Swiss Hunting Exam Study Guide 2026

How hunting is organised

The Federal Hunting Act (Jagdgesetz, JSG) of 1986 sets the framework. The cantons organise hunting, run the training and hold the hunting exam (Jagdprüfung). Passing it gives you hunting eligibility (Jagdfähigkeit). About 30,000 people hunt in Switzerland.

The minimum age is 18, and some cantons set a higher age. Some cantons recognise exams from other cantons, and a few recognise German, Austrian or Liechtenstein licences. Ask the hunting authority of the canton where you want to hunt. Most cantons also ask for yearly proof of shooting practice.

What the exam covers

Every canton writes its own exam, but the subjects are similar. Many cantons use the textbook Jagen in der Schweiz.

How to prepare

• Get your canton's exam rules and the textbook it names, and study the cantonal hunting law as well as the federal law.
• Learn to recognise the common species by sight, tracks and signs, including protected animals that must never be shot.
• Practise safe handling with an instructor until every step is automatic: check, load, secure, unload.
• Practise shooting regularly at an approved range; the shooting test needs steady, repeated hits, not a lucky shot.
• Join hunts as a beater or helper to see how drive hunts, dogs and game care work in real life.

Example: becoming a hunter in Zurich

1. Pass the theory exam (digital multiple choice, at least 75%) and send a criminal record extract and a certificate of legal capacity.
2. Pass the shooting exam within two years (up to 4 attempts), including weapon handling with your own guns plus a revolver and a pistol.
3. Train as a trainee (Anwärter) in a Zurich Revier for at least two years; helping as a beater is recommended.
4. Pass the practical hunting exam, held once a year in a Revier, between two and six years after the trainee exam.

The practical exam covers conduct on the hunt (stand and drive hunts, identifying animals, shot placement, follow-up searches, field dressing and game hygiene), dogs, game damage, formalities such as map reading and the wildlife accident procedure, and hunting customs and plants. A safety-relevant weapons error means failure.

Safe firearm handling

• Treat every firearm as loaded until you have checked it yourself.
• Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times.
• Check the barrel is clear before every loading.
• Engage the safety right after loading.
• Only shoot with a safe backstop (Kugelfang) behind the target; never at an animal on a skyline.
• Identify the animal and what is behind it before every shot.
• Unload before crossing fences, ditches or streams, and before getting into a vehicle.
• No alcohol before or during the hunt.
• On drive hunts, know where every shooter and beater is and never swing through the line.

When you bring guns to an exam or a range, carry them unloaded, broken open where possible and with the action open. An accidental discharge in Zurich's handling test is grounds for failing.

Ethics, wildlife and game care

Ethical hunting means a quick, clean kill. If you think you hit an animal, a follow-up search with a trained tracking dog is required. Report wildlife accidents on the road to the police on 117. Field-dress game promptly and keep the meat clean and cool.

Hunters also help manage wildlife. Too many deer and chamois can stop forests from regrowing by eating young trees. Wolves have been returning on their own since 1995, and the first Swiss pack formed in 2012. About 5,000 beavers now live in Swiss waters. Wildlife corridors let animals move safely between habitats.