# DNR can’t find my hunter safety



## GVDocHoliday (Sep 5, 2003)

They were unable to find mine. 

I was able to provide them all then information . Instructor, instructor number, date and location of certification...and even a work out copy of my old, fades, barely legible certificate. 11-10-1994 was when I got my certificate.

They sure did try though. Several phone calls back and forth. The individual in records said I was able to provide enough information though that they can issue me a new certificate and create a new file. 

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk


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## bearman49709 (Jun 1, 2008)

brookie1 said:


> I took the class the first year it was offered in 1971 and was able to get a duplicate, but this was years ago. I mailed in the request twice as they said they couldn't find it the first time. I guess it just took someone with enough motivation to go through paper records and find it. The certificate number is seven digits with a couple of dashes thrown in.


I just got mine out to check it. I took it on 6-5-71, it has five numbers with no dashes.


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

The way it works is the student takes the class, takes and passes the test, then is issued a HS cert. The student fills out a bubble sheet (hopefully correctly) where you fill in the bubbles with a #2 pencil with pertinent data and that data is put into the system in Lansing. If somewhere in that chain of events something fails, then the DNR doesn't have the student data on file, but the student still has the cert. 

It used to be that a written affidavit would suffice to get issued another cert. Not sure if that's still the case. I can tell you with certainty that if the OP lived nearby, we'd get this matter taken care of in an hour or less. If Rudy can't help you as I mentioned above, then I would check with an instructor at your local gun club.

I took mine in '75. Lost the card somewhere over the years and when I went to go out west hunting, I found out I actually needed it. I told Wyoming Game & Fish that I have been an instructor for several years. No dice. I needed that cert. So I contacted Lansing and viola! I got it in 3 days.


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## hippysss57 (Aug 28, 2008)

I had the same thing , went to Bay City DNR and took a written test. Done deal.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

ramitupurs84 said:


> I emailed Rudy to ask what the next steps are. I know where I took it and who my shooting partner was. I remember how I saw a guy shoot a Brown Bess. It was a cool expierence. I do not have a problem doing a online class. I just cringe at the “field day” piece. Just burning a weekend to do it is the crappy part. I am not a veteran/active military.


The Texas online class does not require a field day for adults.


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Forest Meister said:


> Thanks for invaluable info Canvsbk. What you are saying scares me and could potentially cause a person a world of headaches.
> 
> Let's say a person is hunting where a hunter safety course is required and gets checked by a LEO that requests to see your card. No problem, you whip it out but for some reason he or she is suspicious. Maybe the card is well worn, or torn, or a bit water damaged, or maybe you are not carrying the original but merely a computer copy because you don't want to lose your card. Anyhow, he or she checks with the Michigan DNR and they have no record of you. If I were an officer it would appear to me as an open and shut case and since the hunter is obviously from out of state I would likely seize the firearm or bow at least until the fine were paid.
> 
> I'm thinking it might be prudent to see if the state still has my records while I still have my hunter safety card safely in my desk....or is it?. FM


If a Hunter Safety certificate is required in order to buy a hunting license, isn't it saeft to assume that the hunter who possesses a hunting license had taken a Hunter Safety class and has a certificate?


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

^^Good question...and unfortunately the answer is no, at least here in MI. Store clerks hardly ever ask or care. And now with the Mentor and Apprentice license it clouds the whole issue anyway. When a person was asked for their HS cert when buying a license and couldn't produce it, then the previous years license was used or an affidavit was given to prove they took the class. Not sure if that's the case now.

In CO and WY you have to have the HS number to apply for a license, so yes it is safe to assume they have an HS cert. I seriously think MI should do this as well.


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## imjon (Apr 6, 2007)

When I was in Colorado this past fall I stopped by the Steamboat Springs office and validated my HS cert. Once that's done you don't need to carry it with you again in their state. Doesn't matter that I've hunted in Colorado a bunch of times either. Still had to validate it.
Check if it's the same in the states you want to hunt.


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Petronius said:


> If a Hunter Safety certificate is required in order to buy a hunting license, isn't it saeft to assume that the hunter who possesses a hunting license had taken a Hunter Safety class and has a certificate?


Reread my second paragraph....You have a card but for whatever reason the CO isn't satisfied with what he or she sees and decides to check with the Michigan DNR to see if the HS card is actually valid. When he or she does the state has no record of you having taken the course. What now?

