Pilot Program to Fine Tune Ohio's New Fishing, Hunting and Trapping License and Permit Sales System

Full implementation to happen March 2011

Approximately 60 to 75 sales agents throughout Ohio will be testing the newly designed fishing, hunting and trapping license and permit sales system during this fall, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife.

"Customers buying licenses and permits at one of these outlets will notice some differences in the products and process," said Jim Marshall, acting chief of the Division of Wildlife. "This test run of the new system will give us time to fine-tune the process."

Licenses purchased online or at a retail outlet will be printed on 8-1/2 x 11 paper that can be folded down to credit card size. Licenses and permits will appear on the left hand side of the document and the remaining column space will be printed with information relevant to the license or permit purchased.

Each license buyer must have a social security number (SSN) recorded in the system. Sportsmen and women who have purchased licenses in the past and who provided an Ohio driver's license will most likely be unaffected. Youth hunters and those hunters that have never had a driver's license swiped during the license buying process must provide their SSN the first time they purchase a license in the new licensing system.

SSNs are required to be collected to purchase a recreational license, regardless of age, for the purpose of child support collection enforcement under Federal Statute 42 U.S.C.A. 666. As a recreational license provider, the Division of Wildlife is obligated to comply with this law, and cannot issue a license or permit without the SSN of the purchaser. The division will ensure that a proper security system is in place to protect SSNs and any databases that contain them.

Anyone hunting migratory game birds (doves, ducks and geese) must complete a Harvest Information Program (HIP) survey. This is not a new survey, but the HIP survey process will be different than in the past. Hunters with licenses issued through the pilot program will be asked to call a toll-free phone number to complete the survey over the phone. Once the survey has been completed a unique number will be provided to the hunter to write on the hunting license to validate the HIP requirement.

Don't wait until the last minute; customers should buy their licenses and permits early to avoid lines. License paper will not be waterproof and must be protected.

This 2010 fall hunting season test will be for licenses and permit sales only. Game check will be the same for all hunters regardless of where they bought their license or permit. All deer and turkeys killed this fall must be taken to a game check station. Electronic game check begins in 2011.

A complete list of participating agents for the pilot program can be found at wildohio.com. Once on the division's home page, click on the Upcoming 2011 License Sales and Game Check System line under the Ohio Wildlife News heading. As the new system moves through development, the wildohio.com Web site will keep customers updated.