Florida duck hunting starts in places that do not always look like classic duck country. A hunter may stand in sawgrass before sunrise, watch teal race over a stormwater cell, or listen to wood ducks squeal from a cypress edge while the air still smells warm. The birds come fast. The water can hide stumps, mud, gators, and rules. Before the first shot, the law is already in the blind.
Florida duck hunting laws cover season dates, daily limits, possession limits, hunting licenses, the no-cost migratory bird permit, the Florida waterfowl permit, the federal duck stamp or E-Stamp, non-toxic shot, shotgun plugs, WMA permits, youth hunt days, veteran and military hunt days, baiting rules, boat rules, tagging, and transport. Statewide dates are not the full story. Wildlife Management Areas, stormwater treatment areas, refuges, and named lakes can have tighter dates, permit rules, and access limits.
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Florida Duck Season Dates
For the 2026-2027 Florida migratory bird season, the early duck season runs September 19 through September 23, 2026. That early season is for teal and wood ducks only. The daily limit is six ducks in a single-species or combined bag, with no more than two wood ducks.
The regular Florida duck season runs in two parts: November 21 through November 29, 2026, and December 12, 2026, through January 31, 2027. Coots and mergansers follow those same regular waterfowl date blocks. Light geese also use those date blocks, while Canada goose dates include an early September season and the regular waterfowl periods.
Florida duck shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until sunset, unless a special rule says otherwise. Crows are different, but that does not help a duck hunter. A duck shot a few minutes early is not a head start. It is a violation with feathers.
Florida Duck Bag Limits
The Florida regular duck daily bag limit is six ducks. That number is only the outer wall. Species caps sit inside it. A hunter can be under six birds and still over the legal limit if the wrong species is added to the strap.
| Bird | Daily Limit for 2026-2027 |
|---|---|
| Total ducks during regular season | 6 per day |
| Mallards | Up to 4, with no more than 2 females |
| Sea ducks | Up to 4, with no more than 3 scoters, long-tailed ducks, or eiders, and no more than 1 female eider |
| Wood ducks | Up to 3 during regular season |
| Pintails | Up to 3 |
| Redheads | Up to 2 |
| Black ducks | Up to 2 |
| Canvasbacks | Up to 2 |
| Mottled duck, also called Florida duck | Up to 1 |
| Fulvous whistling-duck | Up to 1 |
| Scaup | 1 from November 21-29 and December 12-January 11; 2 from January 12-31 and during special youth and military hunt days |
| Other ducks named in the guide | Up to 6 total within the daily duck limit |
The possession limit for ducks is three times the daily bag limit. That does not let one hunter shoot three days of ducks in one day. It applies after lawful hunting and storage. In the field, count every bird by hunter and by species. A mixed pile in a boat can become a knot when no one can say who shot which mottled duck or scaup.
Birds That Are Closed in Florida
Florida bars taking or trying to take harlequin ducks, brant, and purple gallinules. The closed-bird rule is simple. If a bird is closed, it is not part of the bag at any number. New hunters should spend time on duck ID before season. Low light, fast wings, and shallow water can make mistakes feel easy.
Mottled ducks need extra care in Florida. They are native birds, and mallard genes have caused trouble for them. Mottled duck and mallard hybrids do not get a separate limit. They are counted as either mallards or mottled ducks. When a bird looks close and the limit is tight, the best shot may be no shot.
Coots, Mergansers, and Geese
Coot season in Florida runs November 21 through November 29, 2026, and December 12, 2026, through January 31, 2027. The coot daily limit is fifteen, with forty-five in possession. Mergansers use those same dates, with five per day and fifteen in possession.
Canada goose dates for 2026-2027 are September 5 through September 27, then November 21 through November 29, and December 1 through January 30. The daily Canada goose limit is five, with fifteen in possession. Light geese, meaning snow, blue, and Ross’s geese, are open November 21 through November 29 and December 12 through January 31, with a daily limit of fifteen and no possession cap.
Do not borrow special goose methods for ducks. Electronic calls and unplugged shotguns may appear in special goose settings, but regular duck season keeps the normal migratory bird rules. The wrong method at the wrong time can sink a hunt like a bad plug in a jon boat.
Florida Licenses, Permits, and Duck Stamps
Most Florida duck hunters need a Florida hunting license. They also need a no-cost migratory bird permit to hunt migratory birds, unless exempt by age or license status. Hunters under sixteen and over sixty-five do not need the migratory bird permit under the statewide table, but other license rules can still matter.
