Tennessee is one of the more permissive states when it comes to coyote hunting, but that does not mean anything goes. The rules governing when, where, how, and with what you can hunt coyotes have grown more detailed in recent years — especially with the addition of a dedicated night hunting season — and getting them wrong can cost you your license or land you a citation.
Whether you are a resident hunter looking to thin the local population, a farmer dealing with livestock losses, or an out-of-state predator hunter planning a trip to the Volunteer State, understanding Tennessee hunting laws from top to bottom is the only way to stay legal and hunt confidently. This guide breaks down every major rule you need to know, straight from TWRA and the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Is Coyote Hunting Legal in Tennessee
Yes, coyote hunting is fully legal in Tennessee, and the state treats coyotes as a species that can be actively managed by hunters year-round. In Tennessee, coyotes may be hunted year-round during the day with no bag limit. That open-season, no-limit framework reflects the TWRA’s position that coyote populations require active management across the state.
Coyotes have been in Tennessee since as early as the 1960s. The typically nocturnal coyotes are very adaptable to their surroundings, and coyote numbers have increased across the state with ample food, habitat, and a lack of a natural predator other than humans. Their expansion into farms, suburbs, and forests has made population control a practical priority for wildlife managers and landowners alike.
While the general framework is permissive, you still need to follow rules around licensing, weapons, hunting hours, and land access. Tennessee has dozens of Wildlife Management Areas open to coyote hunting, though some restrict night hunting. The rules differ meaningfully between private and public land, and between daytime and nighttime seasons, so reading the details carefully matters.
Key Insight: Coyotes are not classified as a protected game species in Tennessee. There is no closed season and no bag limit for daytime hunting, making them one of the most accessible species to pursue in the state.
Coyote Hunting Season Dates in Tennessee
Coyote hunting is permitted year-round in Tennessee with no bag limit. That applies to daytime hunting statewide. You can pursue coyotes on any day of the calendar year during legal daylight hours without worrying about a season closure.
The more nuanced piece of the calendar involves the dedicated nighttime coyote and bobcat season, which operates on a structured schedule. The 2026 season dates for night hunting are January 17 through March 8 and June 6 through August 9. These windows are tied to the end of deer season on the front end and run through the summer heat on the back end.
The structure of the night season follows a consistent pattern year to year. The season opens the day after the end of deer season and runs through the second Sunday in March, then reopens the first Saturday in June through the second Sunday in August. This design intentionally avoids overlap with the general deer season, which simplifies weapon and access rules during the busiest hunting months.
Important Note: Night hunting for coyotes is restricted to private land only and is not available on WMAs or other public lands during the dedicated night season. Always confirm WMA-specific rules before hunting any public tract.
On national wildlife refuges in Tennessee, hunters may only take coyote and beaver incidental to scheduled refuge hunts. If you plan to hunt federal lands, check with the specific refuge for their current schedule and rules, as they operate independently of the statewide TWRA framework.
License and Permit Requirements for Coyote Hunting in Tennessee
To hunt coyotes in Tennessee, hunters must have a valid hunting license. This applies whether you are hunting on private land or public land, and whether it is day or night. There is no separate coyote-specific license or furbearer stamp required — a standard hunting license covers you for coyotes.
Resident and non-resident hunters both need a license. License pricing ranges from $9.00 for junior licenses to $305 for a non-resident annual hunting license. Hunters can purchase in person at official retailers or online.
If you plan to hunt on a Wildlife Management Area, an additional permit is required in most cases. Everyone who hunts on a Wildlife Management Area is required to have a WMA permit, except the holder of a Lifetime Sportsman License, Annual Sportsman License, Annual Senior Citizen Permit (Type 167), and youths under age 16 hunting small game and waterfowl. Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult with a valid WMA permit. Youths under age 6 may not hunt big game on a WMA.
There is a license exemption available for certain landowners and their families. Landowners, their spouses, children, and children’s spouses who fish or hunt on their own farmland qualify for this exemption. The aforementioned must be residents of Tennessee but need not reside on the land. This license exemption does not apply if the farmland is owned jointly or in common by unrelated persons.
