Nevada Taxidermy Laws: What Hunters and Taxidermists Must Know Before Mounting Wildlife

Mounting a trophy mule deer or a prized game bird in Nevada isn’t as simple as finding someone with a knack for taxidermy. Nevada taxidermy laws require a state-issued license before anyone can perform taxidermal services for another person on wildlife, parts, nests, or eggs, and a separate federal permit kicks in the moment migratory birds enter the picture. Whether you’re a hunter deciding whether to mount your own buck or a business owner setting up shop, the rules determine what you can legally accept, tag, and sell.

This guide breaks down licensing, species restrictions, recordkeeping duties, and the penalties for getting it wrong, so you know exactly where Nevada law draws the line before you ever pick up a scalpel.

Do You Need a Taxidermy License or Permit in Nevada?

Under NRS 502.370, A license to practice taxidermy is required before any person may perform taxidermal services for others on any wildlife or their parts, nests or eggs. That single sentence is the foundation of Nevada taxidermy laws, and it applies whether you’re running a full-time shop or occasionally mounting birds for a friend’s fee.

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) issues two tiers of annual license. Fee to practice commercial taxidermy is $44, while the fee to practice noncommercial taxidermy is $20. Both licenses run on the same clock: an annual taxidermist license expires on June 30 of each year, which means every licensed taxidermist in the state faces the same renewal deadline regardless of when they first applied.

Missing that deadline carries real consequences. If an application for the renewal of a taxidermist license is not received by the Department on or before June 30, taxidermic items in the possession of a taxidermist shall be deemed to be unlawfully possessed and are subject to seizure by the Department, and the taxidermist will be considered to be practicing taxidermy without a license. As long as the renewal paperwork is filed on time, though, coverage doesn’t lapse. If an application for renewal of a taxidermist license is received by the Department on or before June 30, the license will remain in effect until the Department completes its review of the application and renews or denies the application to renew the taxidermist license.

Applications go through NDOW’s regional offices. Processing time typically runs thirty (30) days, and a Federal Tax ID or Social Security number is only required from new applicants, not renewals. The application itself asks about prior taxidermy licenses in other states and any history of license suspension or revocation, per NAC 502.440.

Pro Tip: Apply well before hunting season opens. A thirty-day processing window means a last-minute application in October could leave you unlicensed through the busiest weeks of deer and elk season.

Commercial Taxidermy vs Mounting Your Own Legally Taken Wildlife in Nevada

Nevada taxidermy laws separate paid services from personal work, and the distinction changes which license you need and what you’re allowed to do with the specimens. If you’re mounting your own legally harvested deer, elk, or game bird purely for yourself with no payment changing hands, you generally aren’t triggering the licensing requirement that applies to services performed “for others.” The moment money, barter, or any other compensation enters the transaction, commercial rules apply.

NDOW’s own instructions spell out the practical difference between the two license types. A person licensed in Nevada as a noncommercial taxidermist may receive, hold, and perform taxidermic services on lawfully acquired wildlife, if such activity is not contrary to the provisions of federal law or regulations relating to migratory birds that are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A commercial license, by contrast, opens the door to accepting client work and charging fees, but it also brings heavier recordkeeping and inspection obligations.

Feature	Commercial License	Noncommercial License
Annual fee	$44	$20
Can charge clients	Yes	No
Accepts specimens from others	Yes	Own lawfully acquired wildlife only
Federal migratory bird permit needed	Yes, if handling protected birds for others	Generally not applicable
Renewal deadline	June 30 annually	June 30 annually

This matters most for hunters who take game through methods covered under Nevada’s bow hunting laws or general firearm seasons under Nevada hunting laws. A legally tagged animal is yours to mount at home without a license, but handing that same cape to a friend “for a small fee” crosses into commercial territory that NDOW regulates.

What Species You Can and Cannot Mount in Nevada (Game, Nongame, and Unprotected)

Not every animal that ends up on a tailgate can legally end up on a wall. Nevada’s licensing structure covers wildlife in a wild state, whether indigenous to Nevada or not and whether raised in captivity or not, which means the license applies broadly across game and nongame species alike, not just trophy animals.

Legally taken big game, such as desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), can be mounted by a licensed taxidermist once the required tags and transportation documentation accompany the carcass or parts. Upland game birds fall into a separate, simpler category. North American and native species of quail, grouse, partridge, pheasants, and turkey are not classified as migratory birds, so they don’t trigger the federal permit layer that waterfowl and doves require. Nongame and protected species are far more restrictive. Songbirds, raptors, and other nongame wildlife generally cannot be legally possessed by a private individual even after mounting, a point covered in more detail in the federal overlay section below. Animals found dead on roadways raise their own separate legal questions; the rules for who can collect and keep a road-killed animal are addressed in Nevada’s roadkill laws, and those specimens still need proper documentation before a taxidermist can lawfully accept them.

