What are the 2025–26 american woodcock hunting regulations in Michigan?

Michigan american woodcock regulations, 2025–26

Last updated 2026-09-24 · from MDNR data · 2025–26 licence year

Michigan's 2025–26 american woodcock season runs September 15, 2025 to October 29, 2025 — 45 days afield. The bag is 3 per day, 9 in possession. Hunter orange is required. Stamps: Free woodcock stamp, Federal HIP registration. Read against the 2025–26 licence year, from MDNR.

Season and limits

Season: American woodcock — September 15, 2025 to October 29, 2025
Bag limit: 3 per day, 9 in possession
Hunter orange: required Small game hunters must wear a hunter-orange cap, hat, vest, jacket or rain gear as the outermost garment, visible from all sides. Camouflage counts if it is at least 50% orange.
Stamps: Free woodcock stamp, Federal HIP registration
Sundays: No statewide Sunday closure for small game. A few counties restrict firearm hunting on private land under PA 319 of 1994 — not mapped here.

Federally set — woodcock is a migratory bird, so the season is a US Fish and Wildlife framework Michigan selects within, not a state season.
The stamp is free but it is not optional, and it registers you with HIP.

Licences

Base licence
Everyone, before any other licence — Required to hunt small game in Michigan, and it is what every other tag is added to.
Hunter safety certificate
Anyone born on or after 1 January 1960 — Or an apprentice licence, which lets an uncertified hunter hunt under supervision.
Federal HIP registration
Woodcock and every other migratory bird — Free, but not optional — it registers you with the federal harvest survey.
Free woodcock stamp
Woodcock hunters — Free and separate from HIP. Both are required.

The other questions

By region

Open the hunting map →Public land and bird cover, drawn for the bird you are after.