Coyote Hunting Alabama, Laws, Regulations, Season, & License Info

Coyote classification & license in Alabama

What is the classification of coyotes in Alabama?

Both a game animal and a furbearing animal — Alabama lists the coyote in each category.¹

The classification does almost no scoping work here, which is unusual. Alabama’s coyote rules are written about the coyote by name: the season line names it, the night season names it, and the night-optics exception names it. Read the species entries rather than reasoning from the label.

Are coyotes protected in Alabama?

No. The season entry is short:

BOBCAT(1,3), COYOTE(2), FOX AND FERAL SWINE(2): (Daytime Hours Only) — No Bag Limit · No Closed Season²

Note the parenthetical at the top. “Daytime Hours Only” is part of the season heading, not a footnote — night hunting is a different season with a different license.

Is a hunting license required to hunt coyotes in Alabama?

Yes, an Alabama hunting license for daylight hunting.

And a second license for the night season:

Must have a valid annual resident or nonresident nighttime feral swine and coyote hunting license²

The Nighttime Feral Swine and Coyote license is $18.50 for residents³ and $63.45 for non-residents, where it is “Required of all.”⁴ Holders of a 100% disabled hunting license pay $1.10.³

The prices above are resident prices. A non-resident pays more, and may need a different license — see what a non-resident needs.

Is hunter education required?

Yes, on the standard pattern. ADCNR requires anyone born on or after 1 August 1977 to complete an approved hunter education program before purchasing a license.⁵

The deferral is a status, not an exemption. The Alabama Wildlife Heritage Act of 2007 lets a license buyer hunt under “supervision required” status instead of passing the course, and the supervisor has to stay within normal voice control and no more than 30 feet away. The course is mandatory for anyone buying a license to hunt unsupervised.⁵

Can a non-resident hunt coyotes in Alabama?

Yes, on a non-resident hunting license — and the night season is expressly open to non-residents, since the rule names a “resident or nonresident nighttime feral swine and coyote hunting license.”²

See also is a hunting license required — the license rules there, and the exemptions and add-ons that go with them, apply to you too.

Season, hours & bag limits in Alabama

What is the season for coyote hunting in Alabama?

No closed season, no bag limit — daytime hours only under the general season.²

The night season is separate and dated. See the night season.

What is the bag limit for coyotes in Alabama?

None, day or night.²

What are the legal hunting hours for coyotes in Alabama?

Daylight hours, under the general season.² Alabama’s legal hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset for most species.⁶

The only route to a coyote after dark is the special nighttime season with its license.

Can you hunt coyotes during deer or big game season?

Yes — and the deer calendar is what defines the night season, so the two are wired together rather than in conflict:

Special Nighttime Season — Begins 12:00 am on the day after the last day of Gun Deer Season [in that Zone, and ends 30 minutes prior to the] opening day of Archery Deer Season in that Zone.²

The night season opens the moment gun deer season ends and closes the moment archery deer season opens. Alabama has deliberately fitted night predator hunting into the gap when the deer woods are empty — and because Alabama runs zones with different deer dates, your dates depend on your zone.

Hunter orange is required during gun deer season on the usual pattern — a full-size hunter orange or fluorescent pink hat, or at least 144 square inches, visible from any angle.⁷

And a dog rule that is easy to miss:

No running of dogs on open-permit lands during daytime or after 3:00 am during spring turkey season.²

The night season in Alabama

Can you hunt coyotes at night in Alabama?

Only inside the special nighttime season, on private or leased land, with the nighttime license. All three conditions apply at once:

FERAL SWINE AND COYOTE: (PRIVATELY OWNED AND LEASED LANDS ONLY) Special Nighttime Season — No Bag Limit · Begins 12:00 am on the day after the last day of Gun Deer Season [in that Zone] … Must have a valid annual resident or nonresident nighttime feral swine and coyote hunting license.²

Three things to note about how that is built:

The dates move by zone, because they are defined by the deer calendar rather than fixed. Check your zone’s gun deer close and archery deer open before every season — and check them on ADCNR’s own seasons page rather than in last year’s booklet, because that page carries the current entry and is the one the agency updates.⁸

“Privately owned and leased lands only.” There is no public-land night hunting for coyotes in Alabama — no WMA, no national forest, no open-permit land.

