Jamie Smart will offer a field course and final examination for hunter education certification on Nov. 16 from 2-5 p.m. at the Lampasas County Show Barn.

Certification costs $15 and is available to all hunters ages nine and older.

Free home study curriculum is available at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/ learning/hunter_education/. On the Web site, select "online course plus a one-day field course."

Once hunters have reviewed the material on the Web site, they take a test and print the results to bring, along with $15, to the field course site.

Components of the field study include a hunter skills trail, a live firing exercise, a one-hour presentation on ethics, responsibility and game laws, and a final examination. Students must score at least 80 percent on the test to pass.

Upon successful completion, students will receive a temporary certification card and may hunt with the card and a valid license. A permanent card will be mailed within a short time.

All hunters nine years or younger, as well as older hunters who have not passed a hunter safety course, must be accompanied by a licensed hunter age 17 or older who has passed a hunter education class or was born before Sept. 2, 1971.

Hunters age 17 and older -- and born on or after Sept. 2, 1971 -- who have not completed hunter certification must spend $10 for a one-time deferral, valid only until the conclusion of the current license year.