---
title: O.C.G.A. § 27-2-20. Federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp; participation in federal Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program.
collection: code
id: 27-2-20
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 27-2-20 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/27-2-20
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/27-2-20.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/27-2-20/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t27-t30-(v22)-2018-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=f493d811_0#page=82
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/code/27-2.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/code/27-2-19.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/code/27-2-20.1.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md
version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: GAME AND FISH / LICENSES, PERMITS, AND STAMPS GENERALLY / HUNTING, TRAPPING, OR FISHING
---

# O.C.G.A. § 27-2-20. Federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp; participation in federal Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person 16 years of age or older to hunt brant, ducks, geese, and swans in this state without a federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamp.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person required to obtain a hunting license as provided in Code Section 27-2-1 to hunt any migratory game bird, including brant, ducks, geese, swans, doves, rails, woodcock, snipe, gallinules, and coots, without participating in the federal Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program. Participation in such program shall require the completion of an annual screening questionnaire prior to obtaining a Georgia waterfowl and migratory bird stamp or a landowner Georgia waterfowl and migratory bird stamp. Persons holding any other license conveying migratory bird hunting privileges, including a lifetime sportsman’s license, shall complete the annual screening questionnaire before hunting migratory birds. Persons shall be in possession of the license and evidence of participation in the annual screening questionnaire as provided by the department while hunting migratory birds.

## History

Code 1933, § 45-326, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 816, § 37; Ga. L. 1995, p. 946, § 6; Ga. L. 1998, p. 783, § 8; Ga. L. 2001, p. 1013, § 10; Ga. L. 2017, p. 27, § 10/HB 208.

## Editor's Notes

Regulations governing the federal Migratory Bird program can be found at 50 C.F.R. Section 20.20.

Ga. L. 2017, p. 27, § 20/HB 208, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment of this Code section by that Act shall be applicable to all offenses occurring on or after July 1, 2017.

## Other Notes

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted the present provisions of subsection (b) for the former provisions, which read: ‘‘It shall be unlawful for any person required to obtain a hunting license as provided in Code Section 27-2-1 to hunt any migratory game bird, including brant, ducks, geese, swans, doves, rails, woodcock, snipe, gallinules, and coots, without participating in the federal Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program. Participation in such program shall require the completion of a screening questionnaire prior to obtaining a free Georgia migratory bird license and the possession of the license or other evidence of participation while hunting migratory birds.’’. See Editor’s note for applicability.