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DEC Adopts Electronic Hunting Tags and Other Deer
Hunting Enhancements
Published: October 01, 2025
at 05:45 p.m.
By: Press Release
from NYS DEC
DEC Adopts Electronic Hunting Tags and Other Deer
Hunting Enhancements
New Regulations Make it
Easier for Hunters to Report Harvests and Create More Opportunities for
Youth Hunters
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton
today announced the adoption of several changes to streamline use and
reporting of hunting tags and provide new deer hunting
opportunities. Hunters can now use DEC’s online app for their
licenses and tags as an alternative to paper license and tag options. Youth
hunters will also have increased opportunities to earn a new season
tag.
“Hunting is an
affordable, accessible, and valued tradition for many New Yorkers and a
critically important conservation measure,” said Commissioner
Lefton. “DEC is committed to improving user experience for all
hunters and these changes will provide new options to improve harvest
reporting and success for years to come.”
Updated Reporting
Tag Options
Hunters can
choose to use a paper license and tags or the HuntFishNY mobile app as
electronic proof of licensure and possession of tags for deer, bear, or
turkey. Users of electronic tags (e-tags) will be able to immediately
report their harvest with the mobile app whether they have cell service or
not. Users also won’t need to attach a physical tag to their harvested
deer, bear, or turkey while they remain in possession of the carcass,
including in their vehicle and at their home.
If e-tag users
leave the carcass somewhere other than their home or vehicle, such as at a
taxidermist or processor, they would need to affix a tag of their making to
the carcass that includes the hunter’s name, identification number, and
reporting confirmation number.
Hunters will
still have the option to use paper licenses and tags for deer, bear, and
turkey, but to encourage prompt reporting and facilitate greater law
enforcement oversight, hunters using paper tags are now required to report
their harvest within 48 hours rather than seven days.
New Opportunity
for Youth Hunters
DEC also created
a new opportunity for youth hunters. DEC will issue a bonus regular season
tag to youth hunters (ages 12-15) who successfully take and report a deer
taken during a Youth Big Game Hunt weekend with their regular season tag
and who do not possess a Deer Management Permit (DMP) for the regular
firearms season. The bonus regular season tag will be valid for a deer of
the sex opposite from what was harvested during the youth hunt (e.g.,
harvest of an antlered deer during the Youth Deer Hunt would yield an
antlerless-only bonus tag for the regular season). DEC will mail this tag
to the eligible hunters.
Deer Management
Assistance Program Enhancements
DEC also enhanced
the Deer Management
Assistance Program (DMAP) by extending the permit renewal cycle
from three years to five years and rescinding the limit on number of DMAP
tags that may be used per hunter. DEC will still determine the number of
tags available with each DMAP permit based on property size and management
need, but hunters will no longer be limited by the number of DMAP tags they
can fill on that property. These changes increase flexibility for
landowners, improving their ability to use DMAP to meet land management
objectives.
The full text of
the adopted regulations and a summary of the public comment DEC received on
the proposals are available on DEC's
website.
Also new for fall
2025, hunters
in New York State may use a crossbow in the same seasons, places,
and manner as a vertical bow for hunting deer and bear. More information on expanded use
of crossbows for hunting is available on DEC’s website.
Visit DEC’s website to learn more about hunting
licenses, seasons, and regulations and to sign up for DEC’s Hunting and
Trapping newsletter.
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