Tenants, their spouses, and their dependent children who fish or hunt on farmland owned by an individual or a family also qualify. They must be residents of Tennessee, must actually reside on the land, and must have permission of the landowner to fish or hunt. A tenant is a person who, for money, free rent, or other consideration, cares for farmland, and the tenancy must be agricultural in nature.
Pro Tip: If you are hunting under the farmland owner exemption, carry the completed and signed TWRA statement form with you in the field. TWRA officers may request it during a check, and having it ready avoids any confusion about your status.
Legal Methods and Weapons for Coyote Hunting in Tennessee
Tennessee gives daytime coyote hunters a broad range of legal weapons to work with. Centerfire rifles, shotguns, and archery gear are all legal for coyote hunting. This makes coyotes one of the few species in Tennessee where you can legally reach for a flat-shooting centerfire rifle during most of the year without worrying about season-specific weapon restrictions.
There is one important exception to that flexibility. Rifles and handguns using centerfire ammunition are legal for hunting coyote only during big game seasons, and the hunter must be a licensed legal big game hunter. Outside of big game seasons, you will need to rely on shotguns, rimfire rifles, muzzleloaders, or archery equipment for coyotes on public land. Always cross-reference the current TWRA hunting guide for the specific land type you are hunting.
Suppressors are legal in Tennessee with proper federal documentation. If you hold a valid NFA tax stamp for a suppressor, you can use it for coyote hunting under the same weapon rules that apply to the season and land type.
Several devices and methods are specifically prohibited across all hunting in Tennessee. UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), commonly referred to as drones, cannot be used to hunt any wildlife. Additionally, firearms or archery equipment with any device utilizing an artificial light capable of locating wildlife are prohibited, except for shotguns during the nighttime coyote and bobcat-only season.
| Weapon / Method | Daytime (Statewide) | Night Season (Private Land Only) |
|---|---|---|
| Centerfire Rifle | Legal (with restrictions during deer season on public land) | Prohibited |
| Shotgun (no single projectile) | Legal | Legal (buckshot and smaller only) |
| Rimfire Rifle | Legal | Prohibited |
| Archery Equipment | Legal | Prohibited |
| Suppressor (NFA-compliant) | Legal | Legal (if shotgun) |
| Drones / UAVs | Prohibited | Prohibited |
Night Hunting and Electronic Call Rules in Tennessee
Night hunting for coyotes in Tennessee is now a structured, regulated season rather than a blanket prohibition or a free-for-all. The TWRA and Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission created the dedicated night season to give hunters a legal window for pursuing coyotes after dark while keeping specific controls in place.
Legal hours for the night season run from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, and hunting is on private land only, requiring landowner permission provided in writing, by text, or by email.
The weapon rules for night hunting are tighter than for daytime. During the nighttime coyote and bobcat-only season, only shotguns can be used, and single projectile ammunition is prohibited. Shotgun only, with no single projectile — buckshot and smaller shot are allowed. Slugs and rifled projectiles are off the table entirely during the night season.
Lighting and optics rules for the night season are more permissive than many hunters expect. Spotlights, night vision, and thermal imaging devices are allowed, but lights cannot be from or attached to a motorized vehicle or cast from a public road. This means you can use a handheld spotlight or mount optics to your firearm, but you cannot sweep a field from your truck or illuminate from a road shoulder.
Electronic calls are one of the most significant tools unlocked by the night season rules. Hand, mouth-operated, and electronic calls that imitate wounded prey or coyote calls are allowed during the nighttime season. Outside of that season, predator calls while night hunting are prohibited, except during the nighttime coyote and bobcat-only season.
Possession of firearms is prohibited while chasing coyotes, foxes, and bobcats with dogs from the first Saturday in November through the end of the deer season. Chasing coyotes and bobcats with dogs during the nighttime coyote and bobcat-only season is also prohibited.
Common Mistake: Some hunters assume that because electronic calls are allowed during the night season, they are also legal for general nighttime hunting outside those specific season dates. They are not. Electronic predator calls at night are only permitted during the official night season windows.
For hunters interested in comparing night hunting rules across state lines, it is worth reviewing Virginia hunting laws and Arkansas hunting laws, as neighboring states handle night predator hunting differently.