Feral swine has its own, different night season. The separate feral swine nighttime season — 8 May to 30 August 2027 — is dogs only, no firearms allowed.² Do not read that season’s dates or its dogs-only rule across to coyotes; they are different entries.

Can you use artificial lights for coyote hunting in Alabama?

Only inside the night season with the license. The general prohibition is broad and it covers possession as well as use:

It shall be unlawful for any person to hunt with a bow or gun that has a light source attached that is capable of casting a beam of light (not including a laser sight) forward of said bow or gun or to possess such a light source adapted for attachment to said bow or gun while hunting. Exceptions apply when a person possesses a current nighttime feral swine and coyote license and is hunting during the dates of the established nighttime feral swine and coyote season.⁹

Two details worth reading slowly. The prohibition reaches a light source you merely possess adapted for attachment — a gun light in the pack counts. And the parenthetical “(not including a laser sight)” carves laser sights out of this particular prohibition, which is a change from how Alabama’s rule was written for years. Do not assume a laser is treated the same way it was a decade ago; read the current text.

Can you use night vision or thermal in Alabama?

Only inside the night season with the license — and outside it, possession alone is the offence:

It shall be unlawful to possess any equipment that uses electronics to increase the ability to see in the dark (night vision/thermal) while hunting any species of wildlife, both protected and unprotected species, except during the special nighttime feral swine and coyote hunting season with a valid license.⁹

Read what that covers. It is not “may not use.” It is may not possess while hunting, and it applies to hunting any species — so carrying a thermal monocular while you sit a deer stand in November is a violation even though you never switch it on and never point it at a coyote.

This makes Alabama one of the strictest optics states in the Southeast for most of the year, and one of the more workable ones for the weeks the night season is open. For $18.50, that license is doing an enormous amount of work.

Are there specific weapons restrictions for hunting coyotes at night in Alabama?

No firearm restriction specific to the coyote night season. The dogs-only, no-firearms condition belongs to the feral swine nighttime season, not to the feral swine and coyote season.²

Fully automatic firearms are prohibited for hunting anything, at any hour.⁹

Firearms, ammunition & suppressors in Alabama

What firearms are allowed or restricted for coyote hunting in Alabama?

Broad. For fox, coyote and feral swine Alabama permits rifles of any caliber, handguns, shotguns of 10 gauge or smaller, long bows, compound bows and crossbows.

Hunting with fully automatic firearms is prohibited.⁹

Alabama also makes it an offence to refuse to submit firearms, ammunition or any hunting accessory to a Conservation Enforcement Officer for inspection — worth knowing before a roadside conversation.⁹

Are suppressors allowed for coyote hunting in Alabama?

Yes. Alabama has permitted hunting with a lawfully owned suppressor since 2014, and the current digest imposes no restriction on their use. What governs is federal: ATF Form 4, a $200 stamp and the wait.

Are there any ammunition restrictions?

None specific to coyotes. Alabama’s shot-size and plug requirements are migratory bird and waterfowl rules.⁹

Can you hunt using a .22 LR or other rimfire cartridge?

Yes. Rifles of any caliber are permitted for coyote. A rimfire is legal and undergunned; a centerfire is the better choice.

Note that the .22 rimfire and No. 6 shot ceiling people sometimes quote for Alabama night hunting belongs to the raccoon and opossum night rules, not to the coyote night season.⁹

Is there a magazine capacity limit for hunting coyotes in Alabama?

No. Alabama sets no magazine capacity limit for coyote hunting. The three-shell plug requirement is a migratory bird rule.⁹ A standard AR-15 is lawful.

Calls, decoys, bait & dogs in Alabama

Are electronic calls allowed for coyote hunting in Alabama?

Yes, for predators. Alabama’s historic restriction confined electronic predator calls to daylight during the open season for that species; with the nighttime season now established and licensed, confirm the current wording with ADCNR before running a caller after dark.