To hunt waterfowl in Florida, a hunter also needs the Florida waterfowl permit and a federal duck stamp or E-Stamp, unless an exemption applies. The Florida waterfowl permit is required when taking or trying to take ducks and geese. The federal duck stamp rule applies to waterfowl hunters age sixteen and older. When bought online through Florida’s licensing system, the digital federal stamp remains valid through June 30 of the next calendar year.
Public land can add another layer. A management area permit, quota permit, limited entry permit, refuge permit, or area brochure may be needed. Do not treat a license as a key to every marsh. Some doors need another key.
Limited Entry Waterfowl Permits
Florida uses special waterfowl permits for several high-demand public waterfowl hunts. A limited entry waterfowl permit is needed for designated hunts on Guana River, Ocklawaha Prairie, T.M. Goodwin and Broadmoor Marsh, A-1 FEB Impoundment, and all Stormwater Treatment Area public waterfowl sites.
Regular season waterfowl hunts at these sites are issued in permit periods known as A, B, and C. The application and permit cost is listed as zero, but a valid management area permit is normally needed to apply unless the hunter is exempt. These permits are not transferable. In plain words, the hunter named on the permit is the one who gets to use it.
Stormwater Treatment Areas can hold many ducks, but they are managed sites with tight access rules. Check the hunt packet, arrival time, parking rule, blind assignment, guest rule, and shell limit before driving. A missed check-in can hurt worse than a missed bird.
Wildlife Management Areas and Local Water Rules
Statewide duck dates do not always apply to Wildlife Management Areas. Each WMA has its own brochure, and that brochure can set dates, hunt days, check stations, boat rules, quota rules, motor rules, bag rules, and entry hours. The brochure is the map for that piece of ground.
Leon County and Lake Miccosukee have limited waterfowl hunt days during the regular duck season. In 2026-2027, waterfowl hunting there is allowed only on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays during regular duck season, plus November 26-27, December 24-25, December 31, January 1, and January 18. Lake Talquin and the Ochlockonee River remain open every day during the regular duck season.
In Hernando County, state Gulf waters north of Raccoon Point and east of Saddle Key, as marked by signs, allow duck, goose, and coot hunting only on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays during open seasons. Signs and local maps are part of the rule. The water may look open, but the calendar may say no.
Lake Miccosukee, Lake Iamonia, Carr Lake, and Blinds
Boat motor rules also matter in north Florida. During the regular duck season, internal combustion engines are barred on Lake Iamonia and Carr Lake, unless allowed by permit from the Executive Director. On Lake Miccosukee, internal combustion engines over ten horsepower are barred during those regular duck season dates.
Internal combustion motors and airboats may be used on those lakes during the September duck season and during youth, veteran, and military waterfowl hunt days. That does not mean they are allowed the same way in late December. Check the date before starting the motor.
On Lake Miccosukee, Lake Iamonia, Lake Jackson, and Carr Lake, it is illegal to hunt from or within thirty yards of a permanent duck blind. Temporary duck blinds are allowed if removed at the end of each hunt. A good temporary hide should vanish when the hunt ends, like tracks filling with water.
Shotguns and Legal Shot
Florida follows the federal migratory bird shotgun rule. A duck shotgun may not be larger than 10 gauge. It also may not hold more than three shells unless plugged with a one-piece filler that cannot be removed without taking the gun apart. For regular duck hunting, that means one shell in the chamber and two in the magazine.
Non-toxic shot is required for ducks, geese, and coots. A hunter may not take those birds while carrying shot, whether in shells or loose for muzzleloading, unless it is approved non-toxic shot. Steel, bismuth-tin, iron, and tungsten-alloy loads are common choices, but the load must be approved. Lead shot belongs at home, not in a Florida duck blind.
Baiting, Calls, Decoys, and Boats
Federal migratory bird baiting rules apply in Florida. A hunter may not hunt ducks by the aid of baiting, or on or over a baited area, when the hunter knows or reasonably should know the area is or has been baited. Bait can be grain, feed, salt, or other material placed to draw birds.
A baited area remains off limits for ten days after every bit of bait is gone. A few kernels under shallow water can still carry the law with them. Lawful flooded plants and lawfully handled fields are different from dumped grain, but the line can get sharp. Ask hard questions before hunting a new pond, farm, or impoundment.
