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Ontario Hunter Education Practice Test 2026 – Free Ontario Hunter Education Questions

Original questions written from the official Ontario handbook, with an explanation for every answer.

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  • 148 questions
  • 6 practice tests
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Is it legal to have a loaded firearm on an ATV or snowmobile while hunting?

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All Ontario Hunter Education practice tests

6 sets of 25 questions. Each set is fixed, so you can repeat it until you score 100%.

Exam facts

Key facts: Ontario Hunter Education Course Exam (OHEP)

Free practice tests for the Ontario Hunter Education Course exam, the test most new hunters must pass before they can buy an Ontario hunting licence. Every question is original, explains the rule behind the answer and cites the 2026 Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary, ontario.ca or federal firearms safety material. No sign-up, no limits, and your progress stays on your device.

Important: the Ontario Hunter Education Manual is sold by the program and we never copy it. Our questions come from free government sources and focus on hunting laws and regulations, safe and ethical hunting, hunter orange and hunting hours, tags and reporting, land access, wildlife management and wildlife health. Firearm content is limited to safety, ethics and the hunting regulations.

What the test covers

Topics and question bank

Every question is tagged to one topic from the official handbook. Pick a topic to drill just that area.

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Sample Ontario Hunter Education questions

Tap a question to see the answer. The full interactive test is at the top of the page.
  1. 1Is it legal to have a loaded firearm on an ATV or snowmobile while hunting?
    • A. No
    • B. Yes, if the safety is on
    • C. Yes, on private land with permission
    • D. Yes, if the engine is turned off

    It is illegal to have a loaded firearm in or on, or to discharge a firearm from, a vehicle, including snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.

  2. 2When must you notch (invalidate) your tag after killing a deer?
    • A. Within 24 hours, before butchering it
    • B. Immediately, at the kill site, before moving it
    • C. When you get the deer back to your camp
    • D. Before you leave the Wildlife Management Unit on the way home

    You must notch the day, month and time on the tag immediately after the kill, at the site of the kill and before moving the animal.

  3. 3Where in Ontario is it illegal to shoot from or across a public road?
    • A. Only during the deer and elk gun seasons
    • B. Only in southern Ontario counties and cities
    • C. Only within city limits and towns
    • D. Everywhere in Ontario

    You must not discharge a firearm from or across the travelled portion of a right of way for public vehicular traffic anywhere in Ontario.

  4. 4During bear season, how close to a public road or marked trail may bear bait be placed?
    • A. No closer than 300 metres
    • B. No closer than 5 metres
    • C. No closer than 30 metres
    • D. There is no rule for roads

    Bait for bear hunting may not be placed within 30 m of a public road or a marked recreational trail, within 500 m of a public building, or within 500 m of a dwelling without the owner's written permission.

  5. 5A moose is swimming across a lake. May you shoot it from shore?
    • A. Yes, but only with a centre-fire rifle
    • B. Yes, once it is within 50 metres of shore
    • C. Yes, if you are standing on solid ground
    • D. No, big game may not be hunted while swimming

    You may not hunt moose, elk, deer or black bear while they are swimming.

  6. 6Why does Ontario restrict bringing in whole deer carcasses harvested in other provinces?
    • A. Because out-of-province deer meat cannot be eaten in Ontario
    • B. To make hunters buy Ontario tags instead
    • C. To prevent chronic wasting disease from entering Ontario
    • D. To protect the price of venison sold in Ontario

    To prevent the introduction of CWD, Ontario restricts importing and possessing whole carcasses and high-risk parts of cervids harvested elsewhere.

  7. 7What is the maximum fine for a general offence under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act?
    • A. $25,000
    • B. $250,000
    • C. $5,000
    • D. $1,000

    General FWCA offences can bring fines up to $25,000, 1 year in jail, or both; commercial offences up to $100,000 and 2 years.

  8. 8Why is it unsafe to stalk a wild turkey you hear gobbling?
    • A. Stalking turkeys is illegal in spring
    • B. Turkeys always flee from moving hunters
    • C. Gobbling turkeys are always protected birds
    • D. The sound may be another hunter calling

    The gobble may come from another hunter, and a moving hunter may be mistaken for a turkey. Set up against a wide, solid background and call instead.

  9. 9You hunt rabbits in an area where deer season is open, with no deer licence. What may you not carry?
    • A. A centre-fire rifle
    • B. A shotgun with No. 6 shot
    • C. A .22 rim-fire rifle
    • D. A bow with blunt-tipped arrows

    Without a valid big game licence for that season, small game hunters may not possess a centre-fire rifle or shot larger than No. 2 lead (triple BBB steel, double BB bismuth) where a big game season is open.

