Hunting Leases and Settlement

What Norwegian law says when a landowner leases out hunting, what the lease should contain, and how animals taken, meat and fees are settled.

The law says who can lease out hunting and for how long, but almost nothing about price and settlement. The agreement decides. Whatever it leaves out has to be agreed after the hunt.

In short

  • The landowner can lease out hunting without a permit from the authorities, but not for more than ten years at a time (Wildlife Resources Act § 35).
  • Whoever leases cannot lease on without the landowner's consent (§ 35).
  • Whoever makes hunting available to others is responsible for the hunters having paid the hunting fee (§ 35).
  • Price, payment and sharing of meat are not in the law. The agreement has to say.
  • The municipal felling fee is not the same as the harvest fee you agree on.

What the law says about leasing hunting

  • Ten years at most. The hunting right cannot be separated from the property for more than ten years at a time (Wildlife Resources Act § 35). An agreement meant to last longer has to be made again.
  • The user holds the hunting right. If the landowner lets someone else use the property, such as a tenant farmer, the hunting right follows unless something else is agreed. This does not apply to renting farmland without a house (§ 35). A landowner who wants to lease out hunting on a tenanted farm should have the tenancy agreement keep the hunting right out.
  • Subletting needs consent. Whoever leases the hunting cannot lease it on unless the landowner agrees (§ 35).
  • The hunting fee. Whoever leases out must make sure the hunters have paid the hunting fee, and is responsible for it (§ 35). A breach is a criminal offence (§ 60). Hunters must carry proof and show it to the landowner when asked (§ 16).
  • Damage to the user. If the landowner leases the hunting to someone other than the person using the land, the landowner is also liable for damage the hunting causes that user (§ 35).
  • Moose, red deer and roe deer. Hunting them requires a felling permit, and the permit goes to the vald (§ 42, deer regulation § 18). A lease can only give the hunting team animals the vald has been given.
  • Tracking dog. When hunting moose, red deer and roe deer, the hunting team, or a hunter on their own, must have access to an approved tracking dog. If the dog is not along, access must be secured in a written agreement (regulation on the practice of hunting § 23).

The lease

The law does not require the agreement to be in writing, but a written agreement makes it easy to know what was agreed. It should cover:

  • The parties: who leases out (the landowner, the vald or an association acting for the landowners), who leases, and who is the contact person or hunt leader.
  • The area: a map with boundaries, which properties and hunting fields are included, and where there is to be no hunting, for example near houses and grazing animals.
  • The period: which seasons the agreement covers, ten years at most, and how it can be terminated.
  • Species and numbers: which species are included, and for moose and red deer how many of the vald's animals and in which categories.
  • Who may hunt: how many hunters, whether they may bring guests, and that the hunting cannot be leased on without consent.
  • Price and payment: model, amount, advance payment and deadlines. See the settlement below.
  • Rules in the terrain: dogs, motor traffic, towers and stands, shooting lanes, bait, cabins, roads, barriers and keys.
  • Tracking: who provides an approved tracking dog, and who covers the costs.
  • Checks: who checks that the hunters have paid the hunting fee.
  • Reporting: what is to be reported about animals taken and seen, to whom and by when.
  • The meat: who gets it, and how it is shared.
  • Damage and breach: who covers damage to fences, roads and crops, and what happens if the agreement is broken.

How settlement works in a vald

How settlement works. The numbers are explained below.
  1. The felling permit. The municipality sends the felling permit to the vald contact by 15 June (deer regulation § 18).
  2. The hunting right. The landowners, or the vald on their behalf, give the hunting team the right to hunt as the agreement says.
  3. The payment. The hunting team pays the lease, harvest fee or price per kilo as the agreement says, and records each animal taken with species, category, date and weight.
  4. The report. The vald contact reports the animals taken to the municipality within 14 days after the hunt ends (deer regulation § 32).
  5. The felling fee. The municipality collects a felling fee for moose and red deer taken in the vald. The money goes to the municipal wildlife fund.
  6. The split. The vald shares income and costs between the landowners as the bylaws say, for example by each property's part of the counted area.

How the vald is organised, and what the bylaws should say about the split, is covered in Hunting districts and bylaws.

Pricing models

The law says nothing about how hunting is priced. These models are common, and many combine them:

  • Fixed lease. One amount for the area per season or year, however many animals are taken.
  • Harvest fee. An amount per animal taken, often different for calves and adults. Income follows what is taken.
  • Price per kilo. An amount per kilo of carcass weight. The agreement must say how the animal is weighed and what counts as carcass weight.
  • Share of meat. The landowner gets meat instead of, or as well as, money.
  • Day licence. A price per hunter per day, mostly used for small game.

The felling fee and the harvest fee are two different things

  • The felling fee belongs to the municipality. The municipality sets, by regulation, a fee for each moose and red deer taken, within an upper limit set by the state (Wildlife Resources Act § 9). It applies to the vald, and the money goes to the municipal wildlife fund (regulation on wildlife funds and felling fees § 6). It covers only moose and red deer.
  • The harvest fee is yours. It is a price the landowner and the hunting team agree on, as part of the payment for the hunting.
  • The agreement should say who pays the felling fee. The law says it applies to the vald, not who in the vald carries it.

Questions the agreement should answer

  • Does the hunting team pay for the animals the vald was given, or only for those taken?
  • Does an animal that was wounded and not found count?
  • Who carries the loss if an animal is taken in the wrong category or over the quota? The animal then belongs to the municipality, and it still counts against the quota (Wildlife Resources Act § 51).
  • Who pays for tracking?
  • Who pays the felling fee?
  • How is the animal weighed, and who butchers it?
  • What happens to an advance payment if the hunt is cancelled or the vald gets fewer animals?
  • When must the settlement be done, and who gets an overview of it?

Hunting through Hunta

On Hunta the host sets a terrain price per hunter per day and a harvest fee per animal taken, per species and category. The hunter pays the terrain price when booking and the harvest fee after the hunt. The agreement about the hunting is between the hunter and the host, and Hunta is not a party to it. Read more in the pricing guide for hosts.

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.