How to Get Deer Tags in Tennessee: Licenses, Permits, and Limits

To get deer tags in Tennessee, you complete hunter education if you were born on or after January 1, 1969, buy a hunting license, and add a supplemental big game permit for each weapon type you plan to use. All of it can be done in one sitting at GoOutdoorsTennessee.com. A resident gun hunter is looking at about $66 total; a non-resident wanting the full season pays $305 or more.

Finish Hunter Education First

Every hunter born on or after January 1, 1969, resident or not, must show proof of completing a hunter education course before buying a license.¹ Born earlier than that, you are exempt.

TWRA volunteer instructors run free in-person classes that last at least eight hours and include classroom and field day components.² TWRA-approved online providers are also an option, though some charge a fee.

Children under 10 do not need hunter education but must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult at least 21 years old who can take immediate control of the weapon. Anyone 10 or older who has not finished the course can hunt under an Apprentice Hunting License for up to three consecutive years, as long as they stay with a hunter-education-certified adult 21 or older.¹

Pick the Right Hunting License

You cannot buy any deer permits until you have a base hunting license. What you need depends on age, residency, and how much hunting you plan to do.

Resident Licenses

Tennessee residents ages 16 through 64 typically start with the Combination Hunt/Fish Annual License at $33. That license alone does not cover deer. You also need a Supplemental Big Game permit for each weapon type at $33 each for gun, archery, or muzzleloader.³ A rifle hunter who only wants gun season pays $66 total. Someone splitting time between archery and gun season pays $99.

Hunting across multiple seasons? The Annual Sportsman License at $165 bundles every supplemental permit, so no stacking fees by weapon. Residents 65 and older can buy the Senior Sportsman License for $49, which also includes all supplementals.³

Non-Resident Licenses

Non-residents pay considerably more. The Annual All Game License is $305 and the 7-Day All Game License is $214.⁴ Non-resident junior hunters under 16 start at $10 for annual small game or $41 for annual all game.

Youth Licenses

Youth ages 6 through 9 do not need a license. Youth ages 10 through 12 need hunter education or an apprentice permit but still do not need a license. Starting at age 13, a valid hunting license is required.⁵ All youth under 13 must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult at least 21 years old who stays close enough to take immediate control of the weapon.

Add Your Big Game Permits

Tennessee does not sell individually numbered deer tags the way some western states do. The “tag” in Tennessee is really two things stacked: the supplemental big game permit for your weapon, which gives you the right to hunt deer at all, and the temporary transportation tag you attach to each animal after you kill it.

Buy the permit at the same time as your license. If you already hold an Annual Sportsman, Senior Sportsman, or Lifetime Sportsman license, your deer permits are already covered.

Where to Buy and What to Bring

Licenses and permits are sold through several channels:³

Online at GoOutdoorsTennessee.com
Through the TWRA On The Go mobile app
In person at TWRA regional offices, county clerk offices, sporting goods and hardware stores, Walmart, and other licensed agents (around 1,000 locations statewide)

Federal law requires a Social Security Number for any license purchase. Residents 18 and older also need a valid Tennessee driver’s license or state ID. Without either, you can prove residency with two alternative documents such as a current voter registration card, a vehicle registration, or a rental or mortgage receipt.³

How Many Deer You Can Actually Take

Because Tennessee issues no numbered tags, your harvest limit comes from statewide and unit-specific bag rules. Two numbers to know.

An antlered deer is any deer with at least one antler three inches or longer. The statewide limit is two antlered deer per season, with no more than one per day.⁶ An antlerless deer has no antlers or antlers shorter than three inches, and the antlerless limit is not statewide. It varies by Deer Management Unit.

Tennessee is divided into six Deer Management Units along county lines.⁷ Each DMU sets its own antlerless limit, and that limit resets by unit, so hunters working multiple counties in different DMUs can take up to each unit’s limit. Look up your county’s DMU and current antlerless limit in TWRA’s annual regulations guide before the hunt.