  10. 10According to the summary, why are positive landowner relationships important?
    • A. They are needed before a store will sell you any ammunition
    • B. They replace the need for a hunting licence
    • C. They are important to the future of hunting in Ontario
    • D. They are required to get an Outdoors Card

    The summary stresses that positive landowner-hunter relationships are important to the future of hunting in Ontario: always ask permission and obey signs.

About the test

About the Ontario Hunter Education Course Exam (OHEP)

Ontario's hunter education course has been mandatory since 1960. According to ontario.ca, most people need to pass the Ontario Hunter Education Course, including an exam, before they can get a resident hunting licence. The Ministry of Natural Resources offers it two ways: in person with a certified instructor, or as a self-paced online course through its delegated provider. The program is administered by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters in partnership with the ministry.

The course teaches hunting safety and equipment, hunting laws and regulations, hunter responsibilities, wildlife management, hunting techniques and wildlife identification. When you pass, you receive proof of completion and take it to a participating ServiceOntario location to put your hunter accreditation on file. You then need a valid Outdoors Card before you can buy licences and tags or apply for big game draws.

Hunter education on its own lets you hunt with a bow. To hunt with a gun you must also complete the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) and carry a PAL, a minor's licence or a copy of your CFSC student report. Many instructors teach the two courses together in a one-stop format. Residents aged 12 to 14 who pass the course can also hunt with a mentor in the Hunter Apprenticeship Safety Program.

Our eleven topics follow the parts of the course that come from public law and regulations: accreditation and licences, hunter orange and hunting hours, firearm safety in the field, legal firearms and bows, roads and vehicles, private land and dogs, tags and reporting, species rules for deer, moose, bear, turkey and wolf, small game and migratory birds, wildlife management and health, and ethics and enforcement. Wildlife identification, survival and hunting techniques that are taught only in the manual are not covered.

The ministry does not publish the number of exam questions or the pass mark on its public pages, so we do not state them as fact; ask your instructor or online provider. This site is independent. It is not affiliated with the Ontario government or the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and our practice tests do not give you a hunter education certificate. Regulations change every year, so always read the current Hunting Regulations Summary before you hunt.

Study plan

How to prepare

  1. 1Download the current Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary from ontario.ca and read the general regulations, licence information, tags and mandatory reporting sections first.
  2. 2Learn the hunter orange rule: who must wear it, the 400-square-inch garment plus head cover, and the ground blind and bear tree-stand cases.
  3. 3Memorize hunting hours (half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset) and when firearms must be unloaded and encased.
  4. 4Know the road and vehicle rules: never shoot from or across a public road, the 8-metre loaded-firearm rule, and no loaded firearms in vehicles or motorboats.
  5. 5Study tags: one animal per tag, paper only, notch at the kill site before moving the animal, and where the tag goes on each species.
  6. 6Learn the legal equipment table: centre-fire rifles for big game, shotgun gauges and shot sizes, bow and crossbow draw weights, 60 cm arrows and 22 mm broadheads.
  7. 7Review the basic firearm safety rules (ACTS and PROVE) and safe practices for fences, blinds and group hunts.
  8. 8Take one topic test at a time, read every explanation, then try the 50-question mock exams until you score 45 or more.

FAQ

Ontario Hunter Education test questions people ask

Do I need hunter education to hunt in Ontario?

Yes, most people do. Ontario.ca says most people need to pass the Ontario Hunter Education Course, including an exam, to get a resident hunting licence. New residents with recognized training from their home jurisdiction may be exempt after living in Ontario for 6 months.

How many questions are on the Ontario hunter education exam?

The ministry's public pages do not publish the number of questions or the pass mark. Ask your instructor or online provider. Our mock exams use 50 questions as a practice standard.

Can I take the course online?

Yes. The ministry offers an in-person instructor-led course and an online course. Its delegated online provider lists the online course at $60 plus tax, to be completed within 90 days of payment.

Is there a minimum age?

The delegated online provider says there is no minimum age to take the course. To hunt as an apprentice, residents must be 12 to 14 and have passed the course; hunters 15 and older need their own licences.

Do I also need a PAL to hunt?

Only to hunt with a gun. Hunter education plus licences lets you hunt with a bow. Gun hunters must have completed the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and carry a PAL, a minor's licence or a copy of the CFSC student report.

What do I do after I pass?

Take your proof of completion to a participating ServiceOntario location to register your hunter accreditation, then buy an Outdoors Card. After that you can buy licences and tags and apply for big game draws.

Are these the real exam questions?

No. The exam is not published and we do not use the course manual. Every question is original and written from the free 2026 Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary, ontario.ca and federal firearms safety material.

Does this cover wildlife identification?

Only where the regulations summary covers it, such as moose age and tag types. Detailed identification of species from the course manual is not covered, so study the manual's identification chapters as well.

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