Hunter harvest reporting allows the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to better manage game species throughout the state and set permit levels for upcoming seasons. This in turn allows for more hunting opportunities.
Hunter reports can be submitted online through WDFW's WILD licensing system. Do not mail* or email your hunter reports, as they will not be accepted and you will be assessed a $10 administrative fee for any unsubmitted mandatory (big game, turkey and some migratory bird) report. *For migratory bird harvest cards only, see FAQ “How can I submit my Migratory Bird harvest cards?”
If you hold a trapping license (recreational or commercial), you can now submit your trapping activity online through WDFW's WILD System. If you are certified as a Wildlife Control Operator, you must submit a Trapping Activity Report Form (PDF) even if you did not capture, trap for, haze, deter, or otherwise control wildlife.
If you were required to submit a tooth as part of your harvest, you can use WDFW's tooth lookup tool to see results.
If you need additional assistance with hunter reporting, please contact the Wildlife Program by email, or by phone at 360-902-2515.
Tooth submission requirements
If you harvest a deer, black bear, cougar, bobcat, or moose in Washington, WDFW asks that you submit a tooth (or the lower jaw, for bobcat) from your harvested wildlife to help gather biological data. This helps biologists estimate population size, growth rate, health, and mortality rates of Washington's game populations. Learn more about tooth submission requirements and how to look up the age of your harvested wildlife by visiting our Tooth age lookup webpage.
Frequently asked questions
How can I submit my big game or turkey hunter reports?
Hunter reports can be submitted online through WDFW's WILD licensing system. Hunters will need to create an account with a user name and password before they are able to report online.
The deadline for big game and turkey reporting is Jan. 31. After the deadline date, the system will not allow you to report. Failure to report by the deadline will cause a $10 administrative fee to be assessed.
How do I submit my small game license, western Washington pheasant license, and Migratory Bird Permit reports?
If you have a small game license, western Washington pheasant license, or migratory bird permit, you can now complete your harvest reports in your online WILD account through WDFW's WILD licensing system.
You can submit reports for these licenses from Sept 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. You can continue to add additional hunting days, species, locations, and harvests throughout the reporting timeframe as a log. At the end of the reporting timeframe (March 31), all entries will be automatically submitted.
To add a harvest report entry, follow these steps:
- Log in to your WILD account at fishhunt.wa.gov
- Select the Harvest Reporting link under the Licenses, Permits, Tags & Applications block
- Select Submit Report to the right of the harvest report you want to input an entry for
- Answer the questions provided, documenting one entry per species/location.
- Once you have completed the entry, you can select Submit Another at any point during the harvest submission timeframe (Sept 1- March 31) to input another entry or select View to see all previous entries
- Edits cannot be made to previous entries after day the entry was originally input, with one exception: if you report that you did not hunt for a species (or species group), you can edit that response any time during the reporting timeframe to add hunting activity.
How can I submit my Migratory Bird harvest cards?
You must report band-tailed pigeon, southwest Canada goose, brant, sea duck, and snow goose harvest cards by deadline dates either online through WDFW's WILD licensing system or by mail to:
WDFW Waterfowl Section
PO Box 43141
Olympia, WA 98504
If you mail your reports, they must be postmarked by the deadline date.
Report deadline dates can be found on the WDFW website.
How do I report my trapping activity?
If you have a trapper license, you can now complete your harvest reporting surveys in your online WILD accounts.
These surveys will be available for trapping license holders from Nov. 1, 2024 to April, 20, 2025 and can be added to throughout the reporting timeframe as a log. At the end of the reporting time frame (April 20), all entries will be automatically submitted.
To add a trapper report entry, follow these steps:
- Log in to your WILD account at fishhunt.wa.gov
- Select the Harvest Reporting link under the Licenses, Permits, Tags & Applications block
- Select Submit Report to the right of the harvest report you want to input an entry for
- Answer the questions provided, documenting one entry per species/location.
- Once you have completed the entry, you can select Submit Another at any point during the harvest submission timeframe (Nov 1- April 20) to input another entry or select View to see all previous entries
- Edits cannot be made to previous entries after day the entry was originally input
- Edit exception: If you answer “No” to the first question “Did you trap…” but end up trapping later in the season, you can edit the “No” answer to “Yes” anytime during the harvest reporting timeframe.
Remember that all trappers purchasing a license must report their trapping activity by April 20, or will be considered noncompliant (WAC 220-417-020). Failure to report trapping activity is an infraction, punishable under RCW 77.15.160.
Do I need to submit a report even if I didn't hunt?
Reporting even when you did not hunt or harvest provides critical information for estimating total harvest and hunting effort. These reports are just as important as reports of harvest.
If you purchased a hunting license and tag(s) or permits for big game, turkey, or migratory birds, you must submit a hunter report even if you did not hunt. Failing to report by the deadline will result in a $10 administrative fee for mandatory big game, turkey, and migratory bird reports.
Can I submit my hunter report after the deadline?
You cannot report after the deadline. The deadline is important in order to give WDFW time to collate the data, develop preliminary reports, and provide the information to department biologists across the state to set permit levels for the coming hunting season. Permit recommendations are presented to the public and a hearing is conducted in early March each year with adoption by the Fish and Wildlife Commission scheduled for early April. These timelines are tight.
Following the reporting deadline, WDFW conducts a telephone survey of randomly selected individuals who failed to report their hunting activity by the deadline. It is the random nature of the survey that allows WDFW to accurately estimate hunter effort, harvest, and success rates compared to previous years. While reports provided by hunters before the deadline are critical, once the deadline passes, WDFW no longer accepts sporadic reports because they reduce the statistical strength of the harvest estimate.