Are decoys allowed for coyote hunting in Alabama?

Yes, including motion decoys. Nothing in the digest restricts decoys for predators.

Is baiting allowed for coyote hunting in Alabama?

On public land, no:

Hunting with the aid of bait is prohibited on public lands (including WMA, SOA, USFWS, USFS, TVA, Corp. of Engineers and public [lands]).¹⁰

On private land, Alabama’s baiting framework is built around a license — and it is written for deer and feral swine, not coyotes. The Bait Privilege License “allows taking of white-tailed deer or feral swine by aid of bait” and is required of all ages with no exemptions — $65.25 for non-residents.⁴

Because that license names two species and the coyote is not one of them, confirm the position for coyotes with ADCNR before baiting rather than reading the deer framework across. And note the contamination point regardless: baited ground is baited ground for deer, and hunting deer over it without the privilege license is the offence.

Can you use dogs to hunt coyotes in Alabama?

Yes, with a spring turkey restriction that is oddly specific:

No running of dogs on open-permit lands during daytime or after 3:00 am during spring turkey season.²

Alabama has a deep hound tradition and the rule is aimed at keeping dogs out of turkey woods in the morning rather than at discouraging the practice.

Private property, vehicles & public land access in Alabama

Is it legal to shoot coyotes on private property (e.g. in your backyard) in Alabama?

On rural private land, yes — and private or leased land is the only place the night season exists.²

In town, municipal discharge ordinances govern.

Can you hunt coyotes from a motorized vehicle in Alabama?

No, and the prohibition is unusually broad:

[It is illegal to] concentrate, drive, rally, molest, hunt, take, capture or kill any bird or animal from or by the aid of any automobile, ATV, aircraft, train, motor boat, sail boat or any other type mechanically propelled device.¹¹

You may hunt from a stationary vehicle or vessel “once the motor is shut off and all forward motion has ceased,” but it is not legal to hunt from a vehicle on a public road.¹¹

Alabama also prohibits hunting or discharging a firearm across a public road or railroad.¹¹

Can you hunt coyotes on public land in Alabama?

By day, yes, on WMAs and other public land subject to each area’s rules and any required permit. Baiting is prohibited on all of it.¹⁰

At night, no. The nighttime feral swine and coyote season is privately owned and leased land only.² If you do not have private permission, Alabama is a daylight state.

Is it legal to trap or snare coyotes in Alabama?

Yes, by the landowner or their agent:

Coyote and Feral Swine — trapping by landowner or his/her agent.²

That is narrower than a general trapping right — the entry ties coyote trapping to the landowner relationship rather than to a trapping license alone. Confirm your arrangement with ADCNR before setting.

There is also a permit route outside the season, listed against the beaver, coyote, nutria, feral swine, raccoon and opossum trapping entry:

No Closed Season. Note: Permit may be obtained through your local district office for the trapping of nuisance furbearers outside the dates of trapping season.¹²

If you are dealing with a depredation problem out of season, that district office permit is the mechanism rather than an exemption you can assume.

Upon capture it is unlawful to release any live feral swine; the same caution applies to moving live animals generally.²

Is it legal to poison coyotes in Alabama?

No. Alabama prohibits taking wildlife with explosives and poisons, and predator toxicants are restricted-use pesticides handled through USDA Wildlife Services rather than by private individuals.¹¹

Are there protected areas or additional local restrictions in Alabama?

Yes, four kinds:

• All public land at night, closed to the coyote night season.²
• Public land baiting, prohibited everywhere including WMA, USFWS, USFS, TVA and Corps of Engineers land.¹⁰
• Open-permit lands, where dog running is restricted during spring turkey season.²
• Municipal ordinances near towns.

After the shot: pelts, bounties & contests in Alabama

Are there regulations for possessing or transporting dead coyotes or pelts across state lines?

No tag or check-in for coyotes. Alabama’s tagging requirement in this group attaches to bobcat, not to coyote.²

Check the receiving state’s import rules before hauling carcasses across a line.

Can you sell coyote pelts, and do you need a fur handler’s license?

