Taxidermy Laws in North Dakota: Licensing, Species Rules, and Federal Permits Explained

Taxidermy laws in North Dakota split into two very different tracks: one for people who mount wildlife for money, and one for hunters who just want their own legally taken deer or duck on the wall. Mix up those tracks, and you can end up with a licensing violation, a seized specimen, or a federal case involving a bird that never should have left the field intact. Understanding which rules apply to you starts with a simple question the state itself uses to draw the line.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department oversees the state side of taxidermy licensing, recordkeeping, and species restrictions, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service layers federal permit requirements on top for migratory birds and protected species. This guide walks through both layers so you know exactly what paperwork, tags, and records you need before a specimen ever touches a tanning solution.

Do You Need a Taxidermy License or Permit in North Dakota?

North Dakota ties its taxidermy license requirement to compensation, not to the act of mounting itself. North Dakota Game and Fish Department states that a taxidermist license is necessary in order to practice taxidermy for pay, and applications for the license can be made online.

Licensing isn’t a one-time formality, either. Licenses are issued on a calendar year basis, meaning every taxidermist working for hire in the state renews annually rather than on a rolling anniversary date. If you’re planning to open a taxidermy business or take on paid mounting jobs alongside your own hunting activities, budget time each year to keep that license current before accepting new work.

Pro Tip: Apply for or renew your taxidermist license through the North Dakota Game and Fish “My Account” portal under the Specialty License section rather than waiting for a paper renewal notice — the online system processes applications faster and gives you an immediate receipt you can show clients.

Commercial Taxidermy vs Mounting Your Own Legally Taken Wildlife in North Dakota

The license requirement targets commercial activity specifically. Because the statute frames the license around practicing taxidermy “for pay,” mounting your own legally harvested deer, pheasant, or fish for personal display generally falls outside that licensing trigger — the state’s language and enforcement focus center on paid services, not hobbyist work on your own animals.

That distinction disappears the moment money changes hands. North Dakota Century Code section 20.1-03-14 makes practicing taxidermy for pay without a license unlawful. So a friend paying you fifty dollars to mount their grouse crosses the line from hobby to regulated commercial activity, even if you never advertise or operate a storefront.

Activity	License Needed?	Key Rule
Mounting your own legally taken game	Not typically required	Personal use, no compensation involved
Mounting wildlife for a paying customer	Yes — taxidermist license	Governed by N.D.C.C. 20.1-03-14
Mounting migratory birds for someone else	Yes — plus federal permit	Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act permit required

If you’re unsure whether an arrangement counts as “for pay,” treat any barter, trade, or service exchange the same way you’d treat cash — North Dakota’s hunting regulations generally apply the same compensation standard across the board.

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

Not every animal that crosses a taxidermist’s bench is treated equally under state law. The core rule is straightforward: only legally taken game birds, animals or fish, or unprotected species of wildlife may be used for mounting purposes. That single sentence controls almost every species question a North Dakota taxidermist will face.

A short list of species falls outside protected status entirely. According to Game and Fish, cottontails, jackrabbits, snowshoe hares, skunks, ground squirrels, chipmunks, English sparrows, and starlings are unprotected. These animals can typically be mounted without the tagging and proof-of-harvest documentation that game species require.

• Unprotected (minimal restriction): Cottontails, jackrabbits, snowshoe hares, skunks, ground squirrels, chipmunks, English sparrows, starlings
• Protected game species: Deer, upland game birds, waterfowl, and other regulated species — legal harvest documentation required before mounting
• Fully protected nongame and predators: Species like coyotes fall under separate season and take rules even though many people consider them a nuisance species

Game birds carry their own layer of protection on top of the general rule. North Dakota Century Code 20.1-04-02 prohibits hunting, taking, killing, possessing, conveying, shipping, selling, or bartering any game bird or part thereof taken in the state except as specifically provided by law. A taxidermist handling upland birds needs to confirm the specimen was taken during an open season under a valid license before ever starting a mount.

Species that overlap with nuisance wildlife control situations deserve extra caution. An animal removed as a nuisance isn’t automatically “legally taken” for taxidermy purposes in the same sense as one harvested under a hunting license, so verify the removal method and paperwork trail before agreeing to mount it.

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

State licensing solves only half the puzzle for bird work. Game and Fish is explicit that a federal permit is also required if a taxidermist wishes to mount migratory birds for someone else. This requirement exists on top of, not instead of, your state taxidermist license.

Ducks, geese, swans, and most other migratory waterfowl and shorebirds fall under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers separately from any state wildlife agency. If your taxidermy work touches species covered by duck hunting regulations in North Dakota, plan on the federal permit application as a standard part of setting up your business, not an optional add-on.

