Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact

The Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC) is a United States interstate compact (an agreement among participating states) that provides for the reciprocal sharing of information regarding sportsmen's fishing, hunting, and trapping violations. The compact allows for recognition of suspensions or revocations of hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits in other member states resulting from violations of hunting, fishing, and trapping laws, to prevent poaching across state lines. As of 2025, all 50 US states are members of the compact.^[1]

Illegal activities in one state can thus affect a person's hunting or fishing privileges in all member states. The IWVC obligates members to report wildlife violation convictions to other Compact members, enables members to honor each other's suspensions, and provides a mechanism for exchanging violator data between member states. A conviction in one Compact member state may cause them to be barred from participating in hunting, fishing, and trapping in all member states, at the discretion of each state.^[2]

If a person's license or permit privileges, which come under the scope of the compact, are suspended or revoked in one member state, they are subject to suspension or revocation in all member states. In addition to license and permit suspensions and revocations which result from a conviction for the illegal pursuit, possession, or taking of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, shellfish, and crustaceans, failing to appear in court or to otherwise answer a ticket or summons issued for such violations will also result in license or permit suspension. Compact member states also agree to recognize convictions for violations within the scope of the compact that occur in all other member states and to apply them toward license and permit suspension and revocations in the state in which the person resides.

The Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact also establishes a process whereby wildlife law violations by a non-resident from a member state are handled as if the person were a resident, meaning they can be served a ticket rather than being arrested, booked, and bonded. This process is a convenience for hunters, anglers, and trappers in member states. It increases the efficiency of game wardens by allowing more time for enforcement duties rather than for processing violators.

Each member state honors all similar wildlife violation suspensions from other member states. This would include Failure to Appear in court violations. One benefit for sportspeople who violate wildlife laws is that, if they are from a member state, a game warden can issue a simple citation instead of taking them to jail and requiring them to post a cash bond. If a non-resident sportsman is issued a wildlife citation and fails to comply with the citation or appear in court, the Wildlife Agency of that state will notify their home state of a failure to comply. The home state will then suspend that person's resident hunting or fishing license. Once the sportsman complies with the initial violation, their home state will be notified, and their resident license will be reinstated. The threat of not being able to hunt, fish, or trap in most states serves as a powerful deterrent to would-be poachers.^[3]

The concept of a wildlife violator compact was first advanced in the early 1980s by member states in the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Law enforcement administrators and Wildlife Commissioners from several states began discussing the idea of a compact modeled on the formats of the existing Driver License Compact and Non-Resident Violator Compacts, both of which relate to motor vehicle operator licensing and enforcement.

In 1985, draft compacts were developed independently in Colorado and Nevada. Subsequently, these drafts were merged, and the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact was created. During the 1989 Legislative session, compact legislation was passed into law in Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon. These three states formed the nucleus of the compact.

The compact was created to prevent "poaching tourism," ensuring that individuals whose hunting or fishing privileges are suspended in one member state cannot legally circumvent that suspension by purchasing licenses in another jurisdiction.^[3]

The compact establishes reciprocity among member states for suspensions of hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses. In most instances, when a resident of a Compact state ("home state") commits a wildlife violation in another member state ("charging state"), the officer in the charging state can treat the non-resident violator as though they were a resident - issuing a citation and releasing them on personal recognizance. If the violator fails to comply with the citation, the charging state may request the violator's home state to suspend the violator's hunting privileges until the violator complies with the terms of the citation. If the violator is convicted, they will be entered into the Compact database. The home state and all member states may treat the conviction as though it occurred in their own state for purposes of license suspension.^[2]

The compact reduces poaching by facilitating reciprocal recognition of license suspensions, thereby reducing interstate movement of wildlife violators. Before the compact, a poacher could lose their license and still cross state lines with no penalty. They would have to lose their license in each state for the penalties to take effect. With the compact, poachers caught poaching in a participating state will be held accountable for their actions across all participating states.

The Compact streamlines the process for dealing with non-resident violators, conserving valuable state resources and enhancing service efficiency. There are fewer arrests because officers can cite and release non-residents, thereby reducing the burden on jail facilities and courts. In addition, since a non-resident offender is subject to license suspension in their home state for failure to comply with a citation, they have the same incentive to comply as a resident, reducing failure-to-appear cases.

There are a few steps required for a state to join the Compact:

1. The state must pass legislation to join (incorporating the compact directly into the state's statutes or authorizing the state wildlife agency to join).

2. The agency must adopt regulations to implement Compact membership. States communicate suspensions with each other using the Compact database, which stores revocation information.

3. States must pay an annual fee of $500 for access to the database. Entering violators into the compact and ratifying other states' suspensions requires a minor time commitment, and this responsibility is usually carried out by existing agency personnel.

The compact provides general procedures for enforcement agencies and courts to follow. A state can develop specific Compact procedures to comply with the legal and administrative requirements of that state, as long as the procedures comply with the intent of the compact. The compact does not affect the right of any participating state to apply any of its laws relating to license privileges to any person or circumstance. When the Compact conflicts with a state's laws, it remains in full force and effect within the state, except for the conflicting provision.