For this reason, you still may be contacted for information in a subsequent hunter survey. If so, WDFW would appreciate you taking the time to participate in this phone survey, even though it is not a substitute for the hunter reporting requirement and will not release you from the $10 administrative fee for big game, turkey, or migratory bird reports. WDFW strongly encourages you to submit your reports on time because it is important for management of wildlife in Washington and support for hunting opportunity.
Why impose a fee for failure to report?
The hunter report administrative fee encourages hunter reporting. Hunter reports are important for improving the accuracy of harvest statistics and providing information to WDFW biologists across the state so they can prepare for setting permit levels for the coming hunting season.
For more information on the hunter report fee, see WAC 220-413-100.
Can I fix a mistake on my hunter report?
If you made a mistake on your hunter report, contact the Wildlife Program before the deadline date so your report information can be adjusted. You can reach the Wildlife Program by email, or by phone at 360-902-2515.
How do I challenge the hunter report fee?
If you believe you have been assessed the hunter report administrative fee in error, please contact the Wildlife Program by email, or by phone at 360-902-2515.
If I paid a hunter report fee, do I still need to submit a report?
You will not be able to submit a report after the deadline date. If you pay the hunter report administrative fee, you have missed the deadline and are no longer required to report for that season's hunting activity.
WDFW encourages you to report on all future hunting activity because it is important for the management of wildlife and hunting opportunity.
How can I check my hunter reports?
You can check your hunter report information through WDFW's WILD licensing system. Log in to your account and click the hunter reporting link to see your reporting record.
After reporting successfully, you will receive a confirmation number. Write down this confirmation number and treat it like a receipt.
If you need additional assistance with hunter reporting, please contact the Wildlife Program by email, or by phone at 360-902-2515.
Why did the system not find my record when I tried to report?
There are a number of reasons this might occur. The most common error is the result of information being entered incorrectly at the point of license sale. If you find a mistake in your information, submit your hunter report by logging in with the incorrect information on your license. When you finish your report, contact the WDFW Licensing Division to update your profile.
You can contact WDFW Licensing by email, or by phone at 360-902-2464. If you find no errors and are still having problems with the reporting system, please contact the Wildlife Program by email, or by phone at 360-902-2515.
Why did I receive a notice to complete my hunter reports when I already completed all my reports?
There are several reasons this might have occurred. The three most common reasons are:
- You completed your report after we created the notice. Check the date of the notice to verify.
- Your report did not go through correctly.
- Another hunter uses the same email address.
You can verify or submit hunter reports through WDFW's WILD licensing system. If you need additional assistance with hunter reporting, please contact the Wildlife Program by email, or by phone at 360-902-2515.
Why do I have multiple hunter reports due for some species?
You must report on each special permit and each additional tag purchased. This results in multiple reports for certain species. For example, if you drew both a quality deer and second deer special permit, you would owe hunter reports for your general season deer tag, the quality deer special permit, and the second deer special permit.
My special permit hunt extends beyond the January 31 deadline. When do I need to submit that hunter report?
If you drew a special hunt that extends beyond the January 31 deadline, you must report your hunting activity for that hunt within ten days of the close of that season.
You will still need to submit reports for all of your other hunts by the deadline date.
If I hunt in a deer or elk area, what location do I submit for my hunter report?
You would report the Game Management Unit (GMU) number where the deer or elk area is located. Use the Hunt Planner webmap to help figure out the GMU.
How do I submit my hunter report if my special permit hunt dates overlap the general season?
Please do not double report your hunting activity. You want to report your hunting effort and harvest only under the correct category.
For example, if your deer special permit overlaps with the general season dates for the same Game Management Unit (GMU), you will have opportunity to harvest under either category (your special permit or the general season). If you harvest a deer under the special permit restrictions, you will want to report that harvest under the special permit category. To report your general season activity, you would enter that you did not harvest, but would still report the number of general season days in the GMUs you hunted the most..
If you were to harvest under the general season rules, you would report under the general season category and say that you did not harvest under the special permit. However, you would still enter the number of days you hunted the permit.
Why do I not see all of my transport tags listed when trying to submit my hunter reports?
There are several reasons this might be the case, but the most common include:
- You bought a hunting package, but did not pick up your transport tag.
- You have more than one WILD ID number in the system and you purchased your transport tags under a second number. For assistance in fixing this, contact WDFW Licensing by email at licensing@dfw.wa.gov or by phone at 360-902-2464.
How do I submit my cougar report?
Like other big game hunter reports, you must report your cougar hunting activity online through the WILD system. Cougar reporting is required if you purchased a cougar tag, regardless of whether or not you hunted or harvested a cougar.
Cougar hunters may hunt cougar through March 31, except in Game Management Units (GMUs) where the harvest cap has been reached and the WDFW director has closed the Population Management Unit (PMU) for cougar hunting for the season.
Hunter Requirements. Mandatory Reporting, and Hide Sealing
- Hunters must call the Cougar Hotline at 1-866-364-4868 (press 2 when the greeting starts) or visit WDFW's website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/big-game/cougar prior to hunting to check if Cougar Hunt Areas are open or closed. It is each cougar hunter’s responsibility to verify if the cougar hunting season is open or closed in the GMU they plan to hunt.
- All successful cougar hunters are required to report their harvest to the Cougar Hotline at: 1-866-364-4868 within 72-hours (press 3 after greeting).
- Cougars must be sealed at any WDFW office within five days of harvest. Cougar must be unfrozen with proof of sex attached.
- All hunters purchasing a cougar tag must report their hunt activity (successful or unsuccessful) via the WILD licensing system by Mar. 31.
- No one may possess an open WDFW cougar seal unless it has been cut by a licensed taxidermist or fur dealer who has received and invoiced the pelt for processing. (WAC 220-415-050).