Trapping Laws in Arizona: Licenses, Legal Traps, and Where You Can Set Them
October 30, 2026
Trapping laws in Arizona are stricter than many trappers expect, mostly because of a 1994 voter initiative that banned the most common trap types on all public land. If you plan to run a trapline, you need to know which devices are legal, where you can set them, and what paperwork follows a catch.
This article walks you through the licensing and education rules, furbearer species, legal trap types, daily check requirements, setback distances, bobcat tagging, and penalties. Rules come from Arizona statutes, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission’s administrative code, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) trapping regulations booklet.
Important Note: Season dates, species lists, and fees are set by Commission Order and change by regulation year. The AZGFD publishes a 2026-27 trapping regulations booklet. Check it before you set a single trap.
Is Trapping Legal in Arizona
Yes, trapping is legal in Arizona, but only for license holders and only within tight limits. State law lets the holder of a trapping license trap predatory, nongame, and fur-bearing mammals under such restrictions as the commission may specify.
The biggest limit is where and how you trap. Under Proposition 201, passed in 1994, the measure passed with 58.5% of the vote, and it made it unlawful to take wildlife with leghold traps, instant-kill body-gripping traps, poison, or snares on public land.
That means trapping with traditional steel traps is realistic mainly on private land, with the landowner’s permission. If you are dealing with a nuisance animal at home rather than running a trapline, read our guide to wildlife removal laws in Arizona first, since many species cannot be trapped at all without a permit.
Trapping License and Education Requirements in Arizona
You need a trapping license if you are 10 or older. Under Arizona Administrative Code R12-4-307, a trapping license is required for any person 10 years of age and older, while a person under 10 is not required to buy a license but must apply for and obtain a registration number. That registration number is not transferable.
Education is mandatory for most people. A person born on or after January 1, 1967 must successfully complete a Department-approved trapping education course before applying for a trapping license. The AZGFD says anyone 9 years of age or older may complete a trapper education course offered through the Department, so a child can finish the course before turning 10.
State law also sets who is exempt. Under A.R.S. § 17-333.02, a person born before January 1, 1967, or who completed the voluntary trapper education course between December 31, 1987 and March 1, 1993, is exempt.
How to Apply
- Complete a Department-approved trapper education course (see the AZGFD trapper education page).
- Fill out the Department’s trapping license application form, available at Department offices and online.
- Pay the applicable fees set under R12-4-102.
- Record the registration number the Department assigns, since it can be used to mark your traps.
Trapping Seasons and Legal Furbearer Species in Arizona
You can only trap during set seasons. The rules state that a trapper may only trap predatory and fur-bearing animals during trapping seasons established by Commission Order. Exact dates for each regulation year are in the AZGFD booklet, so confirm them before you head out.
Arizona’s trappable animals fall into two groups: predatory and fur-bearing mammals. Common targets include coyote, bobcat, red fox, and kit fox, and the coyote is open across most of the state. One third-party trapping guide notes that there is no bag limit on red fox during the season, though that guide’s data is several years old, so verify against the current booklet.
Some animals are off limits. Raccoons, for example, are classified as nongame wildlife and need a permit before any removal, according to our wildlife removal laws page. If coyotes are your main interest, our breakdown of coyote hunting laws in Arizona covers the non-trapping options.
Legal Trap Types and Restrictions in Arizona
The AZGFD booklet defines the main trap categories. A foothold trap is designed to capture an animal by the leg or foot, a body-gripping trap is designed to capture an animal by gripping its body, and a confinement trap captures wildlife alive and holds it without harm.
What you can use depends on the land type, as the table below shows.
| Trap or Method | Private Land (With Permission) | Public Land |
|---|---|---|
| Leghold (foothold) trap | Allowed during season, with restrictions | Prohibited |
| Instant-kill body-gripping trap | Allowed during season, with restrictions | Prohibited |
| Snare | Subject to Commission rules | Prohibited |
| Poison | Not a legal trapping method | Prohibited |
| Confinement (live) trap | Allowed | Limited exceptions for research, falconry, or relocation |
The statute text confirms the public land ban, and the AZGFD regulations booklet reprints A.R.S. 17-301(D), which lists exceptions for snares, traps not designed to kill, or nets used for scientific research, sport falconry, or relocation of wildlife.
