Hunter Association

The Hunter Association (ハンター, Hantā Kyōkai) is a non-governmental organization responsible for the testing and licensing of "Hunters" (ハンター, Hantā), individuals who have proven themselves through the rigorous exam to be elite members of humanity. With the passing of the Hunter Exam, an applicant is rewarded with a license to go almost anywhere in the world and do almost anything, thus declaring them Hunters. Typically, Hunters devote themselves to tracking down priceless items, mystical places, and the unseen wonders of the world.

By the time the election for the 13th Hunter Chairman ended, the association counted 635 members, having lost as many as 26 Hunters from the first round. After the 289th Hunter Exam, the number rose to at least 785 due to the inclusion of 150 Provisional Hunters with limited licenses for the Dark Continent voyage on top of the regular examinees.

The Profession
A Hunter's job is not only that of looking for treasures and hunting animals. True Hunters dedicate themselves to the protection of knowledge, people, and nature. They must preserve culturally precious items or species of animals and plants they are able to discover. Furthermore, they must also arrest criminals and in rare cases even fellow Hunters who have committed heinous crimes. A "hunt" can range from a task commissioned by a client, to one ordered by the higher-ups of the organization, to a quest a Hunter goes on of their own volition.

Hunter License


A Hunter license is a type of card given exclusively to Hunters after they pass the Hunter Exam which proves the status of the owner and has multiple benefits. It provides free access to most of the public services and the permission to go almost anywhere in the world without a visa. It also grants the ability to kill without facing major legal consequences, although there are exceptions. A Hunter license also grants access to guarded information as well as being an easy way to get jobs. Furthermore, there are collectors willing to buy it for a fortune that would sustain the Hunter's family for generations.

Hunter Website
By typing the correct url, insert the code of one's license and swiping it into any computer, a Hunter is able to access Hunters' Tavern, a Hunter-only website where all manners of information unretriavable through other means can be purchased.

Q
By sending an 8-digit code to a phone company owned by the Hunter Association, a Hunter can send and receive messages via Q, a software that leaves no logs or call history and that cannot be detected by regular wiretapping systems.

Hunter Code
Hunters have a simple code to transmit secret messages to each other. When a sentence starts with a number, such as a time, each figure refers to a part of the corresponding sentence, whereas the rest of that sentence must be ignored. For example, if a Hunter prefaced their message with "13:44", the receiver would have to consider only the first part of the first sentence, the third part of the second one, the fourth part of the third sentence, and the fourth part of the fourth one.

Hunter Bylaws

 * 1) Hunters must hunt something.
 * 2) All Hunters require a minimum level of martial proficiency. Being able to use Nen is the minimum level necessary.
 * 3) * Kakin bodyguards who passed the 289th Hunter Exam are not required to know Nen and are designated as Provisional Hunters.
 * 4) No matter what may happen, one who has become a Hunter will never have their title revoked. However, no matter the circumstances, a Hunter License will never be issued a second time.
 * 5) Hunters may not hunt their fellow Hunters, except for those who have committed atrocities.
 * 6) Hunters who achieve extraordinary accomplishments in a certain field will receive a star.
 * 7) Veteran Hunters who have received a star, become superior officers, and have had their students receive a star will receive two stars.
 * 8) Hunters with two stars who achieve extraordinary accomplishments in multiple fields will receive three stars.
 * 9) If the Hunter in charge does not receive a minimum level of support, then they will have their post removed. In this case, the minimum level is the support from the majority of his fellow Hunters. If the seat of chairman becomes open, an election for the next chairman must happen immediately. The vice-chairman is to be left in charge until the new chairman is decided.
 * 10) The chairman decides how new Hunters are chosen. But in order to make a great change in the existing method, he must receive support from the majority.
 * 11) Everything not written here is to be decided by the chairman, vice-chairman, and their advisers. The chairman has the right to choose who becomes the vice-chairman and advisers.

Chairman
The Chairman, also known as Chief Executive, is the leader of the Hunter Association. He or she has the most power and authority within the organization. Chairmen have been seen communicating directly with the heads of the V5 and the International Permit Agency.
 * 11 unknown chairmen (former)
 * 12th: Isaac Netero (former)
 * 13th: Pariston Hill (former)
 * 14th: Cheadle Yorkshire

Vice Chairman
The Vice Chairman is the second highest-ranking individual in the Hunter Association, exceeding even the staff advisors. He or she is appointed directly by the Chairman, as per the 8th article. Should the position of Chairman be vacated, the Vice Chairman gains deputy power until the conclusion of the election.
 * Pariston Hill (former)
 * Cheadle Yorkshire (former)

