Missouri Department of Conservation

Fall Turkey Tagging and Checking Procedures

• Photos
• Video

Step 1: Bag It

Protect paper e-Permits in a plastic sandwich bag while afield.

Step 2: Notch It

Immediately after bagging a turkey, notch the month and day of harvest on your permit.

Step 3: Tag It (Turkey)

Attach your notched, bagged permit to the turkey’s leg with string, twist-ties, wire or tape. Your turkey is now legal to transport within Missouri.

Step 4: Check It

Telecheck your turkey by 10 p.m. the day of harvest. Write confirmation number on your permit before processing or transporting turkey out of state.

e-Permits Turkey

Learn how to bag, notch, tag and check your turkey with our online permits.

Just remember: Bag it. Notch it. Tag it. Check it.

Using the new turkey hunting permits for the 2011 fall turkey season couldn’t be easier. Just follow the four easy steps to tagging and checking your turkey properly. The brief slide show to the right shows you how.

Information needed to Telecheck fall turkeys

Turkeys must be checked by telephone or Internet (see "Telecheck Your Turkey" under "MDC Applications" below). During checking, hunters will be asked the age and sex of their turkey. Monitoring the age and sex of harvested turkeys through checking provides a valuable measure of the fall harvest. Aging and sexing turkeys is simple. See illustrations below.

How to age a turkey

To age a turkey, look at the two outermost feathers on the wing. The ends of the 9th and 10th primary feathers of a juvenile are pointed, and the tips of the feathers lack white barring. The ends of the 9th and 10th primary feathers of an adult are rounded and have white barring extending to the tips.

How to determine the sex of a turkey

Look at the lower half of the breast. Hens have brown-tipped breast feathers. Gobblers have black-tipped breast feathers.

Things to remember before tagging and checking

• Use the correct permit. Because many hunters carry multiple permits while turkey hunting, check your permit carefully to make sure you’re using the right one before notching it and attaching it to your game.
• Notching voids the permit. Do not notch the month and day on your permit until you harvest a turkey.
• Until checked, turkeys must have their heads and plumage intact.
• Turkeys must be checked by 10 p.m. on the day they were harvested.
• All turkeys must be checked before they can be removed from Missouri.
• Only the person who harvested the deer or turkey may possess and transport the game before it has been checked.
• After checking, turkeys may be possessed and transported by anyone, but must be labeled with the taker’s full name, address, Telecheck confirmation number and the date taken.
• Avoid duplicate Telecheck records. If you are given an eight-digit Telecheck confirmation number, your checking information has been successfully received and recorded. Write the confirmation number on the permit, and the checking process is complete. Do not call again to check the same deer or turkey.