Found Your Downed Deer With a Drone? Missouri Notch, Tag, and Telecheck Steps

The thermal pilot calls out a heat signature, you walk in on the pin, and there is your deer. After the relief wears off, a new set of questions shows up fast: Do I have to tag it before I go get the truck? Can the pilot help me drag it out? It is almost 10 p.m. — what about Telecheck?

This post covers what happens after a drone-assisted recovery of a downed deer in Missouri: notching, tagging, Telecheck, and who can handle the deer before it is checked. Everything below comes from Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) pages, linked so you can read the exact wording yourself.

Disclaimer: This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Wildlife regulations change, sometimes season to season. Confirm current rules on MDC's Tagging and Telecheck page, the How to Telecheck a deer page, and the deer regulations page before you hunt.

MDC's deer regulations say motor-driven conveyances, including drones, may not be used to pursue, take, drive, or molest wildlife. Missouri Drone Deer Recovery Network pilots fly for one job: locating a deer that is already down after a legal harvest. They do not scout, push, or flush live deer.

Once the deer is located, the drone's work is done. Everything from that point on — notching, tagging, checking, and getting the deer out — is the hunter's responsibility under Missouri rules.

MDC says that immediately after harvesting a deer, you must notch your permit.

• MO Hunting app: select the permit you are using and follow the prompts.
• Paper permit: tear a small notch in the month and day of harvest.

MDC also warns that notching voids a permit, so make sure you notch the right one if you carry several. Once your permit is notched, MDC says you may transport your deer within Missouri.

A practical tip for recoveries: notch when you are standing over the deer, not when the pilot first calls out a heat signature. A thermal blob at 300 yards is not a recovered deer until you have hands on it.

MDC's rule is simple: as long as you stay with your harvested deer, you don't need to tag it. If you leave it, you must attach a tag.

That matters on recovery nights. Drone finds are often deep in timber, CRP, or a creek bottom, and it is common to mark the spot and go back for a cart, a buddy, or the truck. Before you leave:

• Paper permit: attach your notched permit to the deer's leg. MDC suggests sealing it in a zip-top bag and fastening the bag with string, wire, or tape.
• MO Hunting app: attach a label to the leg with your full name, address, permit number, and date of harvest.

Keep a zip-top bag, a pen, and a few zip ties or some tape in your pack for exactly this.

Per MDC, only the person who harvested the deer may possess and transport it before it has been checked. MDC also says the deer's head must stay attached until it is checked.

In plain terms: the pilot can point the way and light up the location, but the hunter should be the one handling and hauling the deer until Telecheck is done. Plan your drag and your help accordingly, and don't field-cape or remove the head before checking.

MDC says you must Telecheck your deer by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest, before processing it, or before leaving the state — whichever comes first. You don't have to check it the moment it is down; you have until 10 p.m. that day.

You can check three ways, per MDC: online, with the MO Hunting app, or by phone at 800-314-6828. MDC lists Telecheck hours as 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Thermal recovery often works best after dark, which means some recoveries finish close to — or after — that 10 p.m. cutoff. The MDC pages linked here don't spell out what to do if you recover a deer after the deadline or the next morning. If that happens to you, contact your local conservation agent or MDC regional office and ask before you process the deer. Don't guess.

Two things help you avoid the crunch:

• Call a pilot early. Waiting until you've walked the trail for three hours pushes the find later into the night. Our post on the first hour after you lose a downed deer covers when to stop and make the call.
• Have your Telecheck info ready. MDC asks for a few measurements, so bring a tape measure.

According to MDC's How to Telecheck page:

• Doe: measure from the inner corner of the eye to the upper edge of the nostril, and answer whether it is greater than 4.5 inches.
• Antlered buck: count the points 1 inch or longer, and measure the antler circumference 1 inch above the base (is it greater than 2.5 inches?). MDC has special instructions for shed, very small, or broken antlers.

When you finish, you get a confirmation number. App users have it uploaded to the device. Paper permit users should write it on the permit. MDC says not to try checking the same deer twice.

MDC's 2026 deer regulations say that if you harvest a deer in designated counties during opening weekend of the November portion (November 14–15, 2026), you must take the deer, or its head, to a mandatory CWD sampling station on the day of harvest.

If your recovery happens that weekend in one of those counties, the clock is tighter than usual. Check the county map on MDC's deer regulations page before the season so you know whether it applies to where you hunt. The same section of that page also lists a rule about Telechecking before moving a deer out of the county of harvest; read it to see whether it applies to your county.

Once the deer is checked, MDC says it may be processed, stored, or transported by anyone as long as it is labeled with your full name, address, date taken, and Telecheck confirmation number. MDC's regulations also say the confirmation number must stay attached to the carcass until a meat processor begins working on it.

MDC also prohibits intentionally leaving or abandoning any portion of wildlife commonly used as human food. That is one more reason a fast, clean recovery matters.

1. Put hands on the deer before you notch.
2. Notch the correct permit (app or paper).
3. Leaving the deer, even briefly? Attach your tag first.
4. Hunter handles and hauls the deer; head stays on.
5. Telecheck by 10 p.m. on the day of harvest. Record the confirmation number.
6. Opening weekend in a designated county? Get to a CWD sampling station the same day.
7. Label the deer with your name, address, date taken, and confirmation number before anyone else handles it.

The best way to beat the 10 p.m. deadline is to have a pilot's contact saved before opening day. Browse the Missouri Drone Deer Recovery Network pilot map to find independent Part 107 thermal pilots near where you hunt, and see what thermal finds look like in the gallery.

Are you a Missouri thermal pilot who does post-harvest recovery? Join the network so hunters in your area can find you.