Staff Advisor
Advisors assist the Chairman and Vice Chairman in matters not explicitly detailed in the Hunter Bylaws, and are appointed by the former. The Chairman can invest them with additional powers, such as tasking them with the organization of the chairman election. Under Chief Executive Isaac Netero, the advisors were 11 and, together with the Vice Chairman, made up an informal group known as "The Zodiacs".
 * Cheadle Yorkshire (former)
 * Ging Freecss (former)
 * Pariston Hill (former)
 * Botobai Gigante
 * Cluck
 * Gel
 * Ginta
 * Kanzai
 * Kurapika
 * Leorio Paradinight
 * Mizaistom Nana
 * Saccho Kobayakawa
 * Saiyu
 * Pyon

Exam Commission
See also: Examiner (Category)

The Exam Commission is tasked with the organization and management of the Hunter Exam. The examiners are nominated by a board every year and supervise a trial without pay. By the 9th article, the Chairman is also the Head of the Exam Commission and has the authority to decide on a method to select new members. However, examiners are largely free to choose the content of their trial, as long as they satisfy agreed-upon criteria.
 * Isaac Netero (former Head of Commission)
 * Cheadle Yorkshire (Head of Commission)

Review Board
The Review Board is a commission that assigns jobs to specific Hunters. Not even the Chairman is powerful enough to defy their decisions. Should a government or private business enlist the Hunter Association's help, and should that job receive many applications, the Review Board is tasked with assigning it going off skill and aptitude.

Election Task Force
A group of Hunters who supervise the election of the Chairman, defining its structure and serving as poll-watchers. They are appointed by the previous Chairman. The Task Force is led by a Chief Executive, who is tasked with vote counting.
 * Beans (Chief Executive)
 * Zodiacs

Disciplinary Committee
The exact activities of this body are unknown. If its name is any indication, it may be responsible for ensuring members of the association respect the bylaws.
 * Bushidora Ambitious (former)

Star System
Stars reflect the contributions of a Hunter to the association and society in one or more areas.

1 Star
Hunters who have produced remarkable achievements in a particular field can be promoted to the status of Single-Star Hunters.
 * Bushidora Ambitious
 * Cutie Beauty
 * Ickshonpe Katocha
 * Menchi
 * Morel Mackernasey
 * Sanbica Norton
 * Tsezguerra

2 Stars
Hunters who fulfill the first 5 articles of the Hunter Bylaws, who hold an official position and who have mentored at least one junior student who has received one star can be promoted to the status of Double-Star Hunters.
 * Biscuit Krueger
 * Ging Freecss
 * Linne Hors-d'oeuvre
 * Mizaistom Nana
 * Saccho Kobayakawa
 * Teradein Neutral

3 Stars
Hunters who fulfill the first 6 articles of the Hunter Bylaws and who have produced remarkable achievements in multiple fields can be promoted to the status of Triple-Star Hunters. This is the rarest and most difficult rank to obtain, and it is considered a great honor. The number of Triple-Star Hunters is about 10.
 * Botobai Gigante
 * Cheadle Yorkshire
 * Pariston Hill

Becoming a Hunter
To become a Professional Hunter, two requirements have to be fulfilled: passing the Hunter Exam as well as the Secret Hunter Exam. It has been implied that the rules do not bar non-human candidates (presumably beings with a comparable level of intelligence) from taking the Hunter Exam, and thus from becoming Hunters.

Finding the Exam
The Hunter Exam takes place annually in the second week of January. All applicants are held in equal consideration. Reaching the area in which the Hunter Examination is held is an extremely difficult challenge because there are too many applicants each year for the Proctors to see them all. To reduce the number of applicants, the Hunter Association hires judges (like the Captain) to pick out the best candidates to proceed to the area where the Hunter Exam is held. If an applicant is deemed unworthy by one of these judges, they will be turned away even if they make it to the Examination site.

Once this area has been reached, candidates have to make their way to the Hunter Examination site. However, no applicant knows when or where the Hunter Examination will be held and it is impossible to find without a Navigator. All candidates must find a Navigator to take them to the exam, but to do this they must pass a series of test and traps. In fact, the Navigators themselves will set up a test for the candidates to see if they are good enough to take the Hunter Exam. If such test is passed, the Navigators will take the applicants to the floor of the first phase.

The Hunter Exam
The Hunter Exam is organized in a varying amount of phases, with each phase being designed to test the candidates' skills and potential—they are also used to reduce the number of candidates. There are usually 4 to 6 phases required to complete the Hunter Exam. In the Nippon Animation adaptation of the anime, bonus stages are added to further test the candidates. The content of each phase changes every year so as not to give an advantage to returning applicants, the Proctors change each year as well; Proctors decide what the phases will test. Chairman Netero oversees the exam and settles disputes between Proctors when necessary.

