Updated on September 7, 2026. Confirm every fee, quota window, and hunter-education rule on the TWRA license structure and fees page before you buy. This is the field readout, not the hunting guide.
| Who this is for | Resident and nonresident whitetail hunters in Tennessee. Elk is a North Cumberland quota, not this cart. |
|---|---|
| Buy it here | GoOutDoorsTennessee · a TWRA license agent · a regional office. Official fee sheet: license structure and fees. |
| Hunter education | Required if born on or after January 1, 1969. Other-state cards count. Online courses need no field day. Under 10 hunts with an adult 21 or older. Hunter education. |
| What you actually buy | Resident: combo hunt/fish plus a big-game supplement for each weapon you will carry (gun, archery, muzzleloader). Sportsman skips the supplements and non-quota WMA permits. Nonresident: All Game (annual or 7-day). Combo hunt/fish is not a deer tag. |
| OTC vs draw | Statewide deer licenses are over the counter. Quota still applies on some WMA gun hunts, Oak Ridge, and Land Between the Lakes firearm hunts. |
| License year | Most annual licenses run 365 days from the day you buy. Free Hunting Day is a one-day exemption, not a bonus deer. |
| Antlerless / bonus | No extra doe tag. The supplement covers either sex inside the unit bag. Statewide cap is two antlered deer, one per day. Antlerless bags are by Deer Management Unit — Units 1–3 get more than Units 4–6. Confirm on the TWRA deer page. |
| WMA / public extras | Non-quota WMA big game needs a WMA Big Game permit, including Cherokee. Sportsman and Lifetime skip it. Cherokee-only is not valid on other WMAs. LBL and some refuges add their own hunt permits. |
| Youth / apprentice | Under 13: no hunting license. Ages 13–15: Junior Hunt/Fish/Trap (residents) or Junior All Game (nonresidents who want deer). Apprentice permit skips hunter ed for one year, max three consecutive years, with an adult 21 or older. Under 6 may not hunt big game on a WMA. |
| Where to hunt next | Tennessee deer hunting guide · Cherokee National Forest |
Buy the supplement before you book Tellico Plains
I have watched people roll into a Cherokee lot with a North Carolina license because the ridge “looks like Nantahala.” Tennessee does not care. You need a Tennessee license plus the right big-game supplement — or Sportsman / nonresident All Game — to hang a deer on Tennessee dirt, including Cherokee. A Kentucky deer permit does not work south of the line. That cart is on how to get a Kentucky deer license. The national walkthrough lives at how to get a hunting license. Seasons and where to sit stay on the Tennessee hunting guide.
Step 1: Hunter education
If you were born on or after January 1, 1969, TWRA wants proof of hunter education in your pocket. That is on the hunter education page. Residents and nonresidents both count. Cards from the other 49 states count — bring the card or a reprint. Online courses for ages 9 and over finish with no field day. Under 10 you do not need a certificate, but an adult at least 21 has to stay in a position to take the gun. Course notes: what a hunter education course is actually like.
Never taken it? The Apprentice Hunter Education Permit skips hunter ed for one year from purchase, up to three consecutive years in a lifetime. You still buy the hunting license and the right supplement. You hunt with an adult 21 or older who already meets hunter ed. It is valid only in Tennessee. Confirm the current apprentice fee on the fee sheet the week you buy.
Step 2: Resident or not
Residency is not “I have a cabin in Tellico Plains.” On the license structure page it is a Tennessee driver’s license or state ID, or 90 consecutive days with intent to stay plus two of the listed documents (voter card, vehicle title, I-94, rent or tax receipt). Military on active duty here, and students enrolled at a Tennessee school for at least six months, can buy resident. A Social Security number is required. A North Carolina address with a Monroe County lease is a nonresident.
Nonresident deer hunting is over the counter in a normal year: Annual All Game or 7-Day All Game. Confirm the current price band on the official fee sheet the week you buy; I am not pasting a number that will be wrong in October. Processing fees sit on top. Born in Tennessee, live somewhere else? Native Tennessean annual licenses sell at resident prices after you file the Native Tennessean application. First time is paper. Trip math: planning an out-of-state deer hunt.
Step 3: What goes in the cart
Think in layers, not “a deer license.” The combo hunt/fish is the trap.
- Combination Hunt/Fish (residents 16–64) — small game and fishing. It does not cover deer, bear, turkey, or waterfowl.
- Big-game supplements — one for each weapon you will actually carry: gun, archery, muzzleloader. Bow in September and a rifle at Thanksgiving is two supplements, not one “deer tag.” Annual Sportsman and Lifetime skip this stack.
- Annual Sportsman (residents) — hunt, trap, and fish with no state supplements and no non-quota WMA permits. Quota applications are included at no extra application fee. It does not include an LBL hunt permit, a refuge permit, or the Deer Bait Privilege License.
- Nonresident All Game — annual or 7-day. Junior Hunt/Fish with no big game is squirrel. A 13-to-15-year-old nonresident who wants a deer needs Junior All Game.
Resident farmland owners can hunt their own farm without a license if they carry the farmland owner exemption statement. That exemption dies at a WMA gate. Seniors 65 and over buy a hunt/fish/trap that already includes the supplements; they still buy WMA permits.
