Anyone wishing to hunt in Germany must be able to produce a hunting license in his or her name (Section 15 (1) of the Federal Hunting Act).

The hunting license is issued by the authority responsible for the applicant's place of residence as an annual hunting license for a maximum of three hunting years (Section 11 (4) of the Federal Hunting Act) or as a daily hunting license for fourteen consecutive days according to uniform models.

The hunting license is valid in the whole federal territory (§15 Abs. 2 Bundesjagdgesetz).

Persons who have reached the age of 18 and are not Germans within the meaning of Article 116 of the Basic Law may obtain an annual hunting license or a day hunting license according to Section 15 (2) of the Federal Hunting Law if they have passed a hunter's examination according to Section 15 (5) of the Federal Hunting Law or a hunter's examination recognized as equivalent (Section 26 (2) Thuringian Hunting Law).

A day hunting license can also be issued to them if they prove possession of a valid foreign hunting license with:

1. a confirmation issued by a foreign representation of the Federal Republic of Germany that the foreign hunting permit has been issued in the form corresponding to the laws of the country (legalization) and that the issuance is subject to probation,

2. a translation of the hunting permit, if it is in a foreign language, into German by a translator publicly appointed or sworn in the Federal Republic of Germany.