45 days and must be possessed while hunting waterfowl. The paper stamp will be mailed to the purchaser. The proof of purchase will expire after 45 days from the date of purchase. All Federal Duck Stamps expire on June 30, regardless of when issued.
