How To Check The Status of Your Pennsylvania Antlerless Deer Tag Application

Update: July 2021

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has since updated its website to HuntFishPA.gov. 

To learn the current way to check on the status of your PA Antlerless Deer Tag Application – visit the updated blog post here!

How To Check The Status of Your Pennsylvania Antlerless Deer Tag Application

If you’re anything like me, patience is a hard thing to come by especially when it pertains to hunting. This rings true every July after Pennsylvania hunting licenses officially go on sale and the lead up to submitting your antlerless deer tag application.

Every PA hunter is bound to have their own strategy in order to get that pink Pennsylvania Game Commission antlerless deer tag application envelop to their local county treasurer’s desk first thing Monday morning.

My rule of thumb is always trying to send out my antlerless deer application the Friday or Saturday before the Monday that the Antlerless Deer applications go on sale. Whether this level of planning and preparation is warranted or not, I still live by the adage that the early bird gets the worm. Or, in this case, their preferred WMU antlerless deer tag. It has worked for me up to this point so why fix something that isn’t broken?

Once I’ve submitted my antlerless deer application, the anticipation of whether or not I got my preferred WMU begins to build. Again, patience is hard to come by as I anxiously await to receive my self-addressed return envelop with my antlerless deer tag.

In years past, I’ve waited and watched for my check to clear only to wonder what WMU I was awarded out of the 3 WMUs I listed on my application.

However, in more recent years, I’ve learned how you can check the status of your Pennsylvania antlerless deer application. This works whether you’re a PA resident hunter or non-resident hunter.

Checking the status of your antlerless deer tag allows you to not only see if you’ve been awarded an antlerless tag, but also which WMU if you’ve been awarded a Pennsylvania antlerless deer tag.

In checking the status of your antlerless deer application online, you can help ease your mind in between submitting your PA Antlerless Deer Application and finally receiving your antlerless deer tag in the mail.

Below we’ve outlined how you can check the status of your Pennsylvania Game Commission antlerless deer application status online. We’ve also listed how to check the antlerless deer tag availability which includes total allocation, tags sold, and antlerless tags remaining by WMU.

Step 1: Go to the Pennsylvania Game Commission Website

Step 2: Click on Buy a License

Step 3: Click on Purchased Online link which will take you to The Outdoor Shop. For future reference, you can always bookmark this page and start directly from The Outdoor Shop.

Step 4: Click the top radio button labeled Purchase Fishing and/or Hunting License Permit and or Application / Replace License and or Permit. Click OK on the pop-up screen, scroll down the page, and click the Start Here Button to continue.

Step 5: Choose and enter your preferred method of identification, CID # (Hunting License ID Number), Drivers License Number, Social Security Number, or Alternate ID, and click continue.

Step 6: Verify if you’re a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or a non-resident hunter.

Step 7: Scroll down below your information and choose the option for Check on the status of an Antlerless Deer or Elk Application and click continue.

Step 8: On the Lottery Application Status Page you’ll see both your Elk Lottery Information (Preference Points and Pending Elk Lottery Information) as well as that season’s Antlerless Deer Application status.

Here you’ll see the status of your antlerless deer application. If you’ve been awarded an antlerless deer tag, you’ll also be able to see which WMU you’ve been awarded one.

BONUS: If you click return to home on the Lottery Application Status Page, or navigate back to The Outdoor Store main page – you can also check the antlerless deer license availability.

This is both useful if you got a late start in submitting your 1st round antlerless deer tag, or if you’re curious how many antlerless deer tags remain for a particular WMU for the 2nd round of resident and non-resident antlerless deer tag applications.

For more information on antlerless deer licenses and applications – visit the Pennsylvania Game Commissions website here.

To shop our full line of hunting, archery, and outdoor gear and accessories – visit us online or in person at 1658 Steel Way Drive, Mount Joy, PA 17552.