DNREC Updates Hunting Guidance on Direct Supervision for 16-to 20-Year-old Hunters

September 30, 2026/Joe Ciccanti

DNREC has updated its hunting guidance following a state Supreme Court ruling reinstating direct supervision requirements for hunters ages 18 to 20 using certain firearms. The ruling reverses a 2025 Superior Court decision that allowed those hunters to hunt without direct supervision. Hunters age 21 and older may hunt unsupervised with any legal firearm. Hunters under 16 must remain under direct supervision at all times, although that requirement is also subject to a court challenge. A separate federal case challenging Delaware’s 2022 firearms law remains pending.
 
Additional Information from DNREC:

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s (DNREC) Division of Fish and Wildlife has updated Delaware hunting guidance concerning direct supervision impacting 18- to 20-year old hunters after a state Supreme Court ruling struck down an earlier state Superior Court decision that allowed 18- to 20-year-old hunters to hunt without direct supervision when using a range of hunting firearms. The new court ruling reinstates some restrictions, though another court case is still pending.

The high court reversal pertains to House Bill 451, a 2022 law amending the age in which a person can possess, purchase and sell a firearm in Delaware. The law, which had a three-year grace period for full enactment, did not specifically focus on hunting and is still under a federal court challenge. Some of its provisions regarding supervised and unsupervised hunting have been affected by House Substitute 1 for House Bill 427, which passed into law earlier this year. That law allows 16- to 17-year-old hunters to hunt without direct supervision if certain requirements are met: if they have permission from a parent or guardian, have completed an approved basic hunter education course and are in possession of a valid hunting license.

The high court’s ruling on HB 451 came almost a year after a state Superior Court determined that Delaware’s constitutional right to keep and bear arms extended to all Delawareans aged 18 or older – eliminating a provision in Delaware Code from a 2022 law that stated 18- to 20-year-old hunters would require direct supervision from a person age 21 or older when the state’s 2025-26 hunting seasons opened.

A legal challenge to the 2022 law that includes the direct supervision requirement remains pending, but the reversal at the state court level has been incorporated into DNREC’s guidance for hunters.

The guidance now provides for direct supervision of hunter age groups 18 to 20 when using certain firearms as a method of take. Hunters who are 21 years old can hunt unsupervised with any firearms that are a legal method of take in Delaware.  The chart below indicates that hunters under the age of 16 must be under direct supervision at all times regardless of the method of take when hunting, although this issue remains subject to a challenge in the courts.

A chart showing age groups of hunters who must have direct supervision in Delaware

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities, and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on more than 75,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X or LinkedIn.

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