Big game hunters who purchased or were issued a deer or elk tag in 2021 must report their hunt by Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 11:59 p.m. for any hunt that ended by Dec. 31, 2021.
Failure to report by the deadline will result in a $25 penalty when purchasing a 2023 hunting license, according to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW). Hunters should also report any other 2021 big game (cougar, bear, antelope) or turkey tags though there is no penalty for not reporting these tags.
Report online at ODFW’s Licensing system or at a license sale agent.
Hunters need to report on every 2021 deer, elk, bear, cougar, turkey and pronghorn tag purchased or issued as part of a Sports Pac license — even if they didn’t harvest an animal or go hunting. E-taggers who validated their tag through the app or online also still need to complete a separate report.
Nearly 110,000 tags deer or elk tags out of 257,584 still need to be reported by the deadline. As of Tuesday, 64,851 buck deer tags, (out of 147,967 tags) 1,778 antlerless deer tags (out of 5,770) and 43,316 elk tags (out of 104,387) have yet to be reported and are due Jan. 31.
How to reportIf you have never used ODFW’s online licensing system, it’s easy to set up your account and report online. Go online and use Verify/Look Up to find your profile which will include any tags you need to report.
Enter your ODFW ID number (printed on all licenses and tags) and follow the directions to set up your account. An email address is required. Once you have set up your account, click under Mandatory Reporting to complete your reports.
Hunters can also visit any license sale agent (businesses that sell hunting and fishing licenses) to report. License agents will not charge hunters a fee for this service. See a list of agents on the ODFW website.
While ODFW Licensing staff can take reports by phone at (503) 947-6101, call hold times can be long and are expected to increase as the Jan. 31 reporting deadline approaches. Hunters are encouraged to report online or visit a license sale agent rather than calling.
ODFW offices remain closed to walk-in visitors due to Covid-19.
Incentives to report: Drawing for special tag
The information reported by all hunters helps ODFW determine harvest and hunting pressure for each hunt and is used to help set tags.
As an incentive to report on time, every hunter who does is entered to win one of three special tags ODFW offers each year. Winners can choose a deer, elk or pronghorn tag that is valid statewide during a four-month season, similar to auction and raffle tags which people can pay thousands for.
Brandon Ake of Redmond won the 2021 inventive tag for reporting his 2020 tags on time and took a large bull in the Wenaha unit on his special tag (see photos).
“This was definitely a hunt of a lifetime with the incentive tag I didn’t even know existed until I won it — and the tag was free!” Ake said. “Definitely a good reason to report on time.”