Another potential issue could occur a person forgot the HS card at home, even though most states require you to have it on your person. The understanding CO (after chewing you a new one and telling you he could write you paper if he wanted to) agrees to check with the state of Michigan....which has no record of your taking the course. What then? FM


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Forest Meister said:


> Reread my second paragraph....You have a card but for whatever reason the CO isn't satisfied with what he or she sees and decides to check with the Michigan DNR to see if the HS card is actually valid. When he or she does the state has no record of you having taken the course. What now?
> 
> Another potential issue could occur a person forgot the HS card at home, even though most states require you to have it on your person. The understanding CO (after chewing you a new one and telling you he could write you paper if he wanted to) agrees to check with the state of Michigan....which has no record of your taking the course. What then? FM


I have never heard of any conservation officer in Michigan or any other state check a hunters Hunter Safety card. How does a conservation officer check an in state or out of state card on weekends or holidays, anytime the state offices are closed?


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Petronius said:


> I have never heard of any conservation officer in Michigan or any other state check a hunters Hunter Safety card. How does a conservation officer check an in state or out of state card on weekends or holidays, anytime the state offices are closed?


Seriously? Have you never heard of a person being cited after an investigation was conducted? Happens all the time. Ask any LEO. FM


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Forest Meister said:


> Seriously? Have you never heard of a person being cited after an investigation was conducted? Happens all the time. Ask any LEO. FM


There is no law in Michigan that requires a hunter to carry or show a hunter safety card while hunting. In fact, the law has a few exceptions to showing proof of completion of a hunter safety class when buying a license.


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## ART (Jul 7, 2004)

Forest Meister said:


> Seriously? Have you never heard of a person being cited after an investigation was conducted? Happens all the time. Ask any LEO. FM


The card is a requirement to purchase the license, why would an officer need to see your card....the state already did...
I was checked a couple times in colorado..never asked to see the card, just the license..


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Hey guys, why are you whipping on me? Just trying to help keeps folks who go out of state from getting in hot water but as the old saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished".

Art, I have no idea why an officer would need to see your card when hunting in a state that already requires you to produce it when you buy the license but I don't make the rules. If you read what it says in the Colorado regs, as example, you will see they require most hunters need to do both. 

Petronius, I do not have the inclination to check the Michigan law as it pertains to Hunter Education since it does not apply to me so I will assume you are 100% correct. That said, I know for a fact that one must carry the certificate in the field in at least some of the other states that require hunter safety. Colorado, as mentioned above, and Wyoming for another. In fact, a check of the Wyoming website quickly revealed the following as one of the ten most common wildlife violations:
*
Failure to produce a hunter safety card.*
_No person born on or after January 1, 1966 may take any wildlife by the use of firearms on land other than that of his/her own family unless they possess and can exhibit a hunter safety card. All hunters in Grand Teton National Park are required to possess a hunter safety certificate regardless of age. There are some exemptions to this requirement, check the regulations for further information._


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## Petronius (Oct 13, 2010)

Forest Meister said:


> Hey guys, why are you whipping on me? Just trying to help keeps folks who go out of state from getting in hot water but as the old saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished".
> 
> Art, I have no idea why an officer would need to see your card when hunting in a state that already requires you to produce it when you buy the license but I don't make the rules. If you read what it says in the Colorado regs, as example, you will see they require most hunters need to do both.
> 
> ...


Yep, the first poster is going to hunt in Wyoming. I looked it up and Wyoming requires the hunter to produce the Hunter Safety card in the field when asked. The Wyoming laws explicitly states that, but Michigan law does not.


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

Petronius said:


> I have never heard of any conservation officer in Michigan or any other state check a hunters Hunter Safety card. How does a conservation officer check an in state or out of state card on weekends or holidays, anytime the state offices are closed?


Perhaps that have this on an in house data base just like your hunting and fishing license are.


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

Some Colorado info: for those over age 50. 

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Hunting/HunterEd/HunterEducation-FAQs.pdf


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## hunterjoeMI (Jan 20, 2010)

If you hunt out of state you better have all your info -- Divers License, Hunter Safety Card, kill tags, Hunting License! I been checked three times in Colorado! Each time they went right down that list when i was checked. Not a problem and nice officers each time. 

As a side note make sure you know the evidence of sex laws and Chronic Wasting laws!


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## mark.n.chip (Jun 16, 2007)

I went to buy a Nebraska hunting license. I did not have my hunter safety cert. but I did have my hunter safety instructor card. They would not except it. I had to have my wife get my student card and fax it to Cabela's in Sydney.


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## SuperHunter18 (Oct 23, 2004)

We were checked by the Game Warden in Wyoming this year and were not asked to provide our hunters safety cards. We had them in our hands and were ready to hand over when he was checking our licenses (because it definitely says in the regs the hunters safety card needs to be in your possession when hunting in Wyoming) but he said I am good, you can put those away.

I too lost my card and tried to get a replacement from the online form and it could not be located. I just called the number and talked to the guy and he was able locate my info, send me a new one and even update my address. Then, just for the heck of it, I went an tried the online forma again and it found my info.....

You should be able to call and get things squared away.


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