Oregon requires no license, permit, or course to collect sheds, resident or nonresident, and has no statewide shed season. But some ODFW-managed wildlife areas close entirely to public access in late winter and others restrict roads, so check the specific area's page before you go. Antlers still attached to a skull must be left where they lie, and a shed on private land legally belongs to the landowner — get permission. Buying, selling, or trading antler commercially requires a $36.50/year Hide/Antler Dealer License.
LAST CHECKED August 29, 2026 · RULES CHANGE — CONFIRM WITH OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE (ODFW) BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT.
Set by: Confirmed via ODFW's shed-hunting guidance
Set by: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
No pending rule changes found as of the last check.
As of May 2026, USGS lists no documented CWD detection in free-ranging deer or elk here. That reflects documented findings, not proof of absence.
SOURCE: USGS NATIONAL WILDLIFE HEALTH CENTER — CWD DISTRIBUTION BY STATE AND COUNTY, VER. 4.0 (AUG 2026).
20 mule deer · 3 pronghorn — migration corridors, stopovers, and winter ranges mapped from GPS-collared animals and published by the USGS Corridor Mapping Team with the state agency. 2 of these herds cross a state line and are counted for each state they use.
SOURCE: USGS — UNGULATE MIGRATIONS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES, VOLS. 1–6
Every state reports these numbers to the federal government on the same terms, so they compare cleanly across states. A license holder is a person — one hunter can buy several licenses or tags in a season.
SOURCE: U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE — HUNTING LICENSE CERTIFICATIONS. FEDERAL DATA RUNS TWO YEARS BEHIND; 2024 IS THE MOST RECENT SALES YEAR PUBLISHED.
SPECIFIC WILDLIFE-AREA CLOSURE NAMES AND DATES WEREN'T VERIFIED — CHECK THE INDIVIDUAL AREA'S ODFW PAGE BEFORE YOU GO.