• Skip to Content
• Online Services
• Commonwealth Sites
• Help
• Governor

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

• Hunting
• Fishing
• Boating
• Wildlife Watching
• Wildlife Information
• Habitat
• Education
• Licenses
• Permits
• Forms
• About VDGIF

Bear, Deer, and Turkey Tag Validation & Checking Requirements

Validation of Bear,Deer and Turkey Tags

• All hunters killing a bear, deer, or turkey, unless the hunter is license exempt, are required to validate an appropriate tag on their bear-deer-turkey license (big game license), bonus deer permit, or special permit (DCAP, DMAP) at the place of kill prior to moving the animal in any way. To validate a tag, successful hunters must completely remove the designated notch area from the appropriate license or permit tag.
• Do not detach license or permit tags to attach to the animal. Validation only requires the removal of the designated notch area from the appropriate license or permit tag.
• It shall be unlawful for any person to validate (notch) a bear, deer, or turkey tag from any license or special permit prior to the killing of an animal. A tag that is mistakenly validated (notched) prior to the killing of an animal must be immediately voided by the licensee or permittee by writing, in ink, the word "VOID" on the line provided on the tag.
• Hunters killing an elk are required to validate an appropriate deer tag.

How to Validate a Tag and Check Bear, Deer, and Turkey

1. Remove the designated notch area from the appropriate tag on your big game license prior to moving the animal in any way. Do not remove the tag from your license.
2. Check your deer or spring turkey by calling 1-866-468-4263, go on the Internet at www.dgif.virginia.gov, or take it to a check station. Bears and fall turkeys must be checked at a check station.
3. Write the check card number or the confirmation number (from telephone or Internet checking) in ink on the license tag next to the notch.

Checking Bear, Deer and Turkey

• Bear, deer and turkey must be checked by all successful hunters, including license exempt hunters, upon vehicle transport of the carcass or at the conclusion of legal hunting hours, whichever occurs first and without unnecessary delay.
• All deer and spring turkeys must be checked at a check station, by using the telephone, or the Internet.
• All fall turkeys must be checked at a check station. Fall turkeys cannot be checked through the telephone or Internet checking system.
• All bears must be checked at an official bear check station. Bears cannot be checked through the telephone or Internet checking system.
• It is unlawful to destroy the identity (sex) of any bear, deer or turkey until it is checked. After an appropriate tag has been validated (notched), successful bear, deer and elk hunters are allowed to dismember the carcass to pack it out from the place of kill as long as they do not destroy the identity of the sex and all the parts of the carcass (excluding internal organs) are present when the animal is checked.
• Deer checked by telephone or Internet, with the proper confirmation number, are eligible to be entered in the Eastern or Western Regional Big Game Contest or the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show.
• Spring turkey hunters, who plan to enter a turkey in any big game or trophy contest that requires a certified weight of the turkey, will need to check their turkey at a check station. These contests require a check card for all entries.
• Elk must be checked at a check station. Elk cannot be checked through the telephone or Internet checking system.

Check Stations for Bear, Deer and Turkey

• Check Station Locations
• Black Bear Check Station Locations
• Hunters, checking bear, deer, elk and turkeys at a check station will be given a check card furnished by the Department. The successful hunter shall then immediately write the check card number in ink, on the line labeled "check card or confirmation number" of the tag that was validated (notched) at the place of kill.
• Black bears must be checked at an official black bear check station. One or more bear check stations have been established in 72 counties or cities. The location of these bear check stations can be obtained from any check station, game warden, or Department office. In counties without established bear check stations, successful hunters may transport their kill to a bear check station in an adjoining county that has an established bear check station and also may have their bear checked by a game warden or by Wildlife Division staff. Department staff may be contacted by calling the VDGIF radio dispatcher (in Richmond, 804-367-1258) or nearest Department office. The successful bear hunter shall surrender, or allow to be removed, one premolar tooth from the carcass. Also the check station operator shall permanently affix a seal, furnished by the Department, to the carcass.
• The check card must be kept in possession with the carcass until the carcass is processed.
• If the carcass of an animal that was checked at a check station is left unattended, the check card must be securely attached to the carcass.
• Hunters needing a copy of a lost check card should call the appropriate Department region office.

Telephone and Internet Checking for Deer and Spring Turkey

• When using the telephone checking system:
  • Successful hunters can check their kill by calling a toll-free number, 1-866-GOT-GAME (468-4263).
  • Only touch-tone phones may be used (rotary phones will not work).
• When using the Internet checking system:
  • Successful hunters can check their kill by visiting www.dgif.virginia.gov and clicking on Hunting, then under Links click Check Game Online.
  • Hunters have the option of printing a check card at the end of Internet-checking sessions.
• Only deer (except elk) and spring turkey may be checked using telephone or Internet checking.
• Before using either the telephone or Internet checking system, you will need your big game license, a pen and a piece of paper to record your confirmation number. If you are exempt from purchasing a big game license, you will need your driver's license number or the last four digits of your social security number.
• Follow the instructions and provide the requested information.
• You will be given a confirmation number at the end of the telephone or Internet session. Write it down. Licensed hunters must then immediately write this confirmation number, in ink, on the line labeled "check card or confirmation number" of the tag that was validated. When using the telephone or Internet checking system, be sure that the confirmation number is a letter followed by ten digits. If your telephone or Internet checking session is cut off or your confirmation number is not complete, start the session again and repeat steps until the complete confirmation number is obtained.
• Shed-antlered buck deer should be entered as an antlered buck with 0 antler points.
• Hunters checking two deer on the same day may get the same confirmation number for both animals. This is okay.

Carcass Transferred or Unattended

• If the kill is reported using the telephone or Internet checking system by a hunter who validated a tag, no personal check card is required as long as the hunter is in possession of the carcass, However, if the carcass is transferred to the possession of another individual or left unattended, a personal check card (see example below) or Internet check card must be created and kept in possession with the carcass until the carcass is processed. If the carcass is left unattended, the personal check card or Internet check card must be securely attached to the carcass.
• License-exempt hunters: If the kill is reported using the telephone or Internet checking system by a hunter who is licensed exempt (for example, a landowner who did not have a license tag to validate at the place of kill), the successful hunter must create a personal check card (see example below) or print an Internet check card. The personal check card or Internet check card must be kept in possession with the carcass until the carcass is processed. If the carcass is left unattended, the personal check card or Internet check card must be securely attached to the carcass.

Example of a Personal Check Card

An animal reported using the telephone or Internet checking system will require the creation of a personal check card if:

1. The hunter is license exempt.
2. The carcass is tranferred to someone else.
3. The carcass is left unattended.

The personal check card may be written on any type of paper using a pen and must include the hunter's full name, date of kill and the telephone confirmation number. A check card printed from the Internet may be used in place of a personal check card.

Example: