Applications to get an alligator hunting license in Arkansas are opening soon. Here’s everything you need to know.
Credit: AGFC
Author: Elizabeth Godinez
Published: 4:48 PM CDT June 12, 2025
Updated: 4:48 PM CDT June 12, 2025
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — While hunting season for the largest reptile inhabiting Arkansas is still months away, anyone who wants to have a shot at a Natural State gator on any public land should get their application in soon!
According to officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), applications for the 2025 alligator hunting season here in Arkansas will be available at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 15, 2025, through midnight on Monday, July 15, 2025.
Hunters in the state will be able to choose one of 10 public land hunting areas, which are all situated in the southern half of the state.
Avid gator hunters may see a notable difference in this year’s permit hunts, as a new quota system is in place for hunters who draw a permit to hunt Millwood Lake in southwest Arkansas.
“We have seen success rates from hunters on Millwood ranging from 25 to 75 percent the last few years, and most of the unfilled tags are the result of hunters holding out for a huge alligator and running out of time,” said Amanda Bryant, AGFC Herpetologist. “Even though our target number of alligators to be removed is unchanged, we increased the number of permits slightly to allow a few more hunters an opportunity to hunt. To ensure that we do not overharvest alligators in this public hunting area, Millwood will also have a quota in place. Hunters will need to call in or check agfc.com before hunting each night to see if the quota has been met. If the quota is reached before the season ends, hunting in Millwood will be over.
She hopes that the addition of the quota will encourage hunters to harvest a legal alligator instead of holding out for a larger one that they may or may not find later on.
The following hunts are available for the 2025 hunting season:
Alligator Management Zone 1:
- 12 permits for Millwood Lake (nine alligator quota)
- Five permits for Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA
- Two permits for Little River
- One permit for Lake Erling
- Alligator Management Zone 2
- One permit for Bragg Lake
- Two permits for Lake Columbia
- Alligator Management Zone 3
- 11 permits for the Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Arkansas River backwaters near Arkansas Post)
- Two permits for Yellow Lake (Pine Bluff Arsenal)
- Five permits for The Delta Wetland Complex
Each permit given authorizes the harvest of one alligator, which must be at least four feet long.
Alligator hunting is allowed from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the approved alligator hunting season dates of September 19-22 and September 26-29, 2025.
Each person who has a permit may have up to three helpers with them on the hunt, but only the permit holder is allowed to harpoon, snare, and dispatch the alligator.
Only Arkansas residents can apply for a license to hunt alligators, and they must be at least 16 years old on the day the hunt begins.
Officials say that applicants who have 18 or more AGFC violation points are not eligible to apply.
Alligator hunt applicants must pay a $5 nonrefundable processing fee at the time of their application, and all must go through an online hunt orientation before going out.
Exposing the Big Game 