Hunter Education/Firearms Safety Certification for Youth

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Hurry! Classes fill quickly!

The DNR and its volunteer instructors hold hundreds of the various classes and certify thousands of students every year:

  • Firearms safety: Nearly 800 classes and more than 23,000 number of students certified
  • ATV safety: Approximately 150 classes and more than 2,600 number of students certified
  • Snowmobile safety: More than 200 classes and 4,000 number of students certified

While classes are held in every part of Minnesota, each year there are people who can't obtain certification - or must travel a long distance - because they waited too long to sign up for an open class. Still want to wait? Then consider signing up to receive an email whenever new classes are added.

Classroom course

  • Students ages 11 and older can attend a classroom-based firearms safety certification course and receive their certificate. The firearms safety certificate becomes valid at age 12.
    • The firearms safety class consists of a minimum of 4 separate class sessions (students must attend the entire class for which they sign up), learning the safe handling of firearms, hunter responsibility and wildlife conservation. Students then complete the additional field day.  
    • The field day consists of seven required scenario-based training opportunities. These scenarios allow students to learn and demonstrate commonly accepted principles of safety in hunting and the handling of firearms. It includes shooting a .22 caliber rifle on a range.
    • The DNR course fee is $7.50, payable on-line after successful completion of course requirements. (The instructor may charge a fee of up to $7.50 at the class or field day for any costs they incur.)

Hybrid course

  • Students age 11 and older may complete their online hunter safety course at online hunter safety course (link is external).
    • Then, attend an in-person classroom review and firearms fundamentals session.
    • Students will finish with the field day portion.

Field days fill up quickly! Register your child for an in-person field day now while they complete their online course.

NOTE: Students ages 12 and older who want to hunt this fall but cannot complete their in-person field day are encouraged to use the apprentice hunter validation.

REMINDER:
Check now to make sure you have your firearms safety certificate. If you’ve misplaced it, see the “General information” below for instructions on obtaining a duplicate.

Minnesota recognizes certificates for firearms safety training that are issued by other states.

Firearms Safety Certification for Adults (16 and older).

Outdoor News Magazine special for youth

General information

  • Purchase a duplicate firearms safety certificate online or wherever hunting and fishing licenses are sold.
  • For more information or assistance with purchasing a duplicate safety certificate:
  • To have your firearms safety certification added to your Minnesota Driver’s License, bring your firearms certificate to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when you renew your driver’s license and request them to check the box to add it as an endorsement.
Receive updates when new courses are added to our safety training calendar.

Find (and sort) more courses on the DNR Safety Training Calendar!

Courses

To view detailed information about a class or field day, click on its title.

Scroll table right to see more »
​DateTitleLocationCounty
09/12/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Waubun Mahnomen
09/12/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Rochester Olmsted
09/13/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Grand Rapids Itasca
09/13/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Montevideo Chippewa
09/13/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Morristown Rice
09/13/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Lewiston Winona
09/13/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Hawley Clay
09/16/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class Pequot Lakes Crow Wing
09/16/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class Fairmont Martin
09/16/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class South Haven Wright
09/19/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Pequot Lakes Crow Wing
09/20/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Bemidji Beltrami
09/20/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Pine City Pine
09/20/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class St Joseph Stearns
09/20/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Hadley Murray
09/20/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Hill City Aitkin
09/20/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Marshall Lyon
09/21/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Sleepy Eye Brown
09/22/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class Zimmerman Sherburne
09/27/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Nowthen Anoka
09/27/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class E. Grand Forks Polk
09/29/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class Princeton Mille Lacs
10/04/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Morristown Rice
10/04/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Zimmerman Sherburne
10/04/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Pine City Pine
10/04/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Osage Becker
10/06/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class Cass Lake Cass
10/06/25 Firearms Safety Classroom Class Luverne Rock
10/09/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Isanti Isanti
10/11/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class St Joseph Stearns
10/11/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Isanti Isanti
10/11/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class McGregor Aitkin
10/11/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Sauk Centre Stearns
10/13/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Hugo Washington
10/16/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Grand Rapids Itasca
10/25/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Rochert Becker
10/26/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Rochert Becker
10/26/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class McGregor Aitkin
12/22/25 Firearms Safety Hybrid Class Grand Rapids Itasca

There are organizations that include the DNR Firearms Safety Training class as part of an event or membership package they offer. The DNR firearms safety training fee is $7.50, with an option for the instructor group to charge an additional $7.50. However, these other programs have additional costs set by the providing organization.

Organizations offering a DNR firearms safety class

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