ParcelVisionMaryland Hunting Laws
Every rule below links to the statute or the official Maryland source we checked it against. Where a rule has exceptions, they're in the small print under it.
| Topic | Maryland rule |
|---|---|
| Safety zone around buildings | 150 yards (firearm); 50–100 yd archery in some counties |
| Posting requirements | Not required for hunting — written permission always needed |
| Purple paint | No — blue paint (2×8 in., 3–6 ft high) |
| Landowner permission | Yes — all counties |
| Retrieving game or dogs | No — written permission required |
| Hunting trespass penalties | Up to $500 / 90 days (1st offense) |
| Landowner license exemption | Yes — farmland owners/tenants |
| Hunter education | Required unless licensed before 7/1/1977 |
| Blaze orange | Cap OR 250 sq in vest OR 50% camo; pink allowed |
| Legal shooting hours | ½ hr before sunrise to ½ hr after sunset |
| Sunday hunting | Varies by county |
| Baiting deer | Private land: legal; state land: illegal |
| Crossbows in archery season | Yes — all hunters, all deer seasons |
| Hunting near roads | No shooting on/from/across paved highways |
| Night hunting | Deer: No; coyotes: Yes |
| Drones | Prohibited; recovery allowed w/ NRP call |
| Trail cameras | No limit; no bark-piercing mounts on state land |
| Landowner liability | Yes — free recreational use |
Maryland trespass and posting laws
What makes land legally posted in Maryland?
Posting is not needed to require permission, because Maryland requires written permission to hunt any private land. Posting conspicuously with signs placed where they can reasonably be seen, or with approved paint marks, makes any entry criminal trespass.
Paint marks must be at each road entrance and along public roads, waterways and adjoining land. Entering after being told personally not to is a separate offense (Crim. Law § 6-403).
Source: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-402; Nat. Res. § 10-411 · official source
Does Maryland have a purple paint law?
No. Maryland uses bright blue paint, not purple. Marks must be vertical stripes of oil-based bright blue paint at least 2 inches wide and 8 inches long, centered 3 to 6 feet above the ground or water.
Paint marks must be at each road entrance and next to public roads, public waterways and adjoining land.
Source: Md. Code, Crim. Law § 6-402(a)(2); DNR regulation under Nat. Res. § 5-209(e) · official source
Do you need written permission to hunt private land in Maryland?
Yes. In every county you need written permission from the landowner, or the owner's agent or lessee, to hunt or trap on private property.
Hunters are liable for any damage they cause to the property (§ 10-411(b)).
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-411(a) · official source
Can you retrieve a deer or a hunting dog from posted land in Maryland?
No. You need written permission to enter land owned by another person or organization to retrieve a deer. Leashed dogs or drones may help find a dead or wounded deer, but you must call Natural Resources Police (800-628-9944) before tracking after hours.
Some publicly owned properties also require permission before entry.
Source: 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, p. 16 · official source
What is the penalty for hunting trespass in Maryland?
Trespassing on posted land, or after being told not to, is a misdemeanor with up to 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine for a first offense. A second offense within 2 years carries up to 6 months and/or $1,000, and further offenses up to 1 year and/or $2,500.
Hunting without written permission violates Nat. Res. § 10-411. Wildlife-law misdemeanors carry up to a $1,500 fine, or $4,000 and/or 1 year for a repeat within 2 years (§ 10-1101). In Harford County the fine is $25–$250.
Source: Md. Code, Crim. Law §§ 6-402(b), 6-403(c) · official source
Maryland hunting safety rules
How close to a house can you hunt in Maryland?
A hunter (other than the owner or occupant) may not shoot within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling, church, or other building or camp, or shoot at game inside that zone, without the owner's or occupant's advance permission. No hunter may fire a gun within 300 yards of a school during school hours or school activities.
The archery safety zone is 50 yards in Allegany, Baltimore City, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Montgomery, St. Mary's, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester counties, and 100 yards in Anne Arundel. Harford, Montgomery and Washington archers must be elevated between 50 and 100 yards.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-410(g) · official source
Can you hunt from or near a road in Maryland?
You may not shoot at wildlife on, from or across any paved public highway or its shoulder, or from any automobile or other vehicle. In Kent and Queen Anne's counties, shooting from any public road, paved or unpaved, is prohibited.
Loaded long guns and shotguns may not be kept in a vehicle while hunting. Disabled hunters with a special permit are exempt from the vehicle rule.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-410(c), (f) · official source
What are legal shooting hours in Maryland?
Deer may be hunted from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
Some Sundays in some counties end at 10:30 a.m. You may dispatch a deer wounded that evening after hours with a light, but must notify Natural Resources Police first.
Source: 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, p. 16 · official source
What are the blaze orange requirements in Maryland?
Anyone hunting any wildlife, and anyone helping them, must wear one of these: a solid fluorescent orange or pink cap, a vest or jacket with at least 250 square inches of solid orange or pink front and back, or a camo-orange or pink top that is at least 50% fluorescent.
