Scientific and Educational Collecting

​​​​​Scientific & Educational Collecting Permits

The Scientific and Educational Collecting program administered by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources allows qualified individuals and organizations to legally collect and temporarily hold wildlife for scientific research, educational instruction, or zoological study. A permit is required before collecting protected species, and all activities must comply with state regulations, including proper reporting, release of live animals at the capture site, and safeguards for federally threatened or endangered species.

General Information​

The Scientific and Educational Collecting Permit authorizes the collecting and holding, even temporarily, of wildlife for zoological, educational, or scientific purposes. Both permits are valid from January 1 or the date of issue through December 31 of the same year.

• Scientific wildlife collecting means the taking and subsequent possession or release of protected wildlife specimens for the purposes of conducting scientific investigations or evaluations for which compensation is received. 
  
• Educational wildlife collecting means the taking and subsequent possession or release of protected wildlife by an individual or nonprofit organization for bona fide student instruction or for a university-related research project.

All collectors must carry a valid copy or photocopy of their permit while in the field.

A Scientific or Educational Collecting permit shall not be used in lieu of hunting, fishing, or trapping licenses.

Federally-threatened or endangered species may not be killed. Federally threatened or endangered species inadvertently killed shall be reported to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife within twenty-four (24) hours, and all specimens shall be submitted to the department within seven (7) days of taking. 

All live wildlife shall be released at the capture location.

Important Links​

Permits and Reports

Application Process

All paperwork must be submitted at least 15 days prior to collection activities. To obtain a scientific or educational collecting permit, an applicant MUST submit the following:

1. A completed and signed Scientific and Educational Collecting Permit a​pplication.
2. The appropriate fee (Please refer to the License and Permit Fees page​)
3. A valid copy of the applicant’s federal permit if collecting ANY of the following:​
   
• bats,
  
• mussels,
• fishes in a watershed known to harbor federally threatened or endangered fish species,
• or species with any federal protection.
4. Additional Attachments to include: 
   
1. An 8.5" x 11" topo or aerial map is required (MRPs are not accepted).
   
2. Project Proposal ​Form (if collecting any species listed in #3 above), and
   
3. An Indiana Bat Proposal Form (if collecting Indiana bats) for each new project. 
   

Permit Renewal

An Applicant must submit a new and/or updated application and the appropriate fee each year.

Previous year’s data must be reported prior to January 15th for an application to be considered for renewal.

An updated copy of the applicant’s federal permit must be provided if collecting ANY bats, mussels, or fish in a watershed known to harbor federally threatened or endangered fish species, or species with any federal protection.

Reporting

All Scientific and Educational Permit holders must submit a report.

In a given collection year, if you have “no data”, you have to submit an official letter or e-mail to the appropriate Divisional administrative assistants stating that no specimens were collected. This letter or e-mail will serve as your annual report.

Data must be submitted for all vertebrate fish and wildlife species collected, and data on the following list of invertebrates shall be reported as well: Mussels (Class Bivalvia), Crayfish (Class Decopoda), and Federally threatened or endangered invertebrates.

Data must be in a format specified by the department.

Prior year’s data must be submitted by January 15th of the following year.