Wild Turkey Registration

Yes! All turkeys harvested in the spring or fall hunting seasons must be registered in-person or via self-registration online.

L.D. 1992 – An Act Related to the Electronic Registration and Tagging of Turkey, was signed into law on May 2, 2022. The bill allows for electronic registration of wild turkey. In person registration will still be available. Hunters that use the new electronic registration option will essentially “self” register on the Department’s website using a cell phone, computer or other electronic device connected to the internet. Once registered, you will receive a seal number to confirm your wild turkey was registered.

Harvest data is critical to monitoring Maine’s wild turkey population and regulating hunting seasons and bag limits.

Since the first spring wild turkey hunting season in 1986, the Department has required registration of spring wild turkey harvest, building a long-term data set that provides a measure of our wild turkey population at the town, wildlife management district (WMD), and statewide scale. We use the harvest data, in combination with how many wild turkey hunters Maine has, to set hunting regulations. 

For example, harvest data showed that we could increase fall season bag limits in several WMDs, which began in 2019. Since then, the turkey population has remained stable, which we know thanks to harvest data from subsequent seasons.

The more accurate we are in measuring wild turkey harvest, the more confidence we can have in the bag limits we set, often resulting in more hunting opportunity and greater bag limits.

Visit mefishwildlife.com/register for a list of registration stations across the state. Please look to verify the station does register turkeys, as some stations may only tag moose, bear, and/or deer.

Junior hunting license holders, super pack license holders, disabled veteran lifetime license holders, Native American lifetime license holders, and Maine resident lifetime license holders over the age of 70 have turkey hunting permits included with their hunting licenses. These license holders do not need a turkey hunting permit number to register the turkey, the online license system automatically has their turkey permit number.

Hunters were not required to register turkey harvested during the fall 2022 season to allow MDIFW additional time to develop the online self-registration system. Beginning with the spring 2023 turkey hunting season, hunters are required to register all turkeys harvested, including the spring and fall hunting seasons.

Harvest data is critical to monitoring Maine’s wild turkey population and regulating hunting seasons and bag limits.

After harvesting a turkey, you may use a phone, computer, or other electronic device with an internet connection to register your harvest. Visit mefishwildlife.com/tagaturkey to self-register the turkey online. There is no fee to self-register a turkey online.

Hunters will need the following information:

• MOSES ID (found on your hunting license)
• Last name
• Date of birth
• Current email address
• Current hunting license
• Current turkey permit if not included in license
• If resident landowner hunting on own land, you must comply with landowner privilege regulations regarding license and/or permit

Most hunters can self-register a turkey as long as they have access to an electronic device such as a computer or cell phone with internet connection. This includes hunters whose turkey hunting permit is included with their hunting license, such as super pack license holders.

However, hunters who don’t have a license and permit number in the Maine Online Sportsmen Electronic System (MOSES) must register the turkey in-person at a registration station. Resident landowners who meet the regulations and are hunting on their own land may self-register turkeys this year.

Only official towns are recognized. Consult a gazetteer for the correct name and spelling, you only need to type a few letters to narrow the search.

A confirmation email is sent when you submit a harvest record. At the top and bottom of that email is a blue link “Report and Issue” which will send an email to MDIFW—enter your information and the changes to be made. Or, send an email to GameFurRegistration.MDIFW@maine.gov with the seal number of the harvest record and explain what information needs to be corrected.

Yes, prior to presenting the wild turkey for registration or self-registering the turkey, a person may not possess or leave that animal in the field or forest unless they have securely attached a plainly visible tag to the animal with their name, address, and license number on the tag.

The confirmation email as well as the confirmation page at the end of self-registration includes the seal number. The seal number is required if you are taking the bird to a taxidermist or meat processor.

The confirmation email will come from noreply@informe.org. Please check your spam folder if you do not see it in your inbox.

You can download a transportation tag (PDF) or create your own on a piece of paper including your name, address, year, and license number.