Felling Permits and Quotas

How the municipality calculates and allocates felling permits for moose, red deer and roe deer, what a management plan changes, and who sets the quotas for wild reindeer and large carnivores.

The Norwegian law calls it a fellingstillatelse (felling permit). Many hunters say fellingsløyve, and in the Hunta app they are called permits. The rules for deer are in the regulation on the management of deer (the deer regulation), and the rules for large carnivores in the regulation on the management of large carnivores.

In short

  • The felling permit is given to an approved vald and applies only inside that vald (deer regulation § 18). It is not given to a property or to a hunter.
  • Without a management plan, the number of permits is the vald's counted area divided by the minimum area (§ 18).
  • The municipality sets the minimum area in its own regulation, and can depart from it by up to 50 percent for a particular vald (§ 6 and § 7).
  • With at least 20 times the minimum area, a vald can have a management plan of up to five years. The permits are then given for the whole period, without a split by sex and age (§ 15, § 16 and § 18).
  • The vald contact reports the harvest to the municipality within 14 days after the hunt ends (§ 32).

Counted area and minimum area

  • Counted area (tellende areal) is the area the number of felling permits is calculated from (§ 2). For moose, red deer and roe deer it is, as a rule, forest and bog below the tree line, both productive and unproductive forest. The municipality can approve other kinds of land where they matter to the species (§ 8).
  • Minimum area (minsteareal) is how much counted area each animal is based on (§ 2). It is not the size of a property.
  • The municipality decides. The minimum area is set in the municipality's own regulation, and can differ between species and between parts of the municipality. Proposals to change it are made by 15 January, and the municipality decides by 15 March (§ 6).
  • Departures. When it allocates felling permits, the municipality can depart from the minimum area by up to 50 percent, for example because of the size of the population or damage the animals cause. It is an individual decision for particular vald and a limited period (§ 7).

Example: A vald has 12,000 decares (1,200 hectares) of counted area, and the municipality's minimum area for moose is 3,000 decares. Without a management plan, that gives 12,000 ÷ 3,000 = 4 felling permits for moose. The figures are only an example. The minimum area is in the regulation of the municipality where the vald lies.

Felling permits for moose and red deer

Every year the municipality allocates felling permits for moose and red deer to approved vald with at least as much counted area as the minimum area. The permit applies inside the vald, and the municipality sends it to the vald contact by 15 June (§ 18).

Without a management plan, the permits are split into categories:

  • Moose: calf (½ year), adult females (1½ years and older) and adult males (1½ years and older).
  • Red deer: calf (½ year), adult females (1½ years and older), spike stag (a stag with unbranched antlers) and adult males (1½ years and older).

For both species a calf can be taken instead of an adult.

How the animals are shared between hunting fields and hunting teams inside the vald is not in the regulation. The vald has to decide that itself, in its bylaws or in an agreement. See Hunting Districts and Bylaws.

Management plan

A management plan (bestandsplan) is the hunting right holders' own plan over several years, approved by the municipality (§ 2). It is the vald or the management plan area that writes the plan, not the municipality.

  • Area requirement. The vald or management plan area needs counted area of at least 20 times the minimum area (§ 15).
  • Five years at most. The plan can cover several years, but not more than five (§ 15).
  • Contents. Targets for the population that are in line with the municipality's targets, and a plan for the annual harvest in number of animals, split at least into calves, adult females and adult males, and spike stags for red deer. In a management plan area, the plan also shows how the quota is shared between the vald each year (§ 15).
  • Deadlines. The application goes to the municipality by 1 May, and the municipality decides by 15 June (§ 15 and § 16).
  • What approval gives. The felling permits for the whole plan period, and information on whether a limited number of permits can be carried over between years (§ 16). The permits show only the number of animals, and the harvest follows the sex and age in the plan (§ 18).
  • Several vald together. In a management plan area each vald gets its own permit. With a written joint hunting agreement, permits can be used in other vald in the area (§ 18 and § 19).
  • Withdrawal. The municipality can withdraw the approval by 1 April if the area requirement is no longer met, if reporting is missing, if the population changes substantially and unexpectedly, or if the harvest departs substantially from the plan (§ 16).

Roe deer

Every year the municipality allocates felling permits for roe deer to approved roe deer vald (§ 20).

  • Normal allocation. The number is calculated as for moose and red deer, counted area divided by minimum area. The permit is not split by sex and age.
  • Quota-free hunting. A roe deer vald with at least 20 times the minimum area, or at least 10,000 decares (1,000 hectares) of counted area, can apply for quota-free hunting by 1 May. The municipality can ask for a harvest plan first. A management plan area for moose or red deer whose vald are also roe deer vald can apply on the same terms.

Reporting

The vald contact reports the year's harvest to the municipality within 14 days after the hunt ends. The municipality passes it on to Statistics Norway through the Norwegian deer register, Hjorteviltregisteret (§ 32).

The municipality and other authorities can also require hunters or hunting right holders to record moose and red deer sightings (sett elg and sett hjort), and to collect jaws and other samples (§ 32).

Without the reporting, the municipality can refuse or withdraw quota-free roe deer hunting or a management plan (§ 34). Read more in Reporting and Statistics.

Wild reindeer

Wild reindeer in an area that spans two or more municipalities are managed by a wild reindeer board (villreinnemnd). There are nine boards, and Tolga municipality acts as the board for Tolga Østfjell (§ 21).

  • The quota. The board sets the harvest quota for each wild reindeer area by 1 May. The minimum area is the area's total counted area divided by the quota (§ 28).
  • The permit goes to the vald. The board allocates felling permits to approved vald, calculated as the vald's counted area divided by the minimum area, and sends them to the vald contact by 15 June (§ 29). As a hunter you do not apply to the board for a permit. You hunt through a vald that has one.
  • Control card. The vald gets a control card for each animal. The animal or the meat has to be marked with a completed card before it is moved from where it was shot, or if it is left in the terrain overnight (§ 30).

Large carnivores

Quotas for lynx, wolverine, bear and wolf follow the regulation on the management of large carnivores. The regional large carnivore board (rovviltnemnd) sets them when the population of the species is above the population target for the region (§ 7). The Norwegian Environment Agency can set quotas even when the population is below the target (§ 13).

  • License culling. The board can set a quota for license culling (lisensfelling) of lynx, wolverine, bear and wolf to limit the growth or spread of a population. The decision sets the area, the number of animals and the conditions (large carnivore regulation § 10).
  • Quota hunting for lynx. Lynx can also have quota hunting (kvotejakt), with its own quota set by the board (§ 11).
  • Periods. Lynx 1 February to 31 March, for both license culling and quota hunting. Wolverine 20 August to 15 February. Bear 21 August to 15 October. Wolf 1 January to 15 February inside the wolf zone, and 1 December to 31 May outside it. The board can set a shorter period (§ 10 and § 11).
  • License hunter. Only registered license hunters can take part in license culling, dog handlers included. You register in the Norwegian hunter register (Jegerregisteret) for each species and each hunting year, and need to have paid the hunting fee and met the reporting duty. You have to keep yourself informed about how much of the quota is left, and carry the receipt for your registration (§ 15).

Felling permits in Hunta

In the Hunta app they are called permits. The hunting team adds its permits and quotas, and the harvests that are logged count against them, so everyone on the team can see what is left.

If you offer hunting as a host, the harvests on the hunting cards count against the permits on the listing. Landowners, associations and others with hunting rights can offer hunting on Hunta.

See also Hunting Districts and Bylaws and Hunting Seasons Regulation.

Sources

This page is an overview and not legal advice. If in doubt, the text of the law applies. Checked against Lovdata on 3 November 2026.