Squirrel Friends Wildlife Rescue

How To Become a Licensed NC Wildlife Rehabilitator

We know it can be difficult to navigate the system. We hope this page will help you become a much-needed rehabilitator in the state of North Carolina. Please note that it is not legal to hold or attempt to rehabilitate without proper licensing.

Also available on this page: How to Obtain a Wildlife Captivity License for Holding a Non-Releasable Animal in NC

Applying for Apprenticeship

This permit authorizes the Apprentice to accept orphaned/injured, and juvenile opossums, rabbits and squirrels ONLY at the APPROVED FACILITY address listed on the Apprentice Permit.

Please be sure to list YOUR HOME ADDRESS as the Facility Location during the application process, as this is where you will be able to legally hold rabbits, squirrels and opossums during your Apprenticeship.

In order to become a Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, you first need to become an Apprentice Rehabilitator. To do this, please follow these steps:

  1. First you will need to go to the NC Wildlife Commission website and locate a licensed rehabilitator near you: NC WRC Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitators
  2. Next, you will need to contact that rehabilitator and ask if they are willing to take on an Apprentice.
  3. Once you find the licensed rehabilitator you will be working with, fill out this form: Wildlife Rehabilitation Mentor-Apprentice Agreement Form
  4. Then, you will go to the Go Outdoors North Carolina website and click Purchase License / Permits. You will be asked to Login.
  5. If you have never logged in, you must click Enroll Now
  6. If you have logged in in the past, you can search for yourself by using various forms of identification, including, DOB, Last Name, WRC ID, Last Four of SSN, US Driver’s License / State ID, Military ID, In-State College ID and a few more.
  7. You will then click the tab called Applications/Regulated Permits (On a mobile device, this will be under the Menu tab next to the shopping cart).
  8. Scroll down and find Wildlife Captivity License For Rehabilitation Apprentice Application – Not A License under Available Applications and click Apply.
  9. Go to your cart, click the Application and fill out the form that pulls up. This will ask you to upload Mentor-Apprentice Form.
  10. Please be sure to list YOUR HOME ADDRESS as the Facility Location during the application process, as this is where you will be able to legally hold rabbits, squirrels and opossums during your Apprenticeship.
  11. Once you submit, you will receive a Temporary 30-day Apprentice License. Once they approve you, they will email you and ask you to obtain the “726 – Captivity License for Wildlife Rehabilitation.”
  12. Log back into your Go Outdoors North Carolina account, click on Buy Licenses, click the tab called Applications/Regulated Permits, scroll down and find “Captivity License for Wildlife Rehabilitation” under Available Permits and add that to your cart.
  13. Checkout of this cart and pay the optional $12 annual fee and an optional $5 Fee. Customers do not have to make a donation during checkout. When prompted to donate, customers can select the bottom option “Not AT This Time”. Sometimes, depending on browser settings, this button will be hidden beneath the bottom banner. These licenses usually expire at the end of every year, and you will need to renew again for the next year by clicking Renew on the correct permit.
  14. You will need to work with a Mentor for a minimum of 1 year before you can apply for the Rehabilitator License.

Applying for Basic License

Once you have completed at least a year working with your mentor, you can then apply for your License.

  1. Go to the Go Outdoors North Carolina website and click Purchase License / Permits. You will be asked to Login.
  2. Fill out this form with your Mentor: Wildlife Rehabilitation Mentor Upgrade Form
  3. Go to Applications/Regulated Permits, scroll down and find “Captivity License for Wildlife Rehabilitation” under Available Permits and add that to your cart.
  4. Go to your cart, click the Application and fill out the form that pulls up. This will ask you to upload Mentor-Apprentice Form if you have just finished your Apprenticeship.
  5. Once you submit, you will receive a Temporary 30-day Apprentice License. Once they approve you, they will email you and ask you to obtain the ” WR 726 – Captivity License for Wildlife Rehabilitation.”
  6. Please be sure to list YOUR HOME ADDRESS as the Facility Location during the application process, as this is where you will be able to legally hold wildlife.
  7. Log back into your Go Outdoors North Carolina account, click Buy Licenses, click the tab called Applications/Regulated Permits, scroll down and find “Captivity License for Wildlife Rehabilitation” under Available Permits and add that to your cart.
  8. Checkout of this cart and pay the optional $12 annual fee and an optional $5 Fee. Customers do not have to make a donation during checkout. When prompted to donate, customers can select the bottom option “Not AT This Time”. Sometimes, depending on browser settings, this button will be hidden beneath the bottom banner. These licenses usually expire at the end of every year, and you will need to renew again for the next year by clicking Renew on the correct permit.
  9. Then the state will email you your License that will be good for 1 year.
  10. You will need to renew this annually. There is a 60-day grace period for renewing licenses and the system will allow you to renew as early as November 1st.