Species suspected of carrying wildlife diseases add another layer of caution. Big game handlers should be aware of the health screening and reporting expectations described in Nevada’s brucellosis laws, since taxidermists handling carcasses may encounter disease-related restrictions on specific herds or units.

Federal Overlay You Still Must Follow: Migratory Bird Taxidermy Permits (MBTA)

A Nevada state license is only half the picture for anyone handling migratory birds. In addition to a state-issued taxidermist license, a person must possess a taxidermist permit issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service before performing taxidermic services for another person on any species of migratory bird or their parts, nests, or eggs protected by federal law, including songbirds, shorebirds, crows, ravens, woodpeckers, owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, and waterfowl.

The two permits are legally linked. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, if your State requires you to have a permit to perform taxidermy on migratory game birds, you must hold a valid State permit in order for your Federal permit to be valid. Lose your Nevada license, and your federal permit stops being valid too. Every migratory bird a taxidermist accepts must carry proper documentation. All such birds must be properly tagged as required by 50 CFR 20.36, and while the tag may be removed during taxidermy operations, it must be retained and reattached after mounting, remaining attached until the specimen is delivered to the owner.

Nongame migratory birds face an even tighter restriction after mounting. Protected nongame birds such as songbirds, hawks, and owls can be legally brought to a taxidermist by game wardens, Federal agents, or holders of appropriate State and Federal permits, but once mounted, these birds can be legally possessed only by public scientific and educational institutions or individuals or facilities that have a valid Special Purpose Possession Dead permit; personal possession of nongame birds is prohibited. A few common birds fall outside this protection entirely: English sparrows, common starlings, and feral pigeons are not native to the United States and are not protected by Federal law.

Federal recordkeeping requirements mirror the state’s approach. Permittees must keep accurate records of operations, on a calendar year basis, showing the names and addresses of persons from and to whom migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs were received or delivered, the number and species of such, and the dates of receipt and delivery. Waterfowl hunters navigating these overlapping state and federal rules should also review Nevada’s duck hunting laws, since tagging errors made in the field often surface later at the taxidermist’s counter.

Important Note: A federal taxidermist permit application goes to the appropriate Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office, not to NDOW. Application procedures require you to submit the application for taxidermist permits to the appropriate Regional Director, Attention: Migratory bird permit office. Budget extra lead time if you plan to handle waterfowl commercially.

Endangered, Threatened, and CITES Specimens in Nevada

Species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act or listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) sit in their own regulatory category, separate from the ordinary state license process described above. Nevada’s taxidermy license doesn’t override federal restrictions on these animals; it operates alongside them. A taxidermist who receives a specimen from a federally listed species, or one covered by CITES because it crossed an international border, generally needs a specific federal authorization before performing any work on it, and in many cases private possession isn’t permitted at all outside of accredited institutions.

This becomes especially relevant for hunters bringing trophies back from outside Nevada or from international hunts. Anyone importing specimens, hides, or mounts from another state or country should check documentation requirements before the animal ever reaches a taxidermist’s door; the general framework for bringing animals or animal parts across state lines is outlined in Nevada’s pet import laws, and similar permit logic extends to regulated wildlife specimens.

Important Note: CITES and Endangered Species Act permitting is highly species- and situation-specific. If you’re unsure whether a specimen is federally listed, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit office before accepting or shipping it, since violations can carry serious federal penalties independent of any state-level taxidermy rule.

Recordkeeping, Tagging, and Inspection Rules for Taxidermists in Nevada

Licensed taxidermists in Nevada don’t just need a license on the wall; they need a paper trail behind every mount. Under NAC 502.455, a person licensed as a taxidermist in Nevada shall maintain accurate written or computerized records, on a form provided by the Department or in a format which is substantially similar to that form, for each licensing period.

Those records need specific details for every item that comes through the door:

• An accurate description of the taxidermic item, including the species and parts thereof received
• If required for the species of wildlife received, the number of the tag, seal or permit
• The date on which the taxidermist receives the taxidermic item and the date on which that item is released back to the owner

Documentation follows the animal from the field, not just the shop counter. When a hunter drops off nonedible game parts, both parties sign off on the handoff. If the carcass of the animal is taken to or left at the holder’s place of residence, the holder shall obtain from the taxidermist, and the taxidermist shall provide to the holder, an itemized receipt, and both the holder of the tag and the taxidermist shall sign the receipt. The holder of the tag shall retain possession of the receipt until he or she acquires physical possession of the nonedible game parts specified in the receipt from the taxidermist to whom the parts were delivered.

