Rhode Island § 20-13-5 - Hunting and Hunting Safety

§ 20-13-5. Issuance of licenses.

(a) Authorized licensing agents, shall, upon the application of any eligible person and the payment of the license fee, issue to that person a license to pursue, hunt, and kill game in the state during the open season with firearms or by bow and arrow with an archer’s permit; provided, however, that no license shall be granted to or possessed by:

(1) Any person under fifteen (15) years of age; provided, however, a junior hunting license may be obtained for persons age twelve (12) to fourteen (14) years of age upon the completion of a basic hunter’s safety course; and further provided, that they shall hunt only in the immediate company of a qualified, licensed adult twenty-one (21) years of age or over;

(2) Any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence, or who is a fugitive from justice, as defined in § 11-47-2 of the Firearms Act; or

(3) Any person who is under guardianship, treatment, or confinement by virtue of being a mental incompetent; or who has been adjudicated or is under treatment or confinement as a drug addict; or who has been adjudicated or is under treatment or confinement as a habitual drunkard.

(b) Any person affected by the provisions of subsection (a)(3), other than a person who has been pronounced criminally insane by a competent medical authority, after a lapse of a period of five (5) years from the date of being pronounced cured by a competent medical authority, may obtain a license upon the presentation of an affidavit issued by a competent medical authority to the effect that that person is a mentally stable person and a proper person to possess a hunting license. If that person has no other disqualifying record, he or she will be allowed to purchase and possess a hunting license.

(c) Every hunting license shall bear the name, age, occupation, place of residence, and an identifying description of the licensee; and shall expire on the last day of February next succeeding the date of issue; and may be revoked within the discretion of the director of environmental management. Every hunting license shall plainly and conspicuously indicate upon its face the year of issuance and shall be in the form prescribed by the director.