Hunting license sales for the 2024-2025 seasons began last month and there are some big changes this year.

The first change is that licenses and carcass tags are not printed on special glossy paper. They are to be printed on regular printer paper. So, if you buy your license at a licensing agent, you can get your license and tags emailed to you as a PDF to print yourself, or the agent can print them for a fee. It is the hunter’s responsibility to keep their tags dry and legible while hunting and after tagging their harvest. You can find more information about paper tags and licenses by going online to the NYSDEC website.

The second change is that the requirement to wear a backtag while hunting in the Southern Zone (south of the Adirondacks basically) was removed.

From the first day licenses are sold until September 30, hunters can apply for up to two Deer Management Permits (DMPs). DMPs are tags that are valid for antlerless deer and can only be used in the Wildlife Management Unit that is printed on them. Hunters must select their first and second choice of WMUs when applying and must pay a $10 application fee. Anyone who purchased a lifetime hunting license prior to 2009 does not have to pay the DMP application permit. The NYSDEC gives each WMU a probability for being selected to receive a DMP. Units with “High” chances mean that at least two out of three applicants will get a DMP. Units with “medium” chances mean that between one and two out of three applicants will get a DMP. “Low” chance units mean that at most, one out of three applicants will receive a DMP for that unit.

Some WMUs are Preference Points only, meaning that only applicants who have preference points from not getting their first-choice last year (or the last multiple years) would be eligible to receive a DMP. Landowners who have at least 50 contiguous acres of land within a WMU are given preference for a DMP in the WMU where their land is.

Landowners must bring their tax bill with their tax map ID number and SWIS code when applying for DMPs. Disabled veterans are also given preference on their first choice of WMU.

There are a few MWUs that have no DMPs as well as WMUs that the NYSDEC is not authorized to issue DMPs for.

Here is a breakdown of some of the local WMUs and their DMP probabilities from the NYSDEC website:

7M- Resident 1st Choice: High, 2nd Choice: Med., Nonresident 1st Choice: High, 2nd Choice: None

7P- Resident 1st Choice: Med., 2nd Choice: None, Nonresident 1st Choice: None, 2nd Choice: None

7S- Resident 1st Choice: High, 2nd Choice: High, Nonresident 1st Choice: High, 2nd Choice: None

4O- Resident 1st Choice: Pref. Points required, 2nd Choice: None, Nonresident 1st and 2nd: None

4F- Resident 1st Choice: High, 2nd Choice: Landowner/Disabled Veteran only, Nonresident 1st Choice: High, 2nd Choice: None

7J- Resident 1st and 2nd Choice: High, Nonresident 1st and 2nd Choice: High

7R- Resident 1st and 2nd Choice: High, Nonresident 1st and 2nd Choice: High

Deer Management Permits can be used anytime deer hunting, such as during archery season, firearms season, or muzzleloader season, if the hunter has the appropriate privilege for that season. DMPs are also the only tag in New York that is transferrable from one hunter to another. The original tag holder must sign the tag saying they are giving their tag away. The hunter who receives the DMP must put the Document Number from the DMP on their License in indelible ink or indelible pencil immediately. Not writing the Document Number for the transferred DMP makes it illegal to be carrying the DMP if not the original person it was issued to.

So, if you are interested in applying for DMPs, remember to do go do it before the end of the day on September 30.