Selling Fur & the Commercial Fur License
Assumes the Hunting Primer. New here? Start there first.
Your objective
By the end, you'll be able to explain what licenses and tags SC requires to sell fur legally, and identify the main channels for selling your catch.
You’ve finished the season with a dozen gray fox pelts, two bobcats, and a handful of beaver. The work of trapping, dispatch, and fur handling is done. Now the question is: what does selling them legally actually require? The answer involves more than dropping them off at a buyer’s door — a commercial license, specific bobcat tags, and a year-end report all sit between a finished pelt and a legal sale.
Quick recall
Quick recall from the Trapping Legal Framework lesson — can a landowner trap furbearing animals on their own land without a Commercial Fur Harvest License?
The Commercial Fur Harvest License
The SC Commercial Fur Harvest License is required of any person who takes furbearing animals for sale or who sells fur in South Carolina. As of current published regulations:
- Resident: $25 per year
- Non-resident: $200 per year
Both the commercial fur license and a valid SC hunting license are required. The hunting license is not waived by holding the commercial fur license.
Youth under 16: May pursue a path through an approved Trapper Education Course that allows them to begin without the standard hunting license requirement. Check current SCDNR rules for the youth pathway.
Annual harvest report: All licensed commercial fur harvesters must submit a harvest report to SCDNR by April 15 of the year following the trapping season. The report covers what species you took, how many, and by what methods. Failure to file on a second offense results in ineligibility for a license the following year.
Edge case What if I just want to trap beavers under a depredation permit?
Depredation and nuisance permits have their own conditions set by SCDNR and may or may not require a commercial fur license depending on whether the animals are being sold. If you take animals under a depredation permit and sell the pelts, the commercial license requirement still applies. When in doubt, call SCDNR before the season starts — a five-minute call prevents a violation.
The CITES tag requirement for bobcat
Bobcat is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Under federal law, any bobcat pelt sold, transferred, or transported out of state requires a CITES tag issued by SCDNR to document that the pelt was legally taken.
The process:
- Hold a valid Commercial Fur Harvest License.
- Apply to SCDNR for CITES tags. Tags can only be ordered between November 1 and April 30.
- No more than 10 tags per order. There is a $3 processing fee per order (no individual tag fee).
- Attach the tag securely to each bobcat pelt before any sale, transfer out of state, or shipment to an auction house.
- Tags are nontransferable and may not be altered in any way.
- Tags remain attached until the time of processing (manufacture into a finished product).
A bobcat pelt without a CITES tag cannot be legally sold or transported out of South Carolina — this is a federal compliance requirement, not just a state one.
Where and how SC fur sells
Local fur buyers. The fastest route to payment. Local buyers (also called fur collectors or trapline buyers) come to you or operate collection points, grade your pelts on the spot, and pay cash. The tradeoff is that local buyer prices reflect the buyer’s margin and current market — you may get less than auction value, but you are paid immediately. For a small-volume trapper, a reliable local buyer is often the best practical option.
To find current SC fur buyers, contact the South Carolina Trappers Association or ask at local farm supply and feed stores during trapping season.
Fur auctions. The two largest North American auction houses are North American Fur Auctions (NAFA) based in Toronto and Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. (FHA) based in Ontario. Auctions occur three to four times per year. Your pelts are consigned to the auction house, graded by their staff, and sold competitively to international buyers. Payment comes after the sale — typically weeks to months later. For high-volume or exceptional-quality pelts, auction prices often exceed what a local buyer will pay.
Direct sale to fur dealers. Some trappers sell directly to domestic fur dealers or to niche buyers for specific species (e.g., bobcat to a hat maker, beaver to a fly-tyer supplier). These arrangements are negotiated individually and generally require established relationships.
Deep dive Current SC fur market context
The wild fur market fluctuates significantly year to year, driven by overseas demand (primarily China and Russia) and fashion industry trends. Gray fox, red fox, and coyote have traded at modest prices in recent years; bobcat remains one of the higher-value SC furbearers when prime and CITES-tagged correctly. Beaver has a stable niche market in the craft and fly-tying industry, with castors adding supplemental income. Check current prices through the Trapper Magazine fur market reports or NAFA’s pre-season outlook before committing to a selling channel.
Knowledge check
You trapped three bobcats this season and want to sell the pelts to a local buyer. What must be on each pelt before the sale is legal?
Knowledge check
You forgot to submit your harvest report last April 15, and again this April 15. What is the consequence under current SC law?
Take it to the woods
End-of-season fur compliance checklist
Sources
- South Carolina Trapping and Commercial Fur Harvesting — eRegulations: https://www.eregulations.com/southcarolina/hunting/trapping-commercial-fur-harvesting
- SC Code Section 50-11-2510 — CITES Tagging of Otter and Bobcat Pelts: https://law.justia.com/codes/south-carolina/title-50/chapter-11/section-50-11-2510/
- SC Code — Article 12 Trapping Furbearing Animals, Regulation of Dealers: https://www.animallaw.info/statute/sc-fur-article-12-trapping-furbearing-animals-regulation-dealers-buyers-processors-and
- SCDNR Hunting and Fishing Laws and Regulations (current year): https://www.dnr.sc.gov/regulations.html
- North American Fur Auctions (NAFA) — Overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Fur_Auctions
- NAFA Fur Prices Archive — The Trapper Magazine: https://www.trappermag.com/fur-prices/nafa-fur-prices
Verify current SCDNR regulations before trapping, selling, or transporting fur — license fees, tag order windows, and reporting deadlines change yearly.
If you remember nothing else
- Any person who traps furbearing animals for sale must hold a SC Commercial Fur Harvest License ($25 resident, $200 non-resident).
- Commercial licensees must also hold a valid SC hunting license — both are required.
- Bobcat pelts require a CITES tag (applied through SCDNR) before sale, transfer, or transport out of state.
- Annual harvest reports must be submitted to SCDNR by April 15 — failure to report risks future license eligibility.
- Fur can be sold to local fur buyers, through major auction houses (NAFA, Fur Harvesters), or directly to fur dealers — local buyers offer faster payment; auctions offer competitive bidding.
How ready do you feel?
How ready are you to sell your fur legally — with the right license, tags, and reporting in place?
Before you go — a quick look back
Distributed practice: one fast recall from an earlier lesson keeps it from fading.
Quick recall
From the Bobcat and Otter CITES Tag lesson in the SC Legal Framework module — what is the window for ordering bobcat CITES tags from SCDNR?
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