NDOW backs these paperwork rules with real enforcement teeth. A person who is authorized to enforce the provisions of this title may enter the facilities of a licensee at any reasonable hour and inspect the licensee’s operations and records. There’s no notice requirement and no exception for being “closed for the day” — inspection authority applies during any reasonable business hour.

Pro Tip: Keep tag numbers, permit numbers, and receipt copies filed by intake date rather than by client name. When a game warden shows up for a records check, chronological files are far faster to produce than files sorted alphabetically.

Unclaimed Mounts: Can a Taxidermist Sell Abandoned Work in Nevada?

Every taxidermist eventually deals with a client who never comes back for a finished mount. Nevada’s wildlife statutes don’t spell out a taxidermy-specific process for selling or disposing of abandoned work the way some states do, which leaves this area governed more by general contract and personal-property principles than by a dedicated wildlife regulation.

What is clear is that the underlying recordkeeping rules still apply to anything sitting in a shop, claimed or not. Because taxidermists must document the species, tag or permit number, and the intake and release dates for every item received, an unclaimed mount doesn’t fall outside those tracking obligations just because the client stopped answering calls. The specimen is still wildlife subject to the same species, tagging, and possession rules covered earlier in this guide.

Important Note: Because Nevada law doesn’t provide a clear-cut abandoned-mount statute specific to taxidermy, most shops protect themselves with a written service agreement that spells out a pickup deadline and what happens after it passes. Consult an attorney before disposing of or selling any unclaimed wildlife mount, since improperly transferring a specimen could still trigger the same licensing and possession rules that apply to any other wildlife sale.

Penalties for Unlicensed Taxidermy or Illegal Possession in Nevada

Practicing taxidermy for others without a Nevada license isn’t a paperwork technicality; the law treats it as unlawful possession of the wildlife itself. As noted earlier, if a taxidermist’s renewal application isn’t received by the Department on or before June 30, taxidermic items in that person’s possession are deemed unlawfully possessed and subject to seizure by the Department, and continuing to work triggers treatment as practicing without a license entirely. Licensing violations also carry consequences that extend beyond a single season. If a licensee is convicted of a violation of any provision of this title or the regulations adopted by the Commission, the Commission may revoke his or her license and may refuse to issue another license to him or her for a period not to exceed 5 years. That five-year exclusion applies on top of any seizure of mounts, tools, or specimens found in violation.

Federal migratory bird violations layer additional exposure on top of state penalties. Because a taxidermist permit is required before any person may perform taxidermy services on migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs for any person other than himself, working on protected birds without that federal authorization exposes a taxidermist to separate federal enforcement, independent of whatever state license status they hold.

A narrow exemption exists for education and science. The provisions of this section do not apply to institutions of learning of this State or of the United States, or to research activities conducted exclusively for scientific purposes. That carve-out covers universities and formal research programs, not hobbyists or side businesses operating without a license.

Where to Apply and Who to Call in Nevada (Wildlife Agency + USFWS)

Two separate agencies handle Nevada taxidermy paperwork, and knowing which one to contact first saves weeks of back-and-forth. For the state license, applications and instructions come directly from NDOW. Application for a taxidermist license may be obtained from any office of the Nevada Department of Wildlife or on the website at www.ndow.org under the License Office section.

NDOW’s Special Licenses & Permits page centralizes taxidermy applications alongside other specialty permits like trapping and falconry, and completed applications can also be submitted by email according to the agency’s published contact instructions. If your practice will touch migratory birds, don’t wait to add the federal layer. The completed application, signed and dated, with the appropriate fee and, if required, a copy of the federal taxidermist permit or proof that one is pending, must be submitted to the appropriate region office of the Department of Wildlife.

For the federal side, applications route through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regional migratory bird permit offices rather than a local NDOW branch, and permit conditions are governed by 50 CFR Part 21, Subpart C. Reviewing both agencies’ requirements side by side before you apply, rather than sequentially, is the fastest way to avoid the kind of processing delays that can sideline a shop right before hunting season opens.

Whether you’re licensing a new commercial shop or simply confirming you’re allowed to mount your own legally tagged buck, Nevada taxidermy laws boil down to matching the right license to the right activity and keeping the paperwork current. When migratory birds, endangered species, or out-of-state specimens enter the picture, the federal layer isn’t optional; it runs alongside the state license every time. When in doubt about a specific species or scenario, a call to your regional NDOW office or the nearest USFWS migratory bird permit office is worth more than any guesswork.