Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife and Heritage Service
Deer Management Permit General Conditions
Introduction: A landowner or agricultural lessee of a farm, orchard, nursery or a designated
employee of a farm, orchard, or nursery (who receives a W2 form) may request that the Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) investigate severe damage caused by deer for the purpose of having the
Department reduce the deer population in the area. An investigation may also be requested for
woodland areas that have a forest management plan or planting plan written by a DNR forester or a
licensed private consulting forester. Upon receipt of a request for investigation, an investigator will
be assigned by the DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service to review the request for eligibility. Factors to
be considered include: (a) Type, extent, and severity of damage; (b) Time of year; and (c) Deer
population surveys and estimates. Site investigations for the purpose of issuing a Deer Management
Permit will be conducted at the discretion of the Service.
Deer Reduction Procedure: If the Service determines that deer population reduction is necessary,
the reduction will be accomplished according to the following guidelines:
(1) A Deer Management Permit (DMP) may be issued to a landowner, agricultural lessee, or a
designated employee (hereafter referred to as the permittee), who has sustained severe deer damage
and economic loss to commercial agricultural crops (row crops, truck crops, pasture), orchard or
nursery stock (including Christmas trees). An agricultural lessee or designated employee must
secure permission of the landowner before applying for a DMP. Permits may also be issued for
damage to woodland areas that have forest management plans or planting plans that have been
written by a DNR forester or a licensed private consulting forester.
(2) A permittee may designate individuals to serve as their agents for the purpose of shooting deer
under the authority of a DMP. The permittee shall notify the DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service by
submitting an agent roster to the Wildlife and Heritage Service DMP contact person. The
Department must approve all agents and their names must be listed on the permit. Background
checks will be performed for all agents to ensure that they have not been convicted of any Natural
Resources violations within the previous two years (see 7 below). Permittees can make
modifications to the agent roster by contacting their DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service DMP
contact person. Permittees must provide DNRid numbers for all agents they wish to list on their
permit. Most agents will already have a DNRid number, but those that do not can easily
obtain one free of charge from a hunting license vendor or online at
http://dnr.maryland.gov/service/getdnridcard.asp.
(3) In order to be valid, each DMP must be signed by the permittee and agent conducting the
shooting to indicate that the conditions of the DMP are understood and will be followed. The
permittee and all agents must possess a signed copy of the DMP while taking deer under the
authority of the permit. The Department may seek to revoke or temporarily suspend the DMP for
any violation, fraud, or deceit in obtaining or using the permit.
(4) All permittees and their agents must adhere to the conditions in COMAR Regulation
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08.03.04.02: Deer Management Permit Procedures, as described in this document. Any violation of
this regulation may result in revocation of the DMP for a two-year period and criminal prosecution,
if applicable.
(5) DMP's may be issued for a period not to exceed one year. Each DMP may be renewed annually
by request of the permittee following the receipt and review of permittee’s Master Confirmation
Number Log Sheet.
(6) Each permittee will be authorized to take a specified number of deer under the authority of the
DMP. The permittee and/or agent are responsible for providing a tag and field-tagging each deer
before removing the carcass from the place of kill. The deer must be registered within 24 hours of
harvest using the telephone or Internet check-in system as documented in the permit package.
Confirmation numbers must be recorded on the log sheets.
NOTE: To check in a deer taken under a DMP, the permittee or agent who harvested the deer
will need to use their own DNRid number. This number can be obtained free of charge from a
hunting license vendor or online at http://dnr.maryland.gov/service/getdnridcard.asp. If you obtained
a DNRid number already as a licensed hunter, then there is no need to obtain another number.
Deer taken under the terms of a DMP must be utilized by the permittee or agents, or donated to
others. Permittees are encouraged to donate deer to charitable food programs.
(7) Permittees and agents must meet the legal requirement to possess a Maryland hunting license and
firearm. This includes meeting the Maryland Hunter Education and Safety Requirement. Permittees
and agents must meet this requirement anytime they are shooting deer under authority of the DMP
(within deer season or out of deer season). Individuals that have been convicted of a violation of
Natural Resources Article, Title 10, Annotated Code of Maryland, within a 2-year period before the
date of the application for the deer management permit are not eligible to receive a DMP or serve as
an agent.
(8) A DMP is valid seven days a week.
(9) Permittees and agents may use only those hunting devices that are legal for deer hunting in the
location for which the DMP is valid, unless specified otherwise on the permit. Breech loading rifles
are not permitted to be used for shooting deer under authority of a DMP in those counties or zones
that prohibit these rifles for deer hunting unless an exception has been made by the county and is
noted on the permit.
(10) During the deer hunting season, permittees and their agents shooting deer under the authority of
a DMP must possess a current, valid Maryland hunting license. Exempt from this requirement are
persons allowed to hunt on the property without a license as described by Natural Resources Article
Section 10-301 and outlined below:
A resident of Maryland (and their spouse) who owns property and who hunts only on that property.
