Apply for an Antlerless Deer Permit

You need a valid hunting or sporting license to apply for an Antlerless Deer Permit in Massachusetts. An antlerless deer is any deer without antlers or any deer with both antlers less than 3 inches long measured on a straight line from the center of the front base of the antler burr to the tip.

How to check if you have already applied

1. Log into MassFishHunt.
2. After logging in, click on Deer Hunt Applications on the left under Licenses, Tags, Permits, & Applications on your customer dashboard.

• If you have applied for this year, it will be listed here. The current calendar year will display under the season. 
• If you have not applied, it will say There are no available hunt applications. You can select the season to see your ADP purchase history. 

How to change your zone selection

You can change your ADP application zone any time before July 16. To edit your zone choice:

1. Log into MassFishHunt.
2. Click on Deer Hunt Applications on the left under Licenses, Tags, Permits, & Applications on your customer dashboard. (On a mobile device, you will click the third icon on the bottom that looks like a notepad to see the Deer Hunt Applications option.) 
3. Your current application will display here if you've applied. Click Edit. 
4. A Deer Hunt Application pop-up will appear. Click Edit next to the pencil icon. 
5. From the drop-down menu, select a new zone and click Next. Click Save. 

More about Antlerless Deer Permits

Antlerless Deer Permits (ADP) are required to harvest antlerless deer (deer without antlers or antlers less than 3” long) in Massachusetts. You can only harvest antlerless deer in the zone specified on your ADP.

Each year, MassWildlife allocates a certain number of ADPs for each wildlife management zone to meet deer management goals in different areas of the state. Hunters with a valid hunting or sporting license can apply for an ADP in the wildlife management zone of their choice; the deadline for applying is July 16 each year. The difference between allocation and demand determines the odds of winning an ADP.

If you apply for an ADP by the July 16 deadline, you can check to see if you have been awarded the right to purchase the permit starting at 8 a.m. August 1. You can check your permit status any time between August 1 and December 31. Your odds of winning a permit are the same regardless of when you check your permit status.

In some years, and in some zones, hunter demand is lower than the number of allocated ADPs. When this happens, the odds of winning a permit in that zone are 100% and MassWildlife can offer Surplus Antlerless Deer Permits. Hunters with a valid hunting or sporting license can buy Surplus ADPs even if they did not previously apply for a permit. Surplus ADPs usually go on sale in late September and provide additional opportunity for hunters and minimize the number of permits that go unused.

Learn more about deer management in Massachusetts.