Illinois Department of Natural Resources
14
DEER ACCIDENTALLY KILLED/INJURED
BY A MOTOR VEHICLE
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A DEER THAT WAS
KILLED/INJURED BY A MOTOR VEHICLE
AND YOU WISH TO CLAIM IT.
White-tailed deer killed/injured as a result of a collision with
a motor vehicle may be legally possessed by an individual if the
following criteria are met:
1. The driver of a motor vehicle involved in a vehicle-deer
collision has priority in possessing said deer. If the driver does
not take possession of the deer before leaving the collision
scene, any citizen of Illinois who is not delinquent in
child support may possess and transport the deer. Non-residents
may not claim a road-killed deer.
2. There is no limit to the number of deer that may be possessed
under these circumstances.
3. Individuals who claim a deer killed in a vehicle collision shall re-port
the possession of the road-kill deer to the Department of
Natural Resources within 24 hours via the IDNR website at
www.dnr.illinois.gov. Individuals without internet access can re-port
possession of a road-killed deer by calling (217) 782-6431
no later than 4:30 p.m. of the next business day.
4. Except for any law enforcement officers in the performance of
their duties, it shall be illegal to kill a deer crippled by a collision
with a motor vehicle.
5. The State of Illinois is absolved of any and all liability associ-ated
with the handling or utilization of vehicle-killed deer. This
does not, however, relieve involved parties from reporting other
liabilities to appropriate agencies as required.
DEER ACCIDENTALLY KILLED/INJURED BY METHODS
OTHER THAN LAWFUL HUNTING OR VEHICLE/
DEER COLLISION
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A DEER THAT WAS
KILLED/INJURED BY METHODS OTHER THAN LAWFUL
HUNTING OR A VEHICLE/DEER ACCIDENT
AND YOU WISH TO CLAIM IT.
White-tailed deer killed/injured as a result of methods other than
lawful hunting or a vehicle/deer collision, may be legally pos-sessed
by an individual if the following criteria are met:
1. Any individual finding a dead or crippled deer other than those
killed/injured in a vehicle/deer collision, or legally taken by hunt-ing
methods, shall not transport said deer parts until permission is
obtained from a Conservation Police Officer or a Regional Office.
(Permission will be granted if it is determined that the person
requesting possession did not illegally kill or injure the deer.
When retained, the head/antler and hide shall be properly tagged
with an irremovable tag obtained from the Regional Law Enforce-ment
Office. The head/antler or hide tags shall remain attached
to the head/antler or hide as long as the head/antler or hide re-mains
in the green state, or when in a commercial manufactur-ing
process).
2. There is no limit to the number of deer that may be possessed
under these circumstances.
3. Except for any law enforcement officers in the performance of
their duties, it shall be illegal to kill a deer crippled under these
circumstances unless permission has been obtained from a
Conservation Police Officer or the Regional Office (see phone
numbers on page 1).
4. No part of a deer killed by methods other than hunting can be
bartered or sold.
5. The State of Illinois is absolved of any and all liability associ-ated
with the handling or utilization of deer killed by methods
other than lawful hunting. This does not, however, relieve in-volved
parties from reporting other liabilities to appropriate
agencies as required.
Statewide Deer Hunting Information
DEER HUNTING REGULATIONS
In addition to statewide regulations, the fol-lowing
regulations apply to all deer hunters:
Non-resident Requirements
Non-resident deer hunters must purchase a
non-resident hunting license, and a State
Habitat Stamp in addition to their valid deer
permit. Non-resident hunters may purchase ei-ther
the annual license ($57.75) or the 5-day li-cense
($35.75) depending on the amount of
time they will be hunting.
Deer Permit and Tagging Requirements
It is unlawful to:
hunt deer without a permit from the Department.
hunt deer UNLESS the permit is properly signed
and is in the hunter’s possession while hunt-ing.
take an antlered deer with an antlerless-only
permit. NOTE: An antlered deer is defined as a
deer having at least one antler of a length of
three inches or more. An antlerless deer is de-fined
as a deer without antlers or a deer having
antlers less than three inches long.
have in your possession, while in the field dur-ing
deer season, any deer permit issued to
another person.
hunt deer in a county or area other than spec-ified
on the permit.
move, transport or field dress a deer upon kill
before properly attaching the temporary har-vest
tag as instructed on the permit. NOTE:Deer
must be tagged immedi ately upon kill.
White Deer Protected
It is unlawful to take any all-white white-tailed deer
at any time.
Sidearms and Rifle Regulations
It is unlawful to:
have in possession any other firearm when
hunting deer with a shotgun, handgun, or muz-zleloader.
However, more than one firearm may
be possessed by a firearm deer hunter pro-vided
it is a lawful gun for that particular sea-son.
Archery deer hunters may not possess
firearms while hunting deer. You cannot possess
a bow and gun in the field at the same time while
deer hunting.
possess any rifle in the field during gun deer
season (Nov. 18-20 and Dec. 1-4, 2011) except
muzzleloading rifles used by deer hunters only.
NOTE: The lawful possession of rifles to take
furbearing mammals and game mammals other