Trapping Coyotes in Tennessee
Hunting and trapping of coyotes are allowed year-round in Tennessee. Unlike some furbearers that have defined trapping seasons, coyotes can be legally trapped on any day of the year, making them one of the most accessible species for trappers in the state.
Trapping requires written landowner permission, which is a stricter standard than what applies to hunting. Tennessee state wildlife laws require hunters and trappers to obtain permission from landowners to hunt or trap on private property. It is advisable to get written permission to hunt, and it is required to trap. Verbal permission is not sufficient for trapping — you need something documented.
Tennessee law sets specific size limits on the traps you can legally use. Steel foothold traps used for water sets must have an exterior jaw measurement of nine inches or less measured at the hinge of the trap. Steel foothold traps used for ground sets must have an exterior jaw measurement of seven inches or less measured at the hinge of the trap.
There are also rules around what constitutes a legal water set for trapping purposes. “Water set” is defined to mean traps set in water adjacent to and part of streams, ponds, lakes, wetlands, or other water courses and includes floating sets.
- Trapping is permitted year-round with no bag limit on coyotes
- Written landowner permission is legally required before setting any trap
- Ground set foothold traps must have jaw measurements of seven inches or less
- Water set foothold traps must have jaw measurements of nine inches or less
- A valid hunting or trapping license is required unless you qualify for a farmland owner exemption
- Traps must be checked regularly in accordance with TWRA requirements
If you are comparing trapping regulations across states, Ohio hunting laws and Indiana hunting laws offer useful points of comparison for Midwest and mid-South trapping frameworks.
Landowner Rights and Depredation Rules in Tennessee
Tennessee landowners dealing with coyote problems have meaningful legal options available to them, and the state has clarified those rights in recent regulatory updates. The TWRA clarified that depredation of animals causing damage is allowed for protection of personal property only. This means if coyotes are actively threatening your livestock, poultry, or other property, you have the legal standing to take action outside of the standard hunting framework.
Coyotes can cost farmers thousands of dollars each year in lost livestock. There is no limit on the number of coyotes farmers can take to protect their livestock, but often the efforts can be in vain to lower the total number of coyotes in an area.
For hunters accessing private land — whether their own or someone else’s — Tennessee’s posted land law is an important piece of the puzzle. With the passage of TCA 70-4-106 in 1990, a “Hunting By Written Permission” law went into effect. The law states that if private land has been properly posted by the owner with signs that include his or her name and address plus the wording “HUNTING BY WRITTEN PERMISSION ONLY,” a hunter or trapper must carry the owner’s written permission. If a hunter or trapper is found without that written permission, that hunter or trapper is subject to prosecution.
There are also specific rules about how you can hunt on private land from a vehicle. On private property, it is legal to hunt from any motorized vehicle (including ATVs, golf carts, etc.), provided the vehicle is stationary and the engine may be running. This does not authorize hunting from a vessel, automobile, or other motor vehicle while under power. Nothing permits hunting from or across a public road or right-of-way.
Pro Tip: If you are a landowner dealing with chronic coyote depredation, document the damage — photos, livestock loss records, and dates — before taking action. This documentation supports your depredation claim if your methods or timing are ever questioned by a TWRA officer.
Landowners granting access to hunters for coyote control should also understand the night hunting permission requirements. Private land night hunting requires landowner permission provided in writing, by text, or by email. A text message or email is legally sufficient, which makes it easy to document permission without requiring a formal written agreement.
For broader context on how Tennessee handles other animal-related legal questions on private property, you may find it useful to review neighbors cat in my yard laws in Tennessee, dog bite laws in Tennessee, and dog leash laws in Tennessee for a fuller picture of how the state regulates human-animal conflicts on private land.
Tennessee’s approach to coyote hunting gives hunters and landowners a wide range of tools, from year-round open seasons and no bag limits to a structured night hunting season with modern optics and electronic calls allowed. The key is staying current with TWRA rules, securing proper permission for private land access, and matching your weapons and methods to the specific season and land type you are hunting. Always verify the latest regulations directly with the TWRA Small Game Regulations page or the official Tennessee hunting regulations guide before heading into the field, as dates and rules can change between seasons.