Known Hunter Exams
267th Hunter Exam

Passed by:
 * Ging Freecss

287th Hunter Exam

Passed by:




 * Gon Freecss
 * Kurapika
 * Hisoka Morow
 * Hanzo
 * Pokkle
 * Illumi Zoldyck
 * Leorio Paradinight

288th Hunter Exam

Passed by:
 * Killua Zoldyck



289th Hunter Exam

Passed by:
 * Theta
 * Salkov
 * Myuhan
 * Danjin

The Secret Hunter Exam
Although the formal examination annually occurs during the first week in January, there is a second, unstated part of the Hunter Examination that requires every Pro Hunter to go out into the world and accomplish: learning the basic principles of Nen. One only officially becomes a professional Hunter after passing the Exam; a Hunter is only considered as such by his peers when he learns how to use Nen. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but one will be unable to take on most Hunter jobs without learning the skill—Nen is seen as the minimum required martial skill to become a Hunter. To meet this requirement, a Hunter must either find a teacher and learn in secrecy (because doing so in public augments the risk of people with ill intent learning a potentially dangerous skill) or through a method known as Initiation. However, some already have knowledge of Nen before entering the exam and are thus instantly "qualified" if they pass it. It is known so far that all Hunters find a way to start their training shortly after the exam, therefore the difficulty of this requirement is reduced mostly to one's own adaptability to learn Nen.

Types of Hunters
Professional Hunters generally have a field of specialization. A Hunter who lacks one is classified as "Rookie" (ルーキー, Rūkī).

  Alive/Active  • Deceased •   Unknown 

Beast Hunters
Beast Hunter (ビーストハンター, Bīsuto Hantā) is a type of Hunter who feel a deep love for nature; their job involves the study and preservation of undiscovered animal species. There are two known subcategories of Beast Hunter—the Hunter of Fantastic Beasts ( ハンター, Genjū Hantā—lit. meaning "Phantom Beast Hunter"; or "Exotic Game Hunter" in the Crunchyroll's translation of the 2011 anime) who specifically searches the world for scientifically undocumented animals and Unidentified Beast Hunter ( ハンター, Yūma Hantā—original name probably meaning "UMA (Unidentified Mysterious Animal)* Hunter") whose field of activity is related to cryptids, creatures like animals, and even plants, with questioned existence thought to be extinct or not to exist (e.g. many of the mythical, folkloric, paranormal, and supernatural "entities").

Blacklist Hunters
Blacklist Hunter ( ハンター, Burakkurisuto Hantā—base kanji lit. meaning "Bounty Hunter" as also called in the Viz translation) is a type of Hunter whose skills are dedicated to tracking down dangerous and wanted criminals.

Botanical Hunters
Botanical Hunter (プラントハンター, Puranto Hantā—lit. meaning "Plant Hunter") is a type of Hunter with great knowledge about plants, that also search and collect them.

Crime Hunters
Crime Hunter (クライムハンター, Kuraimu Hantā) is a type of Hunter who try to solve mysterious cases in the crime world.

Deep Sea Hunters
Deep Sea Hunter (シーハンター, Shī Hantā—simply "Sea Hunter" as in the Viz translation) is a type of Hunter who operate in seas looking either for animals or treasures.

Disease/Virus Hunters
Disease Hunter ( ハンター, Nanbyō Hantā—lit. meaning "Intractable/Incurable Disease Hunter") and Virus Hunter (ウイルスハンター, Uirusu Hantā) are types of Hunters who try to find new elements to cure immedicable diseases.

Gourmet Hunters
Gourmet Hunter (グルメハンター, Gurume Hantā; or ハンター, Bishoku Hantā—lit. meaning "Gastronomy Hunter") is a type of Hunter whose goals are: to travel the world in search of rare cuisine/exotic foodstuffs and to find and collect rare ingredients customarily obtainable only in remote, inhospitable places. Hunters of this type are great connoisseurs of culinary culture, including related techniques,  and usually have well-developed and/or demanding palates in conjunction with a voracious appetite, especially for new dining experiences. Often being prominent world-class chefs, they focus on creating new delicacies and dishes which reflect their own artistry and sophistication; bringing to life the flavors of the hardly acquirable ingredients that they have obtained, by using new and creative styles of cooking recipes.

Secondarily, they are frequently called on to chase and capture poachers.

Hacker Hunters
Hacker Hunter (ハッカーハンター, Hakkā Hantā) is a type of Hunter who have vast knowledge of computers and specialize in working with the Internet and dealing with cyber crimes.

