Antlerless Deer Hunting

DMP Availability and Probability of Selection

View a Table of DMP Targets and Chances of Selection for Residents and Non-Residents (PDF).

DEC strives to manage deer populations at levels that are in balance with available habitat and in alignment with public desires by incentivizing harvest of antlerless deer by hunters. Antlerless deer are primarily female and are the primary component of the deer population that drives population growth. Each year, DEC adjusts the number of antlerless deer tags that are available to hunters in each Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) through allocations of Deer Management Permits (DMPs). Hunters possessing a DMP may take one additional antlerless deer.

DMPs may:

• Only be used for antlerless deer (have no antlers or antlers less than 3" long).
• Only be used in the WMU for which they are issued.
• Be used during any deer hunting season.
• Be used by youth bowhunters during the special archery seasons and the regular season; and
• Be transferred between hunters (each hunter can receive up to 2 DMPs from other hunters. See Additional Opportunities for Acquiring DMPs for instructions).

For more information on how DEC determines quotas for and allocates DMPs in each WMU, please refer to Appendix 5 of DEC’s Management Plan for White-Tailed Deer in New York State. 

Applying for DMPs

DMP Application Deadline: October 1 each year 

Here’s what you need to know before applying:

• All licensed big game hunters, aged 12 or older can apply for DMPs. 
• You can apply for DMPs for most, but not all, WMUs. Be sure to check the availability of DMPs in the WMU you intend to hunt in before applying (see DMP Availability and Probability of Selection for details). 
• You can apply for up to two DMPs within the same WMU (depending on availability) or two different WMUs. Both DMPs must be applied for at the same time. 
• There is a $10 non-refundable application fee for all applicants, except for holders of Lifetime Sportsman licenses purchased prior to 9/30/2009, and youth hunters (age 15 or younger).
• Chances of being selected for a DMP are based on the number of antlerless deer to be harvested in each WMU, the number of expected applicants, and the ranking of applicants based on the order of selection below. Chances of selection remain the same throughout the entire application period.

Order of Selection:

• Landowners and disabled veterans (see below for details)
• NYS residents and non-residents with 3 or more preference points.
• Residents with 2 preference points.
• Residents with 1 preference points.
• Residents with 0 preference points.
• Non-residents with 2 preference points.
• Non-residents with 1 preference points.

Preference points are awarded to applicants who were not selected to receive a DMP for the WMU of first choice. Preference points can be used during the following year’s DMP application process and increase, but do not guarantee, your chances of DMP selection. Any accumulated preference points are automatically applied to your WMU of first choice selection the following year. If you do NOT receive your first choice, the points are applied to your second choice, but will remain in your file for the following year, regardless of your second choice WMU selection results. If you receive a DMP in the WMU of first choice, all available preference points will be used, regardless of the odds of selection for the WMU. Preference Points are not WMU-specific. If you earned a preference point by being denied a DMP for one WMU, you can use that preference point in a subsequent year when applying for a DMP for a different WMU.

Disabled veterans who are residents of New York and who have a service-connected disability rated at 40% or greater will receive preference on DMPs. Annually, you must bring a letter from the Veteran's Administration, dated in the current year, with your case number and your disability percentage. If you are claiming permanent disabled status, the letter must clearly state that the service-related disability is 'permanent'.

Landowners who own 50 or more contiguous acres of land within a WMU will receive second preference on DMP selection. Annually, you must bring your tax map identification number and SWIS code (found on your tax bill) with you when you apply. Be sure to tell the license issuing agent PRIOR to applying that you are a landowner. Lessees do not qualify as landowners. A spouse of a landowner may receive landowner preference, but both spouses may not apply as a landowner for the same parcel of land. For corporate landowners, only one person may be designated by the corporation as the landowner each year no matter how many 50-acre parcels are owned. The corporation must submit an original letter or certified copy of a resolution, dated in the current year, designating the individual and must include the tax map ID and SWIS code information.

Additional Opportunities to Acquire DMPs

Transferring DMPs

Big game hunters can have up to two DMPs transferred to them from other hunters per hunting license year. Each DMP has a section to sign and indicate consent to allow the DMP to be transferred. The hunter who wishes to receive and use the DMP must write the DMP number, in indelible ink or indelible pencil, on the license privilege panel immediately below the line where it states "DMP #'s received from other hunters." There are two spaces available on the License Privilege panel for hunters to write in the DMP numbers they receive from other hunters. 