Coyote is a furbearing animal in Alabama, so the commercial fur rules reach it. Selling your own lawfully taken hides to a licensed buyer is the ordinary route; buying or dealing at volume is a licensed activity. Confirm with ADCNR before a first sale.

Alabama coyote fur is short and thin — this is a predator-control state, not a fur state.

Is there a coyote bounty program in Alabama?

No state bounty. ADCNR does not pay per animal.

County and landowner-association programs appear locally from time to time; verify with the county, because the state publishes no list.

Are coyote contests legal in Alabama, or can I hunt in Alabama for an out-of-state contest?

Yes to both. Alabama has not restricted predator hunting contests.

Three scheduling points, and Alabama has the most awkward calendar of any Southeastern state for this. A night round requires every participant to hold the nighttime feral swine and coyote license, to be on private or leased land, and to be inside the season — which begins the day after gun deer season ends and closes when archery deer season opens, on zone-specific dates.² A night round outside that window is not merely unlicensed; participants carrying thermal are committing a possession offence.⁹ And hunter orange applies to any daylight round during gun deer season.⁷

Coyotes in Alabama

Are there coyotes in Alabama? How many, and where?

Yes, in all 67 counties. Coyotes are established across every Alabama habitat — the Tennessee Valley farmland, the Appalachian foothills, the Black Belt prairie, the pine plantations of the south, and the suburbs of Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile.

The Black Belt and the Tennessee Valley give the most open calling ground; the pine country holds plenty of coyotes in cover that makes them harder to work. ADCNR publishes no population estimate.

Are Alabama coyotes dangerous to people or pets?

To people, very rarely. To livestock, poultry and pets they are a routine problem, and fawn predation is the concern that drives most landowner interest — Alabama’s deer management culture is the reason the night season exists at all.

Unattended small pets on the suburban fringe are at genuine risk.

When is coyote mating season in Alabama, and when do pups arrive?

Breeding runs January into February, with pups born in April in litters of five to seven. In Alabama’s climate pups move early and juveniles disperse from late summer.

The night season lands squarely on the breeding season, because it opens the day after gun deer season closes — late January or February depending on your zone. That is the best calling of the year anywhere: territorial pairs, aggressive response to howls, and prime fur.

When are coyotes most active in Alabama?

First and last light year-round, with heavy night movement. Heat pushes activity into the dark for much of the year, which is exactly why the night license is worth its price to anyone hunting Alabama seriously.

For the full breakdown of season, weather and moon phase, see when to hunt coyotes.

Are there black coyotes in Alabama?

Yes, and Alabama is prime country for them. Melanistic coyotes are reported regularly across the Southeast, and the trait traces to historical hybridization with domestic dogs — considerably more common here than in the West.

There is no separate rule for a black coyote. It is a coyote, on the same season and the same limits.

These answers get re-checked before they go stale. The verification date at the top of the page is the record of when that last happened, not decoration.

Anything else worth noting about coyote hunting in Alabama

Alabama is two different states depending on whether you hold one $18.50 license. Without it: daylight only, and thermal is contraband in your pack. With it, inside the season, on private ground: lights, night vision and thermal, no bag limit, no caliber restriction.

Five things to get right:

Possession is the offence, not use. Night vision and thermal may not be possessed while hunting any species outside the night season. Leaving it in the pack is not a defense.

Your night season dates depend on your zone. It begins the day after gun deer season ends and closes when archery deer season opens, and Alabama’s zones do not share dates.

Private and leased land only. No public-land night hunting for coyotes anywhere in Alabama.

Do not read the feral swine night season across. That one is 8 May to 30 August 2027, dogs only, no firearms. It is a different entry from the feral swine and coyote season.

Check the baiting position before you bait. The Bait Privilege License names deer and feral swine. Coyote is not on it.

Is it legal to own a coyote as a pet in Alabama?

No. Alabama regulates the possession of native wildlife and a coyote is not an animal a private individual may keep as a pet. Permits exist for rehabilitation, exhibition and research rather than for pets, and municipal ordinances add their own prohibitions.

If you have found an orphaned pup, contact ADCNR at (334) 242-3486 or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator rather than keeping it.

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