Head Hunters
Head Hunter (ヘッドハンター, Heddo Hantā) is a type of Hunter who specialize in discovering and cultivating new talents.

Jackpot Hunters
Jackpot Hunter ( ハンター, Manē Hantā—lit. meaning "Money Hunter"; base kanji meaning "Prize Money Hunter") is a type of Hunter who have only one goal: earning money, so they find rich people and make deals/contracts with them.

Lost Hunters
Lost Hunter (ロストハンター, Rosuto Hantā) is a type of Hunter who specialize in seeking those from whom contact has been lost, including members of the Hunter Association.

Music Hunters
Catered towards the musically talented, Music Hunter (ミュージックハンター, Myūjikku Hantā) is a type of Hunter, for example, in pursuit of rare musical pieces.

Paleograph Hunters
Paleograph Hunter ( ハンター, Komonjo Hantā—lit. meaning "Ancient Document Hunter") is a type of Hunter specialized into learning and translating ancient and lost languages.

Poacher Hunters
Poacher Hunter ( ハンター, Mitsuryō Hantā) is a type of Hunter dedicated to study animals and protect them from poachers.

Poison Hunters
Poison Hunter (ポイズンハンター, Poizun Hantā) is a type of Hunter specialized in various poisons and their pharmaceutical usage.

Provisional Hunters
Provisional Hunters (の, Rinji no Hantā—lit. meaning "Temporary Hunter"; base kanji meaning "Temporary Associate Member") are the Kakin guards who passed Kurapika's screening during the 289th Hunter Exam. There are about 150. They were recruited as temporary support personnel so the Hunter Association could gain more allies in preparation for the expedition to the Dark Continent. The second Hunter Bylaw was modified so they could be admitted even if they could not use Nen. However, their licenses will expire after the voyage.

Ruins Hunters
Ruins Hunter ( ハンター, Iseki Hantā—lit. meaning "Ruins Hunter") is a type of Hunter dedicated to uncovering, restoring, and preserving ruins in order to "revive" ancient societies.

Temp Hunters
Temp Hunter (の ハンター, Kyōsen no Hantā) is a type of Hunter with governmental jobs subcontracted to them from the Hunter Association. Depending on the difficulty of the job and risks involved, they are guaranteed a standard fee for a job taken. Some Hunters choose to make this their career and are consequently ridiculed by professional Hunters for doing so. There are approximately 200 Temp Hunters.

Terrorist Hunters
Terrorist Hunter (テロリストハンター, Terorisuto Hantā) is a type of Hunter specialized into tracking down terrorists and into preventing terrorist attacks.

Treasure Hunters
Treasure Hunter (トレジャーハンター, Torejā Hantā) is a type of Hunter who scour the world in search of rare and valuable items. A Stone Hunter (ストーンハンター, Sutōn Hantā) could be considered a subtype whose quest is for precious stones and gems or related specific jewelry.

Trouble Hunters
Trouble Hunter (おみ ハンター, O Nayami Hantā—or "Problem Hunter" in the Viz translation): Specifics Unknown.

Youth and Beauty Hunters
Youth and Beauty Hunter (かわ ハンター, Kawa Bi Hantā—or "Cute Hunter" in the Viz translation) is a type of Hunter whose main goal is to maintain the beauty of people and make them look younger despite their age.

Trivia

 * "D (Dino) Hunter" (・ハンター, Dino Hantā ] is the eponymous protagonist of a book narrating the adventures of a Hunter. It is unknown if that is one of the specializations available to Hunters or if that is merely the character's name; although "dino" may be the shortening of "dinosaur", suggesting a possible Beast Hunter subtype, the hypothetical "Dinosaur Hunter".
 * Of the 100 richest people in the world, 60 are Hunters.
 * Right after the events of the Chimera Ant arc, the Hunter Association counted exactly 661 members. If the three Hunters who lost their lives during that period - Pokkle, Kite and Isaac Netero - are added to the count, it follows that the association had at least 664 members after the 288th Hunter Exam, 663 after the 287th, and 656 after the 286th.
 * The message in code Mizaistom sent to Melody in Chapter 381 reads as follows:
 * 「 カチョウ、フウゲツ両王子の 言動には不自然な点が多く警戒を要する
 * 何らかの方法で 逃走を 画策している可能性が極めて高い
 * 警護と並行し逃走防止にも 全力で 当たれ
 * お前は責任者のキーニを サポートしろ！ 」


 * Since it was prefaced by the time "13:44", the parts to consider form "[カチョウ、フウゲツ両王子の][逃走を][全力で][サポートしろ！]" which loosely translates to "Provide full support to the two princes Kacho and Fugetsu to help them escape!".