Exempt: deer archers during archery-only season (except in bear season in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington), and hunters of waterfowl, furbearers, crows, doves and turkeys. Enclosed ground blinds 4 ft or lower need an orange or pink cap or 250 sq in panel within 25 ft. Landowners hunting their own land must comply.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-418 · official source
Is night hunting legal in Maryland?
No game bird or mammal except raccoon and opossum may be hunted at night, and hunting at night with a light or casting a light from a vehicle onto fields, woods or wildlife is illegal. Coyotes may be hunted day and night, year-round, in all counties.
Foxes, raccoons, opossums and coyotes may be hunted on foot at night with a dog and light during open season.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-410(b), (e); 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, pp. 14, 55 · official source
Maryland licenses, hunter education and Sunday hunting
Do you need a hunting license to hunt your own land in Maryland?
Resident owners of farmland, their spouses, children and children's spouses do not need a hunting license or deer stamps to hunt that farmland. Tenants who lease or sharecrop and live on the land, and their families, are also exempt.
Children must be young enough for a junior license unless other conditions apply. Employees of the owner are not tenants. Some nonresident owners of farms straddling the state line also qualify. Landowners must still wear fluorescent orange or pink and check their deer.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-301(c) · official source
Who needs hunter education in Maryland?
First-time hunters must present a Certificate of Competency in Firearms and Hunting Safety to buy a license. You are exempt if you held a hunting license, or legally hunted license-free, before July 1, 1977. An Apprentice License (one time for adults, yearly for juniors) needs only a short online course, but you must hunt next to a resident mentor 18 or older.
Nonresidents hunting waterfowl only on a 3-day license are exempt. Certificates from other states are accepted. The online course with a field day is available to those 13 and older.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-301.1; 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, p. 8 · official source
Is Sunday hunting legal in Maryland?
Sunday hunting is allowed only where and when state law permits, and it varies by county. Many counties allow all-day or morning-only (sunrise to 10:30 a.m.) Sunday deer hunting on certain Sundays. Sunday hunting is banned in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard and Prince George's counties, and statewide for migratory birds and in state parks.
Sunday hunting on DNR public land is limited to a short list of counties. Deer management permit holders, falconers and junior hunts have exceptions. See DNR's Sunday deer hunting chart each season.
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. § 10-410(a) · official source
Maryland baiting, crossbow, drone and trail camera rules
Is it legal to bait deer in Maryland?
It is legal to bait deer except on state-owned or state-controlled property. Turkeys may never be hunted over bait, including bait put out for deer.
Check the CWD section of the guide for any area-specific feeding restrictions.
Source: 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, pp. 14, 16 · official source
Can you use a crossbow during archery season in Maryland?
Yes. Archery equipment, including crossbows, may be used to hunt deer in every deer season. The only exception is Primitive Deer Hunt Days, when crossbows are banned.
Crossbows for deer must have at least a 75 lb draw and broadheads at least 7/8 inch wide. A loaded crossbow may not be in, on or leaning against a vehicle.
Source: 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, pp. 16, 26 · official source
Can you use a drone to scout or recover game in Maryland?
It is illegal to use a drone to hunt, trap, pursue, locate, drive or flush game. You also may not scout with a drone and then hunt that property within 24 hours of the last flight. Drones may be used to recover a wounded or dead animal if you call Natural Resources Police (800-628-9944) before and after the search.
New for 2026-27. Drone operators must also follow federal, state and local drone laws. Hunting from aircraft is separately banned (Nat. Res. § 10-410(j)).
Source: 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, p. 14 (new regulation) · official source
Are trail cameras restricted in Maryland?
Maryland has no general trail-camera restriction. On state lands, you may not pierce a tree's bark to mount a camera or tree stand.
Permission rules for private land still apply.
Source: 2026-27 Maryland Guide to Hunting & Trapping, p. 14 · official source
Maryland landowner liability
Is a landowner liable if someone gets hurt hunting on their land in Maryland?
A landowner who lets people hunt or recreate for free does not guarantee the land is safe or owe them a duty of care. Maryland's hunting statute also says a landowner is not liable for accidental injury to a hunter, whether or not permission was given.
No protection for willful or malicious failure to guard or warn, or when a fee is charged (land leased to the State excepted) (§ 5-1106).
Source: Md. Code, Nat. Res. §§ 5-1101 to 5-1109; § 10-411(c) · official source
Season dates and bag limits
Seasons, zones and bag limits change every year, and some change mid-season. Get them straight from the source: the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service current hunting regulations.
Hunting near a state line? Laws change at the border: Pennsylvania hunting laws, Delaware hunting laws, Virginia hunting laws, West Virginia hunting laws.
Find the parcel you hunt: Maryland property boundaries by county · Maryland parcel maps.
Know Which Side of the Line You're On
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This page summarizes Maryland law for general information and isn't legal advice. Laws and regulations change; each rule links to the official source it was checked against on October 7, 2026. Confirm current rules with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service before you hunt. ParcelVision is a visualization aid, not a legal survey.