Every year somebody at the landing finds out at 5:30 a.m. that their South Carolina duck hunting license is missing a piece. Usually it's the state waterfowl permit or the HIP number, because those don't come with the basic license. This is the whole list for the 2026-27 season, what each piece costs, and where to buy it. Prices are from SCDNR's current fee page and can change, so treat this as a checklist, not a receipt.
What a duck hunter in South Carolina has to carry
If you're 16 or older, you need all five of these on you in the marsh. Under 16, you need none of them, but you still count against the boat's bag limit and the federal rules on shot and plugs still apply.
South Carolina hunting license. Resident annual is $12, or $36 for three years. Nonresidents pay $125 for the year, $75 for 10 days, or $40 for 3 days.
Migratory Bird Permit (HIP). No cost, but it's a separate line item. You answer a short survey about last year's bird hunting and get a HIP number tied to your license. It's required for doves, ducks, geese, coots, rails, all of it. Each state you hunt needs its own.
South Carolina Migratory Waterfowl Permit. This is the state duck stamp. $15.50 for residents and nonresidents alike. The HIP permit has to be on your license first.
Federal Duck Stamp. $25 for the stamp itself. If you buy the electronic version through SCDNR it's $30 total, which is the $25 stamp plus a $4 fulfillment fee and a $1 vendor fee. The 2026-27 stamp is the bufflehead by James Hautman. It's valid July 1 through June 30, and 98 cents of every dollar goes to buying and protecting waterfowl habitat.
WMA permit, if you hunt public land. $30.50 for residents ($91.50 for three years), $76 for nonresidents. You need it for any Wildlife Management Area, including the draw-hunt units and the walk-in spots.
Resident total for someone hunting public water: $12 + $0 + $15.50 + $30 + $30.50 = $88. SCDNR sells a "Waterfowl Hunter" package on Go Outdoors SC that bundles the hunting license, both migratory permits and the e-stamp for $83.50 if you don't need a WMA permit. If you do, the annual Sportsman license ($50) covers the hunting license, WMA and big game in one, and you add the two waterfowl pieces on top.
Where to buy it
The easiest path is the Go Outdoors South Carolina site or app, which is SCDNR's licensing system. Everything above is on the same screen, including the electronic federal stamp. You can also buy at SCDNR regional offices and at the point-of-sale vendors (Walmart, most bait and tackle shops). Physical federal stamps are sold at post offices and by phone at 1-800-STAMP24.
Go Outdoors SC lets you carry the license on your phone. That's fine for the state pieces. Read the next section before you rely on it for the federal stamp.
The two things people forget
The federal e-stamp is valid all season now. Under the Duck Stamp Modernization Act, the electronic stamp you buy through the state is proof of purchase for the whole July 1 to June 30 year. The physical stamp gets mailed to you between March 10 and June 30 of the following year, and once it shows up you have to sign it to make it valid. If you bought a physical stamp at the post office instead, sign it in ink across the face before you hunt. An unsigned stamp is the same as no stamp to a game warden.
HIP is annual. The permit resets every July 1 with your license year. If you hunted last season, your old HIP number is dead. This is the one that catches people who buy the three-year license and assume they're done.
Other rules worth a line
Hunter education is required for anyone born after June 30, 1979 before you can buy a license.
Shotgun plugged to three shells, nontoxic shot only for waterfowl. Lead in the boat is a ticket even if it's for a squirrel hunt later.
Shooting hours are a half hour before sunrise to sunset for regular duck season. Early teal was sunrise to sunset.
Hunters 64 and older with a lifetime, senior, gratis or Catawba license are exempt from the state migratory bird permit, but not the federal stamp.
2026-27 South Carolina duck season dates
Straight from SCDNR's migratory bird regulations for this year:
Early teal: September 19 to 27, 2026 (already done).
Youth day (state): November 14, 2026.
First split: November 21 to 28, 2026.
Second split: December 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027.
Youth and veteran / active-duty days: February 6 and February 13, 2027.
Daily limit is 6 ducks, with the usual species caps: no more than 4 mallards (2 hens), 3 wood ducks, 3 pintails, 2 redheads, 2 scaup, 2 canvasbacks, 1 fulvous whistling duck, 4 sea ducks. Coots are 15, mergansers are 5 with only 1 hooded. Check the SCDNR migratory bird regulations before you go, because the federal framework can adjust species limits year to year.
Public water adds one more step
If you're going to hunt Bear Island, Santee Coastal, Samworth or any of the other Category I waterfowl areas, the WMA permit is just the entry fee. Most of those are draw hunts with an application window that opens in the fall and closes fast. We walked through how the draw works in Public Land Duck Hunting in South Carolina. The short version: buy the WMA permit before the application deadline, because you can't apply without it.
And if you've never been to the ACE Basin side of the state, this one covers what's down there and why we named the company after it.
Print this and put it in the truck
Hunting license, HIP, state waterfowl permit, federal stamp (signed), WMA permit if it's public. Five things. Buy them all at once on Go Outdoors SC in September and you're done thinking about it until next July.
Our part is smaller than that. A 112PFP trucker cap for the ride down and a heavyweight hoodie for breakfast after are on preorder now, first run ships in 6 to 8 weeks.
Sources: SCDNR resident license pricing, SCDNR nonresident license pricing, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Buy a Duck Stamp, Ducks Unlimited, 2026-27 Federal Duck Stamp.
