Bear hunting with an exceptional license

Outside the reindeer herding area, bear hunting always requires a separate exceptional license granted by the Finnish Wildlife Agency. These licenses are typically issued for joint permit areas. If you wish to participate in bear hunting, you must register with the holder of the joint permit.

Joint permit means that multiple holders of hunting rights jointly apply for a hunting or exceptional license. If the joint permit area includes state-owned land, you will generally need a personal bear hunting permit from Metsähallitus for those areas. In regions where state lands are small and fragmented, hunting rights are granted as an area-based permit calculated by land area. In such cases, a personal permit is not required. You can confirm this with the joint permit holder.

There is no separate personal quota for Metsähallitus bear permits outside the reindeer herding area. A hunter may harvest more than one bear, provided the exceptional license issued by the Wildlife Agency and the joint permit rules allow it.

The bear hunting season begins on August 20 at 00:00 and ends when the quota defined by the exceptional license is reached, but no later than October 31 at 24:00. The number of bears harvested can be monitored on the Finnish Wildlife Agency’s page (riista.fi, in Finnish).

Bear hunting is generally prohibited in the border zone. To track an injured bear that has fled into the zone or to retrieve a bear that has been killed there, a separate permit must be obtained from the Border Guard.

How to get a bear permit for an exceptional license area

The Finnish Wildlife Agency has granted exceptional licenses for bear hunting in 2026. If the hunt is carried out under an exceptional license outside the reindeer husbandry area, the required hunting permits for state-owned lands will be available for purchase from Monday, 17 August 2026, 9 am. Read more about the topic (riista.fi, only in Finnish and Swedish).

You can purchase a personal bear permit after the Wildlife Agency has granted an exceptional license. By purchasing a hunting permit, you also agree to contact the holder of the joint permit and to comply with the joint permit rules.

Exceptional licenses have commonly been granted for areas outside the reindeer herding area in Kainuu (Kuhmo, Sotkamo, Kajaani, Ristijärvi, Paltamo) and North Karelia. Exceptional licenses and joint permit arrangements may also exist in other regions. Information about bear permit sales is published on this website whenever an exceptional license has been granted and hunting arrangements are confirmed.

• In 2026, state-owned lands are included in the permits of Sotkamo and Ilomantsi. If bear hunting takes place, Metsähallitus will start selling personal daily and weekly permits for bear hunting in these areas on 17 August.
• In the other exceptional license areas, there are fewer state-owned lands included, so Metsähallitus' permit arrangements will be implemented either through area permits or hunting lease agreements.

A personal bear hunting permit can be purchased for a day or for a week. Daily permit costs €22, weekly permit €60. The permit is available via the Eräluvat.fi service or by calling our customer service at +358 20 69 2424 (weekdays 9 am–3 pm).

As a logged-in customer, you can reserve permits for up to seven (7) days. The due date is one day before the permit period begins. If you pay for your permits immediately, you can purchase permits for up to five people.

If bear hunting rights are granted via an area permit based on land area, the price is €66 per permit decision (VAT 0 %) and €0.02 per hectare (+VAT). These permit applications are handled by the regional Metsähallitus hunting specialist. See contact information here.

Before purchasing a bear permit, you must read Metsähallitus' terms of purchase and cancellation.