Deer & Turkey Tagging & Checking

All hunters, including those who may hunt without a license, must complete the tagging and checking procedure for each deer and turkey taken. In order to check in their deer or turkey, hunters must have a DNRid number that is available through MD Outdoors OR any Department of Natural Resources Licensing and Registration Service Center OR a Department of Natural Resources Sport License Agent.

Before moving a deer or turkey from the place of kill, hunters must do the following:

1. Complete a Deer and Turkey Field Tag at the place of kill in ink and attach it to the animal, or;
2. Check in the animal at the place of kill and receive a confirmation number that can be furnished upon request.
   • Place of kill is the location where the animal expired and was recovered.

If a confirmation number is obtained at the place of kill, the deer or turkey can be moved/transported untagged. Deer and turkeys cannot be moved or transported untagged if a confirmation number has not been received. Deer and turkeys must also be field tagged when giving, putting, or leaving them in possession of another person, or when left unattended; whether or not a confirmation number has been received. In this case, the tag shall remain attached until the animal is processed by the hunter for consumption, disposed of by a processing facility or left with a taxidermist.

When required, the field tag must be attached to the head of the deer or leg of the turkey. Hunters who plan to have their deer mounted should attach the tag to the antler and not through a hole cut in the ear. Field tags are available in the Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping or a tag can be made by the hunter with the appropriate information (hunter name, DNRid number, county of harvest and date of harvest, or a Confirmation Number with the hunter’s name when the animal has been checked in).

Within 24 hours of recovering a deer or turkey harvest, hunters must:

1. Register their game with the Department of Natural Resources using one of the following:
   • MD Outdoors
   • The Maryland Big Game Registration Phone Line 888-800-0121
   • The Department of Natural Resources official mobile app (AccessDNR)

TTY users, call through the Maryland Relay. For ease of use, deaf and hard of hearing hunters are encouraged to use the internet check-in site or mobile app.

2. Make a permanent record of their deer or turkey registration by either:
   • Recording the confirmation number on a Big Game Harvest Record (provided with a hunting license) or creating a hard copy record of their own, or;
   • Maintaining an electronic record of the confirmation number on a mobile device.

Harvest records, whether recorded electronically or in hard copy format, must be furnished upon request and remain in possession of the hunter.

Please remember:

• Hunters should indicate the actual hunting device used to take the deer or turkey when checking their animal (not the season in which it is taken).
• Hunters must use their DNRid number when checking in a deer or turkey. The DNRid number is printed on all hunting licenses.
• Each deer or turkey checked in will have its own confirmation number. If you have a question or need to retrieve a confirmation number, call your local Wildlife and Heritage Service office.
• A hunter may not remove the head or hide or any part from any deer (except internal organs), or cut the meat into parts, until the deer has been registered and the confirmation number received.
• Hunters are required to furnish the confirmation number to taxidermists and processors/butchers before they can leave their deer or turkey. Hunters may use the Butcher/Taxidermy Tag that is provided in the Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping (or a tag with the appropriate information can be made by the hunter) for this purpose.
• If the hunter uses all of the spaces on the Big Game Harvest Record attached to the hunting license, additional Big Game Harvest Records can be created by the hunter or obtained free of charge through MD Outdoors OR any Licensing and Registration Service Center OR a Sport License Agent.

Turkey Measurements Required for Checking

SPURS: measure from the leg to the tip of the spur.

BEARD: measure from the skin to the tip of the beard.

Public & Private Land Codes

A Public or Private Land Code is Required for Checking Your Deer or Turkey.

How to Use These Maps

• Maryland counties and their respective Private Land Codes are displayed geographically below.
• Find your place of harvest and the corresponding private land code number on the maps, or the public land code number from the chart, and provide the code number at check in.

The Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area includes Allegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties.

The map below shows the Frederick and Worcester County areas where only shotguns or straight-walled cartridge rifles and handguns may be used to hunt deer.

Note: Bottleneck cartridge handguns may be used throughout Frederick County. Refer to the Frederick County Deer Hunting Zones map for details.

• That section of Frederick County located west of the Monocacy River beginning where Fingerboard Road crosses the river, then by and with the west side of the Monocacy River to the crossing by Biggs Ford Road, then by and with the south side of Biggs Ford Road to the junction with Route 15, then by and with the west side of Route 15 to the junction with Sundays Lane, then by and with the south side of Sundays Lane to the junction with Bloomfield Road, then by and with the east side of Bloomfield Road to the junction with Opossumtown Pike, then by and with the south side of Opossumtown Pike to the junction with Walter Martz Road, then by and with the east side of Walter Martz Road to the junction with Christopher’s Crossing, then by and with the south side of Christopher’s Crossing to the junction with Rocky Springs Road, then by and with the south and east side of Rocky Springs Road to the junction with Kemp Lane, then by and with the east side of Kemp Lane to the junction with Shookstown Road, then by and with the north side of Shookstown Road to the junction with Bowers Road, then by and with the east side of Bowers Road to the junction West Patrick Street, then by and with the north side of West Patrick Street to the junction with Blentlinger Road, then by and with the east side of Blentlinger Road to the junction with Old National Pike, then by and with the south side of Old National Pike to the junction with Maryland Interstate 70, then by and with the north side of Maryland Interstate 70 to the junction with Route 15, then by and with the east side of Route 15 to the junction with Mt. Zion Road, then by and with the north side of Mt. Zion Road to the junction with Elmer Derr Road, and then by and with the north side of Elmer Derr Road to the junction with New Design Road, then by and with the east side of New Design Road to the junction with Manor Woods Road, then by and with the north side of Manor Woods Road to the junction with Buckystown Pike, then by and with the east side of Buckystown Pike to the junction with Fingerboard Road, and then by and with the north side of Fingerboard Road to the crossing over the Monocacy River.
• Those sections of Worcester County as follows:
  • within one mile of any school;
  • within that portion of South Point lying south of a line beginning at the west end of the Sinepuxent Bay Bridge on State Rt. 611, then by and with the south side of Rt. 611 to the junction of the South Point Road going south for a distance of 0.6 miles to a point opposite the southern boundary of the Ocean City Golf and Yacht Club property on the west side of the road, then by the southern boundary of the Ocean City Golf and Yacht Club to Trappe Creek; and within that portion of the land lying south of a line beginning at the mouth of the St. Martin River northwest to the junction with Shingle Landing Road, then by and with the south side of Shingle Landing Road to the junction with State Rt. 113, then by and with the east side of Rt. 113 to the junction with Rt. 589, then by and with the east side of Rt. 589 to the junction with US Rt. 50, then by and with the north side of Rt. 50 to the junction with Isle of Wight Bay, then by and with the west boundary of Isle of Wight Bay to the junction with the St. Martin River.

See map for all shotgun and rifle counties/areas.