Bait rules apply too. Under R12-4-307, you cannot bait a confinement trap with a live animal, any edible parts of small game, big game, or game fish, or any part of a game bird or nongame bird. Every trapper must also release, without additional injury, all animals that cannot lawfully be taken by trap.
Pro Tip: In javelina hunt units designated by Commission Order, you must carry a choke restraint device that lets you release a javelina from a trap. Confinement trap users are exempt from that requirement.
Trap Check Requirements in Arizona
Arizona uses a daily check rule. The statute is short: all traps in use shall be inspected daily. The Commission’s rules repeat it, listing daily trap inspection first among a trapper’s duties.
You also have to identify every trap. Each trap must carry a metal tag with either the trapper’s name and address or the registration number, and the Department-assigned number is the only registration number accepted.
It is also unlawful to touch another trapper’s equipment. State law says it is unlawful for a person to disturb the trap of another unless authorized to do so by the owner.
Important Note: A separate statute covering bear and lion capture uses a 72-hour inspection window. That rule is for those species only and does not replace the daily check for furbearer traps.
Where You Can and Can’t Trap in Arizona
Land type is the first question. Public land (federal, state, county, and municipal) is closed to leghold traps, instant-kill traps, snares, and poison. City, county, and town parks add another layer: all city, county, and town parks and preserves are closed to hunting and trapping unless open by Commission Order.
On private land you still face setback distances. Under R12-4-307, you cannot set a trap within one-half mile (880 yards) of areas developed for public use such as boat ramps, camping areas, picnic areas, roadside rest areas, and wildlife viewing platforms.
Other setbacks from the AZGFD rules, as summarized on our wildlife removal page, include:
- One-half mile from any occupied farmhouse, residence, cabin, lodge, or building without the owner’s or resident’s permission
- One hundred yards from an interstate or any highway maintained by the Arizona Department of Transportation
- Fifty feet from any trail maintained for public use by a government agency
If you hunt on the same property, you may also want our overview of hunting laws in Arizona and the rules on open range, since livestock and grazing leases can affect access.
Tagging, Reporting and Selling Pelts in Arizona
Bobcats carry the strictest tagging rules. The AZGFD defines a bobcat seal as the tag a person must attach to the raw pelt or unskinned carcass of any bobcat taken by trapping in Arizona or exported out of Arizona regardless of the method of take.
The process has two steps. First, a trapper must immediately attach a valid bobcat transportation tag to the pelt or unskinned carcass and fill in required details like the trapping license number. Second, all bobcats taken in this state must have a bobcat seal attached and locked through the mouth and an eye opening, or through both eye openings, no later than April 1 of each year.
Department personnel apply the seal. They attach and lock a bobcat seal only to a pelt or unskinned carcass presented with a validated transportation tag and a complete lower jaw identified with labels provided with the tag.
Harvest Reporting
Every licensee must file a harvest report. Under A.R.S. § 17-361, each trapping licensee shall submit a legible report on dates designated by the commission, listing the number of each kind of animal taken and the names and addresses of the people to whom they were shipped or sold, or the wildlife management units where animals were taken.
Keep records of every buyer and every unit where you trap. Missing a reporting date is a compliance problem even if every trap was legal.
Penalties for Trapping Violations in Arizona
The research I gathered does not list specific fine amounts for trapping violations, so I will not guess at figures. What the regulations do make clear is the list of prohibited acts: possessing wildlife over the possession limit and possessing or transporting wildlife or parts that were unlawfully taken are both on the AZGFD violations list.
Violations of Title 17 and Commission rules can bring citations, fines, and loss of license privileges. For exact penalties, check the current AZGFD trapping regulations or contact the Department at 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086.
Common Mistake: Placing a leghold or body-gripping trap on public land because it is “open to hunting.” Proposition 201 bans those devices on all public land, and a hunting license does not change that.
Trapping is also tied to other animal laws. If you handle dogs near trap sites, see our pages on leash laws in Arizona and feral cat laws, and read roadkill laws before collecting any animal you did not trap yourself.
The safest approach is simple: take the trapper education course, trap on private land with written permission, check traps every day, seal your bobcats, and file your harvest report on time.