The new licensing system began January 1, 2015. The only folks who should notice much of a difference are those who bought an old paper license with affixed stamps at a license agent, which accounted for only 20 percent of license buyers. Licenses will still be sold at approximately 180 license agents around the state, but the agent will enter your information on a computer and print out your license, just as if you were doing it at home. For the first time all agents will be using the same system.

 

The process for hunters and anglers who have purchased their license online will be the same, although they will have to navigate a new homepage on www.wvhunt.com.

Lifetime license holders who need to buy additional stamps will be able to go online, access their existing account and buy what they need. The computer will recognize the approximately 92,000 lifetime license holders as they have already been entered into the system.

One benefit of the new system for license buyers is that once they have an account, they will be able to make and review purchases, check game, enter drawings for limited hunting seasons, and see their history of checking game. A benefit to DNR is that for the first time, all license purchases will be recorded on the same system, allowing the agency to more easily account for purchases, making the process more efficient. In the past, the records of online purchases, paper license purchases and point-of-sale agent purchases were separate, which made compiling license purchase records difficult, to say the least. It will also make the collection of license fees by the DNR more efficient. In addition, the DNR will no longer have to print licenses and stamps such as the Class A license, and Class N and RG stamps. Consequently, the DNR will save the time and money of printing, packaging and shipping the stamps and licenses.

Electronic Game Check

The BIG change for hunters and for trappers of beaver, bobcat, fisher and otter will be the ability to check in game by phone or computer starting April 1, 2015. Those who still like to talk in-person about their hunting experiences will be able to stop by one of the approximately 180 official license agents and check in their game. However, unlike past years, they won’t have to bring the animal in with them. Hunters and trappers will still have to follow the time and transportation restrictions as listed in the regulations.

To check game in by phone, hunters will have to know their unique DNR ID number, which is valid for their lifetime. That number will be printed on the top of the license for those folks who buy a license each year. Lifetime license holders will need to log in to the system to obtain their DNR ID number, which has already been assigned to them. Landowners and those who don’t need a license (such as residents under the age of 15, resident hunters who turned 65 before January 1, 2012, former POWs) can log on to the system and obtain their number.

Hunters and trappers can also check their game in by computer. Those logging in for the first time can set up an account, get their DNR ID number if they don’t have it already and then check in their game.

When a hunter or trapper has completed the electronic game check process, they will be assigned a 13-digit number that confirms that the game has been checked in properly. That game check confirmation number must be written down on a field tag or a sheet of paper along with the other information required in the regulations.

There are several benefits to the electronic game check. Hunters can hunt later in the day without worrying about driving around to find an open check station. This will also save hunters time, gas and wear and tear on their vehicle. If a hunter has cell phone coverage in the woods, he or she can check the game in over the phone and immediately quarter and chill the deer, helping to preserve the freshness of the meat.

Although the main reason for the change in the system was to help hunters, electronic game check will also benefit DNR personnel. Biologists will be able to monitor big game kills each day, instead of waiting until they had the time to visit more than 600 check stations throughout the state to pick up check tags. Not having to visit the check stations a minimum of three times a year will save the DNR hundreds of hours of personnel time and thousands of dollars in gasoline. It also means DNR personnel won’t have to spend hundreds of hours sorting and entering the check tags into the agency’s computer system for analysis. From a law enforcement perspective, an officer will be able to see if the person they are talking with has checked in their game.

Few people embrace change, especially when the current system has been in effect since game checking was required. But the Electronic Game Check System is designed to be more efficient than the hand-written check tag system and more convenient for all concerned. Similar systems have proven successful and popular in other states.