Trust
How we verify outfitters and guides
Nothing is accepted automatically. A listing moves through four steps, and a real outfitter appears on the site only once it is published and its license or permit has been checked against state records where available (or with the agency that issued the permit).
The status workflow
- Submitted (submitted). An outfitter asked to be listed, or an editor found a candidate. Nothing is checked or shown yet. Rows enter here with whatever the outfitter supplied.
- Needs review (needs_review). An editor is running the vetting checklist. The row is not shown. It stays here until every check passes or it is rejected.
- Verified (verified). All checks passed: the license or permit was confirmed with the issuing agency (license_verified = true, with verified_by and verified_on), and the listing has a source, contact route and written editor's notes. Still not shown until published.
- Published (published). Shown on the site. Only verified rows can be published; the build fails if a published real listing lacks a license number, verifying agency or last-verified date, unless it is a "no public state license lookup" listing in a state where no outfitter license was found (then it needs the agency link, a source and a checked date, and is labelled as such).
Listings that fail a check are rejected; listings that lapse or are taken down are archived. A published listing can only go back to needs_review or archived, never straight to rejected, and nothing can skip a step.
The vetting checklist
- Identify the business. Confirm the business name, a working website or phone, and the person responsible. Reject listings that are only a lead-generation front or a reseller with no outfit of its own.
- Get the license or permit number. Record the state outfitter or guide license, registration, or the federal land-use permit number exactly as issued. Where a state licenses the individual guide rather than the business, record the lead guide's license number. If the state has no licensing program, record the permit that covers the operation (for example a Forest Service special use permit) and the agency that can confirm it.
- Confirm it with the agency. Look the number up with the issuing agency (state lookup, agency list or a direct request), check that it is active and covers the services and state advertised, and record the agency name, its URL, who checked and when. Where our dated state research records that no state outfitter or guide license was found, there is nothing to look up: the listing is labelled "No public state license lookup" with a link to the state agency, and is never shown as license-checked. In states where a license is required or the rule is unconfirmed, a listing without a checked license is held.
- Check the scope matches. The species, hunt types and service level on the listing must match what the outfitter actually sells and what the license covers. Lease offers are not listings: lease sections only link to public lease pages.
- Check claims and wording. No harvest guarantees, no invented statistics, no ratings or reviews copied from other sites, and no photos or text taken from third parties. Prices are shown only if the outfitter published them and we can cite the page.
- Write the editor's notes. A person writes at least 80 characters about what the check found (for example how the license appears in the agency lookup, or which public lands the permit covers).
- Separate money from verification. Paid placement never changes the checks. A paid listing that fails vetting is not published, and a free listing that passes is published.
- Re-check on a schedule. Licenses renew on the agency's schedule. Listings carry a last-verified date and are flagged for re-checking after the stale-after period set in rules.
What a published listing must show
- License or permit number, exactly as issued.
- Verifying agency name and a link to its lookup or page.
- Who confirmed it and on what date, plus a last-checked date for the whole listing.
- A source link and human-written editor's notes (at least 80 characters).
Exception: in a state where we found no outfitter or guide license (so there is no public state license lookup), a listing shows the label "No public state license lookup: confirm with" the state agency instead of a license number, plus the agency link, its source and the date we checked it. It is never labelled license-checked.
The site build fails if a published, real listing is missing any of these.
Who confirms licenses, state by state
Read on the dates shown, from the linked official pages. Where we could not confirm a rule we say so; the agency is the authority.
Every state, including those without a licensing body listed here, is on the states page with its wildlife agency.
Federal land permits
- The U.S. Forest Service handbook says individuals or entities conducting outfitting or guiding on National Forest System lands must be authorized under a special use permit (priority use or temporary use). A hunting outfitter that guides on national forest land should therefore hold, and be able to show, a Forest Service permit in addition to any state license. Source (read October 23, 2026)
What a hunter should do too
- Ask for the outfitter's license, registration or permit number and confirm it with the agency before you pay a deposit.
- Get the hunt terms in a written contract: dates, guide-to-hunter ratio, services, what is and is not included, and the refund and cancellation terms.
- Ask which land the hunt is on (private, public, or both) and what permit or access arrangement covers it.
- Ask for recent client references you can phone, and what happens to your meat and trophy.
- Check the state's own hunter-license, tag, draw and hunter-education requirements well ahead of the application dates.
- Ask what happens if conditions or game numbers are poor: no outfitter can guarantee a harvest, and we do not list any that promise one.
Regulations, licensing rules, seasons, draws and prices change and differ by state and land type. Information is checked on the date shown and is not legal advice. Always confirm requirements with the state wildlife agency and the licensing agency named on the page, and get hunt terms in a written contract.
Want to be listed? Claim your listing.
Frequently asked questions
Why do you require a license or permit number?
Because it is the one claim a hunter can check independently with a government agency. Where a state requires outfitters to be licensed, advertising without a license is often unlawful, so a number and a lookup link are the strongest signal we can publish.
What if a state has no outfitter license?
If we record (with a dated source) that a state has no outfitter or guide license, there is no state record to check a listing against. We still publish the listing, labelled "No public state license lookup: confirm with" the state agency, with a link to that agency, and we never call it license-checked. Where an operation needs a specific permit (for example a U.S. Forest Service special use permit for guiding on national forest land), ask the outfitter for it. In states that require a license, or where the rule is unconfirmed, a listing is held until a license can be checked.
Do you scrape ratings, reviews or photos?
No. We do not copy ratings, reviews or photos from Google or any other site. The only Google Places data we may store is a place identifier.
How often are listings re-checked?
Each listing shows its last-checked date and is flagged for re-checking after 365 days. Licenses renew on the agency's schedule, so an expired one removes a listing.