Michigan's regular firearm deer season opens Sunday, Nov. 15, with hunters getting a new option for tagging their harvest.
For the first time, Michigan deer hunters can use a digital eHarvest tag through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Hunt Fish app.
The option allows hunters to validate their deer harvest using a smartphone instead of physically notching and attaching a traditional paper tag.
Hunters who purchase their deer license through the app will have their digital tag available immediately after purchase. Traditional paper tags remain available for hunters who prefer them.
Brent Rudolph, the DNR's deer, elk and moose management specialist, said the digital system follows the same basic process as a paper tag.
Hunters still provide the required harvest information, but instead of physically cutting a notch into a tag, they complete the process on their phone.
“You don't have to have a cell signal to be able to validate or digitally notch that tag,” Rudolph said.
The information is stored on the device and uploaded later when a connection is available. Hunters can also show a conservation officer their digital license and validated tag on their phone.
Rudolph said the digital tag cannot be reused after it has been validated.
“Once you've notched that tag, you've indicated it's used. It can't be used again,” he said.
The DNR says hunters using an eHarvest tag must validate it immediately after harvesting a deer and before field-dressing or moving the animal. Hunters do not have to attach a physical tag while they are personally attending the deer and can display the validated tag on their phone. A durable tag with the license number is required if the hunter is no longer present and cannot display the digital information.
Whether hunters use a paper or digital tag, harvest reporting remains mandatory. Deer must be reported within 72 hours of harvest or before transferring possession, whichever comes first.
OTHER 2026 DEER SEASON CHANGES
The DNR also made several changes to Michigan's deer hunting regulations this year.
The Limited Firearms Deer Zone was eliminated, allowing hunters to use all legal firearms throughout the Lower Peninsula beginning Sept. 12.
Other changes include:
- Universal antlerless licenses: New use limits apply by deer management unit in the Upper Peninsula and by county in the Lower Peninsula.
- Early antlerless season: The season moved to the second weekend in September, Sept. 12-13, coinciding with the Liberty Hunt.
- December seasons: The Lower Peninsula December firearm season and Upper Peninsula muzzleloader season are now three days, Dec. 4-6.
- Late antlerless season: The Lower Peninsula season begins Dec. 7 and runs through Jan. 1, 2027, in eligible deer management units.
- Eliminated seasons: The extended late antlerless season and January archery season have been eliminated.
- Upper Peninsula permits: The antlerless access permit drawing has been eliminated.
The regular firearm deer season runs statewide Nov. 15-30.
The DNR encourages hunters to review the 2026 regulations before heading into the field.