Step 4: When it goes on sale
Annual licenses are 365 days from the day you buy. If you wait until the Friday before the gun opener, you will still get combo-plus-supplements or All Game in a normal year. The part that disappears is a quota slot on Oak Ridge, Chuck Swan, or a Catoosa gun weekend.
WMA Big Game quota applications ran June 10 through July 22, 2026. Leftovers sold first-come August 19 through September 14. Drawn hunters still buy the hunting license and the right supplement. There is a non-refundable application fee unless you hold Sportsman or Lifetime. Confirm the current window on the WMA Big Game quota page. Land Between the Lakes firearm deer is a different system — use the LBL hunting page. Elk is a North Cumberland quota, not a deer tag. Free Hunting Day (August 22, 2026 as last checked) skips the license that day. It does not skip hunter ed, bags, or tag-before-you-drag.
How you carry it, tag it, and report it
Buy online and you will not get a paper license in the mail. Reprint from your GoOutDoorsTennessee account or the TWRA On the Go app. I still screenshot the PDF because phones die in a Tellico holler. Carry picture ID. Agents: find a license agent.
Tennessee’s rule is blunt: tag before you drag. Check the deer in the app before you move it, or cut a temporary transportation tag from the license printout, attach it, and finish check-in by midnight the day of harvest — online or at a check station — before you gift it or leave the state. Landowners and license-exempt hunters still check in. Keep the confirmation number until the deer is processed. Field mechanics: how to tag a deer and after the shot.
CWD is not a license, but it will ruin the drive home. The CWD Management Zone is every county west of the Tennessee River — whole carcasses cannot leave that zone. Symptoms: CWD in deer. Official map: CWD in Tennessee.
Public land does not always need a second license — except when it does
Cherokee, Catoosa, and most non-quota WMA deer hunts take the same Tennessee license plus the right supplement. What they also take is a WMA Big Game (non-quota) permit unless you hold Sportsman or Lifetime. Cherokee sells a cheaper Cherokee-only version that is not valid on Catoosa. Youths under 6 stay out of WMA big game. All ages, including kids, need that non-quota permit on a WMA deer hunt. Official wording is on the fee sheet.
Land Between the Lakes hunt permit sits on top of the Tennessee license on the Tennessee side of LBL; firearm deer there is quota. Tennessee NWR / Cross Creeks NWR permit is required even of Sportsman holders. The Deer Bait Privilege License is private land only. It is not sold for the CWD Management Zone or CWD-positive counties, and it does nothing on Cherokee. Baiting, orange, Sundays, and dogs live on the Tennessee hunting guide. After the permit is paid for: public land deer hunting.
Youth and first-timers
Under 13 you do not buy a hunting license. You still follow seasons, unit bags, orange, and tag-before-you-drag. Resident ages 13–15 buy Junior Hunt/Fish/Trap — no extra supplements, but WMA permits still apply. A nonresident kid who wants a deer buys Junior All Game. Young Sportsman weekends are on the TWRA deer page. Adults without hunter ed use the apprentice permit.
Common ways this goes wrong
- Buying only the combo hunt/fish and walking into a deer stand.
- Buying the gun supplement and skipping archery for a September bow sit — or the reverse at Thanksgiving.
- A North Carolina, Kentucky, or Georgia license on Tennessee dirt because the ridge continues across the line.
- Cherokee or Catoosa without the WMA Big Game non-quota permit because “Sportsman covers everything” — it does, the combo does not.
- A 13-year-old nonresident on Junior Hunt/Fish with no big game.
- Moving a west-Tennessee carcass across the river, or out of state, before it is deboned and checked in.
Where to hunt once the tag is in the truck
Start with the Tennessee deer hunting guide for seasons, unit bags, baiting, CWD counties, and the public-land list. Ridges: Cherokee National Forest. Ridge compare: Appalachia national forests. Woods people skip: where to hunt. Tennessee is white-tailed deer country.
Neighboring hunts, each with its own cart: Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia. Sibling how-tos: Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan. After dark on I-40: what to do if you hit a deer. Stand safety: tree stand safety. Parent: how to get licensed · deer hunting · hunting by state.
FAQ
Can a nonresident buy a Tennessee deer license over the counter? Yes, in a normal year: Annual All Game or 7-Day All Game. Quota WMA hunts, Oak Ridge, and LBL firearm deer are the parts that draw. Confirm on GoOutDoorsTennessee.
Do I need hunter education? If you were born on or after January 1, 1969, yes — unless you hunt on an Apprentice Hunter Education Permit with a qualified adult, or you are under 10 with an adult 21 or older. Other-state certificates count.
Does a North Carolina or Kentucky license work on Cherokee? No. You need a Tennessee deer cart plus a non-quota WMA big-game permit unless you already hold Sportsman or Lifetime. The Cherokee-only permit is not valid on other WMAs.
Where do I report a deer? Tag before you drag. Check in the app before you move it, or use a temporary tag and finish by midnight the day of harvest.
Is the combo hunt/fish enough? No. Add the big-game supplement for each weapon, or buy Sportsman.