Once the deer is down, the tag, the report and the cooling

Tag the deer before you move it or open it. Report it within 72 hours of harvest, or before it changes hands, whichever comes first. Cool it to 40 degrees F or below as soon as you can. The first two are statewide rules in the 2026 Deer Hunting Regulations Summary; the third is Michigan State University Extension guidance, not a regulation. Whether a head can be tested, and where it goes, depends on the county the deer fell in.

Validating the tag

Statewide, under the 2026 summary and the DNR’s eHarvest tags page, a hunter with a paper kill tag notches it out and attaches it to the deer’s antler, lower jaw or lower leg, and a hunter who chose an eHarvest tag validates it in the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app and needs no physical tag on the deer while the deer is attended. Both come “Immediately after harvesting and before field-dressing or moving a deer.” The summary’s answer to taking photographs first is a plain no.

On a paper tag, the summary advises a wire or cord laid across the back of a license-agent tag, folded and taped, or run through the prepunched holes of a tag printed from Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses. It says not to stick or wrap the tag directly onto an antler. It stays until the deer is processed or a processor or taxidermist accepts it, and with the head if the head is separated. In the app, select the tag, select validate, enter the harvest date and confirm. The DNR says no cellular connection is needed. With an eHarvest tag, if you leave the deer, the summary requires a durable tag with your license number in permanent ink, attached securely and permanently.

A tag is personal: you cannot use another person’s kill tag or let another person use yours (the summary). Licenses are covered in the licensing guide in this issue.

Field dressing

MSU Extension’s checklist of October 25, 2013, lists several pairs of tight-fitting disposable gloves. For hunters in areas with CWD (chronic wasting disease) activity, the CDC’s page of January 21, 2026 adds: avoid handling the internal organs, especially the brain or spine, and do not use knives or tools you use in your kitchen. The CDC says no human infection has been reported and that, so far, it is not known whether people could be infected. These are guidance, not Michigan law.

In the bovine tuberculosis (TB) areas of the northeastern Lower Peninsula, the 2026 summary advises a mask and gloves while field-dressing; that is advice, not a rule.

For the cavity, MSU’s bulletin E0657 (page dated Nov. 2, 2015) says to wipe out all the blood with paper toweling, never leaves or soiled cloth. It says to rinse with water if bowel, bladder or stomach contents or dirty water got in, then dry the inside thoroughly. The same article names organs that look or smell funny as a sign of disease: when in doubt, do not consume the venison. The DNR’s wildlife disease page does not recommend eating any animal that acted sick before harvest.

Getting the deer out

Statewide, the summary says a wounded deer that crosses onto private property cannot be pursued without the landowner’s permission. A dog may locate a down or mortally wounded deer if it is leashed or the tracker can demonstrate control and those in attendance carry no bow, crossbow or firearm; a barking dog may not be used on public land. The summary says using drones to pursue wildlife, including to recover game, is illegal.

On any area open to public hunting during the Nov. 15 to 30 firearm season, the summary bars off-road vehicles and snowmobiles from 7 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. One exception is “While removing legally harvested deer from state land”. It allows no more than 5 miles per hour, by the most direct route that complies with all off-road vehicle restrictions, and names state land only.

Once it is out, you cannot transport or possess a deer unless a validated kill tag is attached or you have validated your eHarvest tag (2026 summary). Deer from Montcalm County and named townships in Ionia and Kent counties also carry carcass-movement limits, which are in the CWD and TB county rules guide in this issue.

Cooling and hanging

MSU bulletin E3233 (October 21, 2015) says to cool the carcass to 40 degrees F or below as soon as possible and, in warm weather, to pack the cavity with ice if it cannot go in a refrigerator. E0657 says hanging orientation makes “absolutely no difference in venison quality,” that most deer need not hang more than one day, and that aging above 40 degrees F is not recommended. Aging and cutting are in the kitchen guide in this issue.

Reporting the harvest

The 2026 summary, statewide: “A deer must be reported within 72 hours of harvest or before you transfer possession, whichever comes first.” Every successful hunter with a state-issued deer license must report, including those with deer management assistance permits, even if you process the deer yourself. The DNR’s harvest reporting FAQ gives the penalty as a civil fine of not more than $150.

Report through eLicense (Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses), at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport or in the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app, using the license number from the tag you used. The report asks that number, your date of birth, the township, the type of deer, antler points and the date of kill, which the summary puts at about three minutes. Without internet service, the FAQ says a family member or friend can report for you from your license number, date of birth and harvest location. The Wildlife Division line is 517-284-9453, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The report gives you a confirmation number. The summary says whoever accepts the deer should record it, and anyone holding a deer after the period should be able to present it. Giving a deer away is in the donation guide in this issue.

Testing a head for CWD and bovine TB

The report comes first: “Heads will not be accepted without a harvest report” (2026 summary). In 2026 the DNR’s CWD testing page names five counties for focused collection: Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm and Newaygo. Testing is free there through DNR drop boxes and staffed sample submission sites, every head is also screened for bovine TB, and self-sample kits are not available in those counties this year, so the entire head goes to a DNR site.

The DNR’s disease sample submission sites page lists 74 entries in 17 counties. Of the five focused counties it has entries in Ionia, Kent and Mecosta and none in Montcalm or Newaygo. The DNR’s sample-site and CWD testing pages, both read again Oct. 31, name no submission site in Montcalm or Newaygo County, and neither says whether a head from the Montcalm, Ionia and Kent carcass-movement area may be taken to a site outside it; call the Wildlife Division at 517-284-9453 before you drive with a head.

Outside the counties under active CWD or TB focused surveillance (the five above and the twelve TB counties, listed in the CWD and TB county rules guide in this issue), the CWD testing page offers a free lymph node shipping kit; the hunter extracts the nodes, and results go to the hunter, not the DNR results page. The page also says not to extract nodes from deer taken in Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle or Roscommon counties, because of bovine TB risk. Take those heads to a DNR wildlife field office, call first, and ask for CWD and TB testing.

The submission sites page says to remove the head from the carcass before visiting, and the antlers from the head to keep them. Under the 2026 summary you must have the kill tag and the disease tag receipt in your possession. Hours differ by site: for Nov. 16 to 30 the Ionia and Mecosta field offices list Mondays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., plus Nov. 19 and 21. Most sites show a 24-hour drop box from Oct. 1 through Jan. 4; several offices close Nov. 26 and 27 (page read Oct. 31, 2026).

For a head submitted to a DNR site, the submission sites page says results may take 6 to 8 weeks and are posted at Michigan.gov/DNRLab; if CWD is found in such a deer, the hunter is notified by letter or phone and is eligible for a replacement antlerless deer license.

In the pack before the shot

• Several pairs of tight-fitting disposable gloves (MSU), and a mask in the northeastern Lower Peninsula TB areas (DNR).
• The paper kill tag and a cord, or the phone with the eHarvest tag, and a durable tag and permanent ink for an unattended deer (2026 summary).
• Brown paper towels, not white (MSU E0657).
• Your kill tag license number and date of birth, written down for the report (2026 summary).

When to check again

The site list changes most. The DNR’s disease sample submission sites page, read Oct. 30, 2026, says: “Location information could change as the season progresses.” Check that page, and call the site, the day you drive. The pages behind each step, from the 2026 summary to the MSU and CDC pages, are in the official sources list.