Any-Deer Permit Application Frequently Asked Questions

Q. When is the deadline to submit the any-deer permit applications?

A. The deadline is July 31, 2009 if you are submitting your application in person or by mail. Application must be postmarked by July 31, 2009 or delivered to 284 State Street in Augusta before 5:00 p.m. on July 31, 2009. You can apply online until 11:59 p.m. on August 17, 2009.

Q. When do you mail the lottery applications?

A. As a result of the need to reduce our spending, beginning in 2009, the Department will no longer be automatically mailing paper applications for the Any-Deer permit lottery.

Everyone is strongly encouraged to help the Department in its efforts to save money by applying for the Any-Deer permit lottery using the online application process. The online application process is quick and easy. Applicants will get instant confirmation of their entry into the lottery.

Residents applying to hunt on their own land without a license, and applicants with a legal residence outside the U.S. or Canada must use the paper application and may not apply for an Any-Deer permit online. Paper applications will be available by the end of June.

If an applicant does not have access to a computer or the Internet at home, the Department has the following suggestions for applying online:

Use a computer at work during lunch or a break.
Use a computer at your local library or Internet café.
Ask a friend or relative with a computer for help in applying.

If you have no way to apply online, the Department is offering the following options to apply for the Any-Deer permit lottery:

Print out a paper application. You can then fill out the application and mail it to us.
Come to our main office in Augusta where you can fill out a paper application.
Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the address given below. Department personnel will mail you a paper application that you can then fill out and mail back to us.

Any-Deer Permit Application Request
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
41 State House Station
284 State Street
Augusta, Maine 04333-0041

Q. I notice on the application that I have to fill in my license number before completing my any-deer permit application but I’m a nonresident and have not purchased my license yet. What should I do?

A. You can apply online for your hunting license, and then once you have printed your license, you can apply online for the any-deer permit.

Please note: If you are purchasing your license online you need to have Adobe Acrobat in order to print the license on your home computer. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat or cannot download a version, please mail your lottery and license applications to us.

Q. Which number on my license is the license number?

A. If you have a handwritten license issued by a license agent, your license number is the number directly under the bar code in the upper left corner of your license. If you have ordered your license over the internet or purchased it from an electronic license agent, the number is printed in the upper left corner of the license.

Q. I see that we can now list three districts that we want to be drawn in. How does that work?

A. When your name is drawn we will give you your first choice. If all permits have been assigned already, then we will go to your second choice, etc. If you only want one district, only fill in your first choice - do not fill in the same number in all three choices.

Q. What does WMD stand for?

A. WMD stands for Wildlife Management District. You will see the districts on the map on your any-deer application. See Wildlife Management Districts.

Q. What is the age limit for applying for a permit?

A. Applicants must be 10 years of age before the end of the hunting season. A junior hunting license may be pre-issued, but the license and permit cannot be used until the youngster is 10 years of age.

Q. Your application no longer carries a description of the districts. Where can I get the boundary descriptions?

A. See Wildlife Management Districts. Also, a list of towns and the district they are in is also available.

Q. What are bonus deer permits and how do I get one? Which districts have them?

A. We allocate a certain number of permits per district depending on the deer herd in that area. Some districts have no permits issued because of the low number of deer in that area. Sometimes not enough people apply in a district and we have leftover permits. The leftover permits are called bonus deer permits.

There were no bonus permits issued in 2008. We do not know from year-to-year which districts (if any) will have bonus permits available. If you are drawn for a bonus permit it will cost you $12. Do not send any money for the bonus permit until you are drawn and notified by us to do so. Note: Bonus antlerless permits must be paid for before a permit swap can take place.

Q. How will I know when the drawing is held and if I have been drawn?

A. The drawing will be held in September. We post the winners names on our web site after the drawing.

Q. How do I transfer my permit to a junior hunter, person over 65, or to a person with ambulatory disabilities?

A. Please note that junior hunters may take a deer of either sex on the youth deer hunting day, so you may want to wait to see if they harvest a deer on the youth deer hunting day before you consider transferring your permit over to them. You may do the transfer online, or fill out the Transfer Request Form. When you receive the new permit number, the transfer is complete and you may give the number to the transferee

Q. When will I receive my permit?

A. The Department will no longer be mailing out Any-Deer permits/transportation tags. Instead, Any-Deer permit winners will need to record their permit number which can be found online after the drawing, and report the permit number to the registration station when tagging their deer.

The Department suggests that Any-Deer permit winners write their permit number down and keep the number with your license so it is readily available when needed at the registration station.

DEPARTMENT INFORMATION