Hunters can now review the 2025 Minnesota deer hunting regulations, and deer hunting licenses will be available to purchase starting Friday, Aug. 1.
Deer season details for each deer permit area and electronic copies of the 2025 Minnesota hunting regulations are available on the DNR deer hunting webpage (mndnr.gov/hunting/deer). Print copies will be available in mid-August wherever licenses are sold. Regulations translated into Hmong, Karen, Somali and Spanish will be available online in mid-September.
“We love getting ready for deer season each year. Many hunters prepare for time out in the forests and fields like it’s a major holiday,” said Paul Burr, acting big game program coordinator. “We’re reminding hunters to closely review the new hunting regulations and all the details that apply to them, so they’re ready to enjoy deer seasons.”
This deer season, the DNR has simplified how to buy a firearms deer license. There is now one statewide firearms deer license. The B season license has been eliminated, and a statewide license is valid during both the statewide firearms A season and the late southeast B season. Prior to this change, due to the expansion of the CWD management zone in the southeast, only two DPAs (338 and 341) still required a B license to participate in the late southeast B season, while neighboring DPAs allowed hunting during both seasons with either the A or B license. To simplify regulations and reduce confusion, there is now just one license that can be used for both the statewide firearms and the late southeast season.
Another important change is related to chronic wasting disease testing. Self-service stations will be available in CWD management and surveillance zones during opening weekend of firearms season and the following Monday (Saturday, Nov. 8, through Monday, Nov. 10), and during CWD special hunts. Because of the expanding footprint of CWD in Minnesota, the DNR will prioritize collecting baseline surveillance data in three new areas and had to shift staff resources to accommodate this increased workload.
Be aware of bag limit changes and the antlerless lottery deadline
For the 2025 deer season, 103 deer permit areas have kept the same designation as the previous season. Two DPAs have lower bag limits to reduce the harvest of antlerless deer, with the intent of increasing deer populations. Twenty-five DPAs have increased bag limits this year.
Winter conditions were favorable to deer populations for the second consecutive winter, contributing to increased harvest opportunity this deer season. Harvest designations remain conservative in northern Minnesota, where deer populations are still in recovery from the severe winters of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
Firearm and muzzleloader hunters who want to harvest antlerless deer in a DPA designated as antlerless permit lottery must purchase their license by Thursday, Sept. 4. Hunters who purchase their license by Sept. 4 are automatically entered into the lottery for the DPA or special hunt area they declare.
No application is needed to take antlerless deer in permit areas with either-sex, two-deer limit, three-deer limit, or five-deer limit designations. Hunters should note that DPA 183 has been split into two smaller DPAs (153 and 154), and these DPAs have last year’s designation of lottery with a one-deer limit.
CWD sampling continues
Hunters should check the CWD testing requirements and available sampling options for the DPAs where they hunt. Hunters can find DPA-specific information on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/deerhunt). Hunters are required to have deer one year or older sampled in all CWD management and surveillance zones if they harvest their deer during the opening weekend of the firearms season (Nov. 8-9).
In all areas outside CWD management and surveillance zones — or in these zones outside of opening firearms weekend — hunters can also have their deer sampled for CWD, if they choose. Multiple CWD sampling options are available to these hunters, including mail-in kits (mndnr.gov/cwd/cwd-kits.html), the partner sampling program (mndnr.gov/cwd/cwd-partners.
Hunters can request a mail-in kit before hunting or use their unused kits from previous years. However, CWD mail-in kits received prior to Nov. 1, 2024, have shipping labels that are no longer valid. Hunters who wish to use these kits will need to request a new shipping label using a form available on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/cwd/cwd-kits.html).
For a guide on finding the most up-to-date information throughout the deer season, including details about individual DPAs, preparing for hunting, to find CWD sampling locations or to request a mail-in sampling kit, visit mndnr.gov/deerhunt.
Deer season dates for 2025
Archery: Saturday, Sept. 13, through Wednesday, Dec. 31
Youth and early antlerless: Thursday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 19
Firearms: Saturday, Nov. 8, with various closing dates depending on location
Muzzleloader: Saturday, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Dec. 14
Late CWD (DPAs 605, 642, 643, 645, 646, 647, 648 and 649): Friday Dec. 19, through Sunday, Dec. 21
Comments