This also applies to: (1) the landowner’s children and grandchildren if they are under the age of 16;
and (2) the landowner’s children and grandchildren, and the spouse of the children or grandchildren,
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regardless of age, if the child, grandchild, or their spouse, lives on the property, has worked on the
property for at least 30 days during the preceding 12 months, or manages the property. Each person
must individually qualify under these criteria. To qualify for this exemption a landowner does not
need to live on the property but must be able to prove ownership.
A person (and spouse) who: (1) holds land under lease for agricultural purposes (or a sharecropper);
and (2) lives on this farmland; and (3) hunts only on this farmland. This also applies to: (1) the
lessee’s children and grandchildren if they are under the age of 16; and (2) the lessee’s children and
grandchildren, and their spouses, if the child, grandchild, or spouse of the child or grandchild, lives
on the property, has worked on the property for at least 30 days during the preceding 12 months, or
manages the property.
A nonresident (and spouse) who owns a contiguous piece of farmland that is in both Virginia and
Maryland may hunt on the Maryland portion of his or her property without a Maryland hunting
license, if the person’s primary residence is on the Virginia portion of the property. This also applies
to the owner’s children and grandchildren if they are under the age of 16.
A Maryland resident serving in the United States Armed Forces while on official leave in Maryland
(whether stationed in Maryland or outside Maryland). You must possess a copy of official leave
orders while hunting.
(11) Persons shooting on a DMP will be designated on the permit as either an exempt agent or as a
non-exempt agent. Anyone not meeting the requirements below will be listed as a non-exempt
agent.
Exempt agents are:
the permittee, and
persons who are exempt from the requirement to possess a hunting license for the property
for which the DMP has been issued (see #10 above), and
persons who are employees of the permittee’s commercial farming operation (i.e., recipients
of federal W-2 forms).
Please note: all agents (exempt and non-exempt) shooting deer under the authority of a valid
Deer Management Permit from March 1 to February 29 may now use any firearm, bow,
crossbow or muzzleloader otherwise legal for hunting deer in the county where the DMP is
issued. Rifles may not be used under authority of a DMP in shotgun-only counties or zones,
unless otherwise specified on the permit.
During the firearm and muzzleloader deer hunting seasons in Deer Management Region A, non-
exempt agents may only take antlerless deer on the days designated for the taking of antlerless deer.
Exempt agents shooting on a valid Deer Management Permit may take antlerless deer during the
entire firearm and muzzleloader deer seasons.
(12) All deer taken on DMP’s must be antlerless with the following exception. DMP’s for antlered
deer may be issued to resolve severe damage by buck antler rubbing to nursery or orchard stock.
DNR will determine the number of antlered deer to be taken. Permittees must take any antlers with a
portion of skull plates attached to DNR for repossession within 10 calendar days of being harvested.
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Permits for taking antlered deer will be valid for no more than 30 days, or until November 15 of the
calendar year for which the permit is issued, whichever comes first.
(13) The holder of a DMP shall not carry a loaded weapon in a vehicle. In addition, the DMP does
not authorize an individual holding a DMP to shoot from or across a public road.
(14) Individuals acting under the authority of a DMP may not possess or be under the influence of
any alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or controlled dangerous substances while attempting to take deer
under the authority of a DMP.
(15) Permittees and agents must wear blaze orange according to Annotated Code of Maryland,
Natural Resource Article Section 10-418 anytime they are using a firearm to shoot deer under the
authority of a DMP, or when shooting deer under the authority of a DMP with any weapon during
the designated deer firearm or muzzleloader seasons.
(16) A permittee or agent may not hunt or shoot at deer within 150 yards of any building or camp
occupied by human beings, unless permission is granted by the occupant. This distance is 50 yards
when using archery equipment on private land in Calvert, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Montgomery,
and St. Mary’s counties, and 100 yards in Anne Arundel County. In Harford County, archers must
use a tree stand when hunting or shooting between 50 and 100 yards. In Montgomery County,
archers must be in an elevated position if hunting or shooting between 50 and 100 yards (Annotated
Code of Maryland, Natural Resources Article Section 10-410). It is also prohibited to discharge a
firearm within 300 yards of a public or nonpublic school. This prohibition only applies during school
hours or when the building is occupied. This safety zone does not apply to colleges, universities, or
home schools.
(17) A completed and signed Master Copy of the Confirmation Number Log Sheet provided by DNR
must be sent to the issuing DNR office no later than March 15 following the expiration date of the
permit. This document also serves as your request for a permit renewal.
(18) The State and DNR employees will be held harmless for any accidents or damage that result
from the actions of any landowner, agricultural lessee or agents acting under the authority of a DMP.
Appeal Procedure. A person who has applied to the DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service for relief
from damage by deer and is denied a DMP has 15 days to file a petition for a hearing with the
Director. The Director will render a decision in writing to the complainant within 15 days following
the date of the hearing. If the complainant is further aggrieved, they may initiate proceedings for an
appeal to Department of Natural Resources Assistant Secretary, Land Resources Service, Tawes
State Office Building, Annapolis, Maryland 21401.
(Revised 1/29/2020)