After transfer, the DMP may be legally possessed and used by the receiving hunter. Possession of someone else's DMP would otherwise be illegal. If the DMP is not filled it may be transferred back to the original owner. If the transferred DMP isn’t used and is returned to its original owner, one of the spaces on the license privilege panel has still been used and cannot be replaced with a different transferred DMP. Only the hunter who has possession of the transferred DMP afield may take an antlerless deer with it. If an antlerless deer is harvested using a transferred DMP the document number from the transferred DMP should be reported along with the date of birth of the hunter who harvested the deer.

Remember: Only DMP carcass tags can be transferred from one hunter to another. Hunting licenses or other carcass tags are not transferrable.

Example of DMP transfer process:

Step 1. Hunter Art Fern wants to transfer his DMP to hunter Pete Moss. Art Fern signs the bottom of the DMP to allow transfer.

Step 2. Art Fern gives the DMP to Pete Moss.

Step 3. Pete Moss records the document number from the DMP being transferred to him from Art Fern on the license privilege panel of his hunting license.

Step 4a. Pete Moss does not use the transferred DMP and can transfer it back to Art Fern or to another hunter following these same steps.

Step4b. Pete Moss is successful and harvests an antlerless deer using the transferred DMP. Pete Moss reports the harvest using his own date of birth and the document number for the transferred DMP.

Leftover DMPs

If there are DMPs remaining for certain WMUs after the initial application period ends on October 1, an extended application period for leftover DMPs will begin on or around November 1 each year. Applications for leftover DMPs can only be made at a license issuing agent location. Hunters may apply for and receive up to two additional DMPs in WMUs with leftover DMPs.

Leftover DMPs are issued on a first-come/first-serve basis. When the application process for leftover DMPs is opened, it will remain open at least until close of business that day. At the end of the business day, any units that have reached the desired number of DMPs will not have leftover DMPs available the next day.

Applicants who are exempt from paying a DMP application fee or who have previously applied for DMPs that license year will not be charged any additional fees during the leftover DMP application period. Otherwise, there is a non-refundable $10 application fee for leftover DMPs. Applications for leftover DMPs will not affect any preference points held by the applicant.

Bonus DMPs

Bonus DMPs are issued to increase hunter participation and antlerless deer harvest in WMUs with abundant deer. Hunters who fill a DMP by harvesting an antlerless deer can apply for an additional (bonus) DMP to harvest another antlerless deer in WMUs 1C, 3S, 4J, and 8C. There is no fee to obtain Bonus DMPs. To obtain a Bonus DMP for one of these WMUs, please follow the instructions below. 

WMU 1C: Please refer to Hunting on Long Island for more information.

WMU 3S: Hunters may send, or present in person, clear photocopies, photos, or scanned images of both sides of their completed 3S DMPs or Bonus DMPs to:

NYSDEC Region 3 Headquarters, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561; Attention: 3S Bonus DMP, or send electronic images to [email protected] with "3S Bonus DMP" in the subject line. Be sure to include your name, hunter ID number, mailing address, and phone number to receive Bonus DMPs by mail.

Hunters may also bring copies of completed 3S DMPs or Bonus DMPs to the deer check station at the DEC Office in New Paltz located at 21 South Putt Corners Road. Appointments required (call 845-256-3098)

WMU 4J: Hunters may send, or present in person, clear photocopies, photos, or scanned images of both sides of their completed 4J DMPs or Bonus DMPs to: 

NYSDEC Region 4 Office, 1130 North Wescott Road, Schenectady, NY 12306-2014; Attention: 4J Bonus DMP, or send electronic images to [email protected] with "4J Bonus DMP" in subject line. Be sure to include your name, hunter ID number, mailing address, and phone number to receive Bonus DMPs by mail.

Hunters may also bring copies of completed 4J DMPs or Bonus DMPs to the Regional Office in Schenectady located at 1130 N. Wescott Road near the intersection of Broadway and Curry Rd. Appointments Required (call 518-357-2153)

WMU 8C: Hunters may send, or present in person, clear photocopies, photos, or scanned images of both sides of their completed 8C DMPs or Bonus DMPs to:

NYSDEC Bureau of Wildlife, 6274 E. Avon-Lima Rd., Avon, NY 14414; Attention: 8C Bonus DMP, or send electronic images to [email protected] with "8C Bonus DMP" in the subject line. Be sure to include your name, hunter ID number, mailing address, and phone number to receive Bonus DMPs by mail.

Hunters may also bring copies of completed 8C DMPs or Bonus DMPs to the Avon Regional Office located at Route 5/20 (6274 East Avon-Lima Road), about 1½ miles east of Interstate 390, Exit 10. Appointments Required (call 585-226-5380)

DMP Information Hotline

For more information regarding DMPs, call our DMP Information Hotline at 1-866-472-4332.