Deer Harvest Reporting

Report Your Harvest Using the New Automated Harvest Report System

Fish and Wildlife’s new Automated Harvest Report System is now in effect for reporting deer during ALL hunting seasons beginning September 2012. The automated system has replaced all deer check stations. Hunters must still report every deer either by calling the toll-free number (855) I HUNT NJ, also known as (855) 448-6865, or online at NJFishandWildlife.com/ahrs.htm. The phone number and website are both printed on every hunting license and deer permit.

IMPORTANT: Be prepared in advance of the hunting season! Follow these steps to report your deer harvest easily and quickly. Use an index card, durable paper, your hunting license or the Deer Harvest Report Card to write down the hunting information below:

Figure 1: A Harvest Report Number is provided on each license or permit Harvest Report Stub. It is a unique number which identifies both the hunter and the season with which the reported deer is associated.

1. BEFORE going hunting, and for each property where you hunt, write down the Deer Management Zone (DMZ). See map or the zone boundary descriptions, to identify your zone. Next, to identify easily the county, township, Deer Management Unit (DMU) and regulation set where you hunt, visit our website at NJFishandWildlife.com/ahrs.htm to use the simple Deer Hunting Location Viewer mapping tool for each property you hunt. See map example at Figure 2. Write down the county, township, Deer Management Unit (DMU) and regulation set information on your durable paper as a reference to use throughout the hunting seasons. Keep this information in your hunting pack to be ready to report any deer harvest from the field (via cell phone) or at home from a computer.


Figure 2: Before going hunting, use the easy, online Deer Hunting Location Viewer to identify your zone, county, township, unit and regulation set.

2. Know your CID number (Conservation ID), date of birth and Harvest Number (found on the appropriate season stub of your license or permit; see Figure 1). Only youth hunters and farmers without a hunting license do not need a Harvest Number when reporting a deer for youth hunts or during non-permit deer seasons.
3. The Automated Harvest Report System also will collect the date of harvest, season, sex of deer, antler points (if any), land ownership (federal, state, county, municipal or private) and the sporting arm used to harvest the deer —all the same data formerly collected at deer check stations.


Figure 3: Write down the Confirmation Number assigned to you when you register your deer through the Automated Harvest Report System.

4. Write down the assigned Confirmation Number provided to you by the Automated Harvest Report System; see Figure 3. Always retain your Harvest Report Stub with the Confirmation Number.

Note: hunters may report a deer without the Deer Management Unit and township information. However, Fish and Wildlife strongly requests that you make every effort to report this information as it is a valuable decision-making tool for developing deer management strategies and hunting season regulations. If you determine this harvest information after reporting your deer, please inform us by calling the regional deer biologist listed below.

For each deer reported through the Automated Harvest Report System, the hunter will be assigned a Confirmation Number as a permanent record of Reporting the deer. Like the former metal possession seal, the Confirmation Number is unique to each deer harvested. Retain this number as long as you have venison or any parts or mount of the deer.

If a hunter cannot access the Automated Harvest Report System, immediately call a New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement office; see the regional phone listing for Law Enforcement (see Telephone Directory). Leave your name, CID, phone number, sex of deer and from which deer management zone and township the deer was harvested. The hunter must continue to attempt accessing the Automated Harvest Report System until they receive an assigned Confirmation Number for that deer.

Hunters who take a deer to a butcher or taxidermist should label the deer with your assigned Confirmation Number. If transporting more than one deer or while at hunting camp with multiple deer, all deer should be labeled with their unique confirmation number to verify each legal harvest.

For deer harvest reporting questions contact a regional Deer Research Project biologist:

NORTH: Dan Roberts—(908) 735-7040 (Bergen, Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties)

CENTRAL: Jodi Powers—(609) 259-7954 (Burlington, Monmouth, Mercer, Middlesex and Ocean counties.)

SOUTH: Joe Leskie—(609) 748-2065 (Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties)

For more information on the new Automated Harvest Report System, see the list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) at NJFishandWildlife.com/ahrs_faq.htm.

Regulations in red are new this year.

Purple text indicates an important note.