DNREC Makes Changes to Turkey Season Registration & Reporting Systems
DNREC will launch a new registration system for hunters who harvest gobblers in the First State. The regular turkey season runs from April 12 through May 10, and over the course of it, hunters for the first time will register their turkeys online through the Digital DNREC app, or by calling 855-DEL-HUNT rather than taking their harvest to traditional check stations throughout the state.
Turkey hunting will also be allowed on Sundays for the first time since the season was opened in 1991. Sunday turkey hunting is allowed on private lands with landowner permission and on State Wildlife Areas.
Additional information from DNREC:
Youth participating in the two-day hunt must be 10 to 15 years old and accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or older who has completed a Delaware-approved turkey hunter safety class and who possesses a Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number (LEN). Accompanying adults may not hunt during the special youth-day hunt. Regular-season turkey hunters under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult of 21 years of age or older who has completed a Delaware-approved turkey hunter safety class and who possesses a Delaware hunting license or LEN. Non-ambulatory hunters who participate in the special two-day hunt must use a wheelchair for mobility.
The regular turkey season runs from April 12 through May 10, and over the course of it, hunters for the first time will register their turkeys online through the Digital DNREC app, or by calling 855-DEL-HUNT (855-335-4868), rather than taking their harvest to traditional check stations throughout the state. “We want to express our gratitude to all of the shops and private businesses that helped us with the registration process over the years since Delaware’s first turkey hunting season in 1991, and got us to the point where we were able to modernize the check-in process,” said DNREC Wildlife Section Administrator Joe Rogerson.
The new process, also to be deployed for the special youth and non-ambulatory hunter day, is identical to that for hunters registering white-tailed deer in Delaware, Rogerson said: “Online registration has proven to be more efficient with deer and will enable faster data recording with turkeys, too, giving hunters more time to tell their friends and family of how they achieved the most challenging of outdoor recreation successes in Delaware – bagging a big gobbler.”
Hunters can register their turkey after logging into their Digital DNREC account – or may expedite recording their information by clicking the Quick Hunting Registration link at the Digital DNREC app.
Record numbers of turkey hunters are expected to pursue Delaware gobblers this year after an all-time high of 834 valid turkey hunting applications were submitted for the 2025 spring turkey hunting permit lottery – with another high of 544 permits available to hunters for the upcoming season. For more information about hunting on State Wildlife Areas, wild turkey hunting in Delaware or the annual turkey hunting permit lottery, visit de.gov/hunting.