You can't hunt a bear with a firearm, trap, or bow and arrow unless you get a tag or permit first. Also, it's illegal to use traps with iron or steel jaws for hunting bears.

This law explains how California residents and nonresidents can obtain bear hunting tags and their costs. If you're a resident aged 18 or older with a hunting license, you can buy bear tags for $15 each, adjusted for inflation. Junior residents, aged 12 and up, pay $20 for each tag. Nonresidents, 12 or older, must pay $105 per bear tag. The money from these fees supports the Big Game Management Account. Note, however, that this law will cease to be in effect from July 1, 2025, and will be officially repealed on January 1, 2026.

If you're a California resident aged 12 or older with a hunting license, you can buy bear tags based on how many bears you're allowed to hunt in a year. Each tag costs $15, with possible adjustments. Nonresidents can also buy tags, but they'll pay $105 each. This fee money goes into a special fund for managing big game and has to be used in specific ways decided by the Legislature. The law is set to start on July 1, 2025.

This law states that bear tags, which are needed to hunt bears, are only valid during the specific times of the current hunting season when hunting bears is allowed in each district.

If you've been given a bear hunting tag, you need to have it with you while hunting. Once you kill a bear, fill out the tag completely and clearly, and make sure to mark the month and date by cutting out or punching the tag. After that, attach one part of the tag to the bear's ear, and it must stay there during the hunting season and for 15 days after. Also, you must notify the wildlife department right after you get a bear, as explained by the commission. Remember, you can't legally possess an untagged bear unless other rules or regulations say otherwise.

If you're found guilty of breaking any bear-related rules in this code, you will lose your bear hunting tags. You also can't get new bear tags for the rest of that hunting license year.

Additionally, you won't be able to apply for bear tags in the next license year either.

When you legally hunt and kill a bear in California, you must get the tag on the bear signed by an authorized person before you can transport it. Authorized people include a commissioner, a worker from the department, someone designated by the commission, a notary public, a postmaster, a peace officer, or someone who can give oaths. You can only transport the bear to the nearest authorized person to get the tag signed.

If you hunt a bear, you must keep the bear's skin and the part of its head with both ears during the hunting season and for 15 days afterwards. If an officer asks, you have to show these parts to prove you followed the rules.

This law makes it illegal to sell, buy, or have for sale any parts of a bear, such as the meat, skin, or claws, in California, unless it's legally allowed elsewhere in the code.

If someone possesses more than one bear gall bladder, it's presumed they are selling them. However, the law allows exceptions if sales are authorized under a specific part of the code.

If you legally hunt and own parts of a bear, like its skin or claws, you can use them for yourself. But, you can also donate these parts at any time to veterans' groups for rehabilitation. When donating, make sure to get and keep a receipt for as long as required by another related law.

If you hunt or capture a bear in another state and bring it into California, the California rules about possessing bear still apply.

This law states that the rules in this chapter do not apply if you are taking a bear to protect your livestock, land, or property from damage or the threat of damage by the bear.