Live birds cannot be used as decoys. Recorded or electrically amplified bird calls are banned for regular duck hunting. Hunters also may not use a motor vehicle, aircraft, motorboat, sailboat, or other craft to drive, stir up, or push birds into range.
A hunter may not shoot ducks from a motorboat or sailboat unless the motor is shut off, the sail is furled, and the boat’s movement from that power has stopped. A boat can be used to pick up dead or crippled birds under the rules, but shooting from powered motion is not the normal duck hunt. Ducks should come on their own wings.
Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days
Florida’s 2026-2027 youth waterfowl hunting days are November 14, 2026, and February 13, 2027. Only youth hunters age fifteen and younger may hunt ducks, light geese, Canada geese, mergansers, coots, and common gallinules on these days. The youth must be supervised by a non-hunting adult who is at least eighteen years old.
Bag and possession limits are the same as the regular season. No license or permit is required of the youth or supervising adult for the youth day itself. If an adult helps set decoys, call birds, or retrieve birds, that adult may need the normal license and permit set unless exempt. The adult may guide the morning, but only the youth may shoot waterfowl.
Veterans and Active Military Waterfowl Days
Florida’s 2026-2027 veteran and military waterfowl hunt days are February 6 and February 7, 2027. Only veterans and active-duty members of the Armed Forces, including National Guard and Reserve members, may hunt ducks, geese, mergansers, coots, and common gallinules on those dates.
Veteran and active military hunters need the normal hunting license, migratory bird permit, Florida waterfowl permit, and federal duck stamp or E-Stamp unless exempt. A guest who is not a veteran or active-duty service member may come along, but may not take or try to take waterfowl. If that guest helps with decoys, calling, or bird pickup, normal license and permit duties can apply.
Tagging, Dressing, and Transport
A hunter may not leave migratory birds at a place other than the hunter’s home, or in another person’s care for cleaning, storage, shipment, or taxidermy, unless the birds are tagged. The tag must be signed by the hunter and list the hunter’s address, total number of birds by species, and the date they were taken.
No one may receive or transport another hunter’s migratory birds unless they are properly tagged. This rule matters at camps, boat ramps, motels, and processors. A bag of birds with no name is like a boat with no plug. It may float for a little while, but trouble is coming.
When transporting ducks from the field, do not fully dress them so species cannot be checked. The head or one fully feathered wing must remain attached until the birds reach the hunter’s home or a bird-processing site. This helps officers check species and sex when limits depend on mallard hens, mottled ducks, scaup, sea ducks, or other capped birds.
Waste and Retrieval
Florida and federal migratory bird rules require a reasonable effort to retrieve dead or crippled birds. A bird that is reduced to possession must be kept in actual custody between the place taken and the hunter’s vehicle, lodging, home, processor, post office, or carrier site.
Warm weather makes bird care matter even more in Florida. Keep birds shaded and cool. Do not leave ducks in a hot truck bed while you run errands. Good bird care is part of a clean hunt. The meat should reach the table in good shape.
Private Land Permission
A hunting license does not give access to private land. Get landowner permission before crossing, parking, launching, setting decoys, cutting brush, or hunting a pond, canal, flooded pasture, or farm field. This includes private roads and banks used to reach water.
Written permission is best. Names, dates, access points, guest limits, and gate rules can keep everyone calm. Florida has a lot of water, but many good-looking spots sit behind private lines. Ducks do not care where a property line runs. Hunters have to care.
Common Florida Duck Hunting Mistakes
Many Florida duck hunting violations come from simple misses. A hunter uses old dates. A shotgun holds four shells. Lead shot sits in a blind bag from another hunt. Someone hunts a limited-entry STA without the right permit. A boat motor is used on a lake where it is barred during regular duck season. A hunter shoots a closed bird, miscounts scaup, or cleans ducks before leaving a wing attached.
The cure is steady habit. Check the current FWC migratory bird table. Read the WMA or refuge brochure. Confirm the date, shooting hours, permit, license, Florida waterfowl permit, federal stamp, shotgun plug, non-toxic shot, and species limit. Count birds by hunter. Tag birds that leave your hands. Keep a head or wing attached during transport. Ask for private land permission before crossing a gate.
Florida duck hunting has its own rhythm. It can be warm air, fast teal, black water, cypress knees, STA levees, salt wind, and a dog watching the sky. The rules do not take that magic away. They keep the day clean. Handle the law before daylight, and every bird on the strap says the same thing: taken in season, counted right, and carried home the proper way.