Carcass Tags

When you get a big game or a turkey license, the bottom portion of that license is a carcass tag (carcass tags are not part of small game hunting). Your license will have multiple panels separated by perforated lines, and the very bottom panel is the carcass tag. In the image below, it is the portion of the license below the barcode. You need to sign your license when you purchase it (circle 1), but you don’t sign the carcass tag (circle 2) until you harvest the animal.

If you are successful in your hunt and have retrieved your animal, the very first thing you need to do is detach that carcass tag section, sign it, and mark the date/time of your harvest on it. It is illegal to sign or detach the carcass tag before harvesting the animal. Do not detach or rip any other portion of your license; doing so voids the license. Once detached and filled out, the carcass tag must be attached to the animal when you transport it and while it is in storage. If you harvest far from your vehicle or camp, attaching the carcass tag can wait until you’ve moved the carcass either to your camp or to your vehicle. However, once you are in a suitable location and ready to start storage or transportation of the carcass, that tag must be attached.

When dated, signed, and attached to the species lawfully taken, the tag authorizes the possession, use, storage, and transportation of the carcass. Be sure you attach the tag securely, as you will be in violation of the law should it come off. We recommend using a zip tie to attach the tag to the same quarter that has the evidence of sex. This will make checking your harvest very simple for any CPW officer.

If you lose, accidentally destroy, or detach the tag, you must buy a duplicate from a CPW office before hunting and prove the loss, detachment, or destruction was accidental.