Tag and Check In Every Deer

The rule is tag before you drag: you have to tag the deer before moving it from where it fell.⁸ Two ways to do it:

Use the TWRA On The Go app. It works without cell service and submits once you are back in range. Tagging and check-in happen at the same time, and you get a harvest confirmation number on the spot. No paper tag needed.
Attach a physical temporary transportation tag cut from your license printout, filled in with the required information, before moving the animal. Check-in still has to be completed online at GoOutdoorsTennessee.com or at a physical check station before midnight.

Every deer has to be checked in by midnight on the day of harvest. If you plan to give the deer away or take it out of state, check in first.⁹ Keep the confirmation number available for TWRA officers until the animal is fully processed, and send it along with any deer handed off to a taxidermist, processor, or another person.⁸ Evidence of sex and antler status must remain with the deer until check-in is complete.

If you harvest a deer inside one of the 23 counties in a CWD Management Zone, you cannot transport the whole carcass out of that zone, only deboned meat, cleaned antlers and skulls, cleaned teeth, finished taxidermy, and hides.¹⁰¹¹ Check TWRA’s current CWD map before heading out, since new counties get added when the disease is detected adjacent to an existing zone.

Landowner Exemption

Tennessee residents who own or tenant farmland can hunt on that property without a hunting license. The exemption also covers the owner’s spouse, children, and children’s spouses, plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren under 16.¹² Tenants qualify only if they actually live on the land and are Tennessee residents. The land has to be individually or family-owned.

One trap worth flagging: the license exemption does not exempt you from tagging and check-in. Landowners still tag and report every deer by midnight on the day of the kill. If you need a temporary transportation tag, download one from GoOutdoorsTennessee.com.⁸

If You Plan to Hunt a WMA

Hunting on Tennessee’s Wildlife Management Areas during big game season requires permits on top of your standard license. The non-quota WMA big game permit costs $24 and is sold over the counter.³

Quota hunts, which cap the number of hunters on a given WMA during specific dates, go through a drawing. Applications are $12 each (waived if you hold an Annual Sportsman, Lifetime, or Senior Sportsman license) and must be submitted online at GoOutdoorsTennessee.com, through the app, at a licensed agent, or at a TWRA regional office. No mail-in applications.¹³

What Happens If You Skip the Rules

Failing to properly tag a deer is a Class C misdemeanor, with up to 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.¹⁴¹⁵ Any untagged deer can be confiscated on the spot.

The fine is modest. The license consequences are not. A court can revoke your license and suspend your hunting rights for at least one year on conviction for any wildlife violation.¹⁶ Hunting during a revocation triggers a mandatory 10-day jail sentence that the court cannot suspend. Giving false information at check-in is its own separate violation. Tagging on the app takes about 30 seconds.

1
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Tennessee Hunter Education Information
2
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TWRA In-Person Hunting Education
3
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. License Structure and Fees
4
eRegulations. Tennessee Hunting License Fees
5
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Youth Hunting in Tennessee
6
Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission. Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission Proclamation 24-10 – Statewide Big Game Hunting Seasons and Bag Limit
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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Tennessee Deer Season Dates, Regulations and Other Information
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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Tag Before You Drag, Game Check In Procedures
9
Tennessee Secretary of State. Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission Proclamation 20-02
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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. CWD in Tennessee
11
Tennessee Secretary of State. Rules and Regulations for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
12
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-2-204 – Hunting and Fishing on Farmland
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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Quota Hunts
14
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-4-116 – Hunting, Killing and Possession of Deer, Bear, Wild Elk and Wild Turkey – Transporting – Tagging – Penalties
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Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Felonies and Misdemeanors
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Justia Law. Tennessee Code 70-2-101 – Taking Wildlife Without License – Migratory Waterfowl Stamps – Licenses Nontransferable – Revocation or Suspension – Penalties