Section 685.50  Reporting Harvest of Deer

a)         Successful hunters must register their harvest by 10:00 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer was taken by calling the toll-free telephone check-in system at 1‑866-ILCHECK or by accessing the on-line check-in system at www.dnr.illinois.gov. If a hunter is not able to locate a harvested deer in sufficient time to enable reporting the harvest by 10:00 p.m., the hunter must immediately report the harvest upon retrieving it. They will be provided with a confirmation number to verify that they checked in their harvest. This number must be written by the hunter on the temporary harvest tag (leg tag). If the condition of the tag precludes writing on the tag in the appropriate space (i.e., bloody, etc.), the confirmation number shall be written elsewhere on the tag, or onto a piece of paper and attached to the deer along with the temporary harvest tag. The deer must remain whole (or field dressed) until it has been checked in. In instances where deer are checked in while the hunter is still afield, the deer may not be dismembered while afield beyond quartering the animal. If quartered, all parts of the carcass (except the entrails removed during field dressing) must be transported together and evidence of sex must remain naturally attached to one quarter. Evidence of sex is: 

1)         For a buck:  head with antlers attached to carcass or attached testicle, scrotum, or penis.

2)         For a doe:  head attached to carcass or attached udder (mammary) or vulva.

b)         The harvest tag (leg tag) and confirmation number must remain attached to the deer until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the deer and final processing is completed. If the head/antlers are delivered to a taxidermist for processing, the confirmation number must be recorded on the "head tag" portion of the permit and both must remain with the deer while at the taxidermist's. If the carcass is taken to a meat processor, the harvest tag (leg tag) with confirmation number must remain with the deer while it is processed and until it is at the legal residence of the person who legally took or possessed the deer. Persons delivering deer/parts of deer to a tanner for processing must supply the tanner with either their deer permit number, their confirmation number, or a written certification by the person from whom the deer was received that the specimen was legally taken or obtained.

c)         In counties where Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance is occurring during the firearm deer season (see 17 Ill. Adm. Code 650.45(a)), successful hunters using their Youth Deer Permits during the first weekend of the firearm season may, at their option, register their harvest at a designated firearm deer check station by 8:00 p.m. on the day the deer was killed. In this situation, the "head tag" portion of the permit will be retained at the check station and a permanent harvest tag will be attached to the deer upon registration. Tagging requirements for deer delivered to taxidermists, meat processors and tanners are described in 17 Ill. Adm. Code 650.45(a). Youth hunters required to report under this subsection (c), but who are unable to locate a harvested deer in sufficient time to report the harvest by 8:00 p.m., must report the harvest as described in subsection (a).

d)         Site specific reporting requirements must be followed in addition to this Section.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 18749, effective November 2, 2022)