Renewing your License

You will need to renew your license annually. You will follow the same steps as Applying for License.

  1. Go to the Go Outdoors North Carolina website and click Purchase License / Permits. You will be asked to Login. Find Applications/Regulated Permits.
  2. IF YOU ARE FINISHED YOUR APPRENTICESHIP: You will follow the steps for Applying for a Basic License and clicking Renew on the correct permit.
  3. IF YOU ARE STILL AN APPRENTICE: You will follow the steps for Applying for Apprenticeship and clicking Renew on the correct permit.
  4. You will not have to fill out a brand-new application each year. Simply locate the application for the license you’re looking to renew under Available Permits, click the Renew button to the right, then review the application and make sure everything is still current, and submit it.
  5. Please be sure to list YOUR HOME ADDRESS as the Facility Location during the application process, as this is where you will be able to legally hold wildlife.
  6. Checkout of this cart and pay the optional $12 annual fee and an optional $5 Fee. Customers do not have to make a donation during checkout. When prompted to donate, customers can select the bottom option “Not AT This Time”. Sometimes, depending on browser settings, this button will be hidden beneath the bottom banner.
  7. Then the state will email you your License that will be good for 1 year.
  8. You will need to renew this annually. There is a 60-day grace period for renewing licenses and the system will allow you to renew as early as November 1st.

Important Information about ALL Rehab Permits!!

  • The 30-day application is only an application and does not act as a temporary permit or authorize the activities of the permit while it’s waiting to be approved.
  • Approval may take up to 30-days if it’s in the middle of renewal season (December-January) but will hopefully not take that long.
  • Once approved, Applicants will receive an email from Go Outdoors with instructions directing them where and how to buy the license, as outlined above. They then have 30-days to buy the license. Reminder emails are being developed now so customers who were approved, but have not bought their license, will be notified multiple times up until they lose the ability to buy it.
  • Regardless of when the licenses were purchased, they will expire on 12/31 of each year. Many rehabbers wait until May or June to renew, which means they’re unlicensed from January up until the time they’re approved and renew.
  • Licenses can be renewed as early as November 1st. Once approved and purchased, they will automatically start on January 1st.
  • Rehab licenses cannot be setup for auto-renewal.
  • Apprentices do not have to start over if they swap mentors mid-apprenticeship. If they spent 6 months with one mentor, and have proper documentation reflecting that, they only need 6 more months with another.

More instructions online:

NOTICE

EVEN IF YOU ARE A LICENSED REHABILITATOR, IT IS ILLEGAL TO HOLD NON-RELEASABLE ANIMALS WITHOUT AN ADDITIONAL PERMIT CALLED A WILDLIFE CAPTIVITY LICENSE FOR HOLDING

How to Obtain a Wildlife Captivity License for Holding a Non-Releasable Animal in NC

In North Carolina, it is illegal to possess wildlife without the appropriate permits. Obtaining a wildlife rehabilitation license does not authorize individuals to keep wild animals as pets or to legalize the possession of animals acquired unlawfully. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) explicitly states that a Captivity License for Rehabilitation shall not be issued for the purpose of holding wild animals or wild birds as pets or to allow wild animals or wild birds to be acquired unlawfully. (NC Wildlife)

Additionally, individuals without a captivity license for rehabilitation may temporarily possess injured, crippled, or orphaned wild animals or birds, provided they are surrendered to a licensed veterinarian or an individual licensed under this rule within 24 hours. (NC Wildlife)

Therefore, applying for a wildlife rehabilitation permit to legitimize the possession of an illegally held wild animal is against state regulations. Such permits are intended solely for the rehabilitation and subsequent release of wildlife and do not permit the unlawful acquisition or permanent possession of wild animals.

Instructions on how to obtain a Wildlife Captivity License for Holding in NC.