For details on the federal side, Game and Fish directs taxidermists to a specific office. Information regarding federal regulations may be obtained by writing the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Permit Office, PO Box 25486, Denver, CO 80225-0486, or call 303-236-8171. Reach out before you accept your first migratory bird job, since federal permit processing timelines can run longer than the state license turnaround.

Key Insight: A North Dakota taxidermist license does not substitute for the federal migratory bird permit, and the federal permit does not substitute for the state license. Commercial bird taxidermists in North Dakota need both credentials active at the same time.

Endangered, Threatened, and CITES Specimens in North Dakota

Species protected under the federal Endangered Species Act or listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species sit in a category well beyond ordinary state game rules. North Dakota’s baseline requirement that only legally taken game birds, animals or fish, or unprotected species of wildlife may be used for mounting purposes becomes especially important here, since possessing an ESA-listed or CITES-restricted specimen without the appropriate federal authorization is illegal regardless of any state-level license you hold.

Practically, this means a taxidermist who receives an eagle feather, a bear part sourced across state lines, or any specimen with an unclear origin should treat it as a federal compliance question first. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, not the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, controls permitting for these species.

Important Note: North Dakota’s published taxidermist guidelines focus on state game and migratory bird rules and don’t spell out a separate ESA or CITES permitting pathway. If you’re working with a specimen that might be endangered, threatened, or internationally protected, confirm requirements directly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before accepting the job — don’t assume a state license covers it.

Recordkeeping, Tagging, and Inspection Rules for Taxidermists in North Dakota

Licensed taxidermists in North Dakota carry an ongoing paperwork obligation that doesn’t end once the license is issued. Under Century Code each person having a license to practice taxidermy shall keep a record showing the name of every person who furnished the licensee with a green or unmounted specimen and the species of each specimen.

That record has to be available on demand, not just filed away for your own reference. The licensee, upon request, shall exhibit the record and all unmounted specimens in the licensee’s possession to the director, the deputy director, or any bonded game warden. In practice, this means every green hide, cape, or unmounted bird sitting in your freezer or workshop needs to trace back to a named individual in your logbook.

1. Log the source: Record the full name of the person who dropped off the specimen
2. Log the species: Note the exact species for each individual specimen received
3. Keep specimens accessible: Unmounted materials must be available for inspection alongside the written record
4. Present on request: Any bonded game warden, the director, or the deputy director can ask to see both the log and the physical specimens

The consequences for skipping this step aren’t hypothetical. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a class 1 noncriminal offense. That’s a lower-tier violation compared to criminal charges, but it’s still an enforceable citation that shows up during a routine warden inspection — and repeated violations can jeopardize your license standing with the department.

Unclaimed Mounts: Can a Taxidermist Sell Abandoned Work in North Dakota?

Every working taxidermist eventually deals with a customer who never picks up their finished mount. Unlike some neighboring states, North Dakota’s taxidermy statutes as published by Game and Fish don’t spell out a dedicated procedure — such as a notice-and-lien process — specifically for selling abandoned mounts.

That gap matters because it leaves taxidermists without a clear, statute-specific green light to simply sell unclaimed work after a set waiting period, the way some other states’ wildlife codes explicitly allow. Absent a taxidermy-specific provision, any attempt to recoup costs on an abandoned mount would likely need to rely on North Dakota’s general lien and unclaimed property principles rather than a wildlife-code shortcut.

Important Note: Because North Dakota’s taxidermy chapter doesn’t lay out a specific unclaimed-mount sale process, don’t assume you can sell an abandoned specimen the way you might see described for other states. Contact the North Dakota Game and Fish Department directly, and consider consulting an attorney familiar with general lien law, before disposing of or selling any unclaimed customer property.

Until you get that guidance in writing, the safest business practice is a written intake agreement with every customer that spells out a pickup deadline, storage fees, and what happens if the mount is never claimed — treating the specimen with the same caution you’d apply to any species covered under roadkill possession rules where documentation and legal sourcing carry real weight.

Penalties for Unlicensed Taxidermy or Illegal Possession in North Dakota

North Dakota treats unlicensed commercial taxidermy as a distinct violation from other wildlife offenses. Century Code section 20.1-03-14 addresses practicing taxidermy for pay without a license directly, making it unlawful to accept compensation for mounting work without an active state license.

Recordkeeping failures carry their own specific penalty tier, separate from the licensing offense itself. As noted above, violating the recordkeeping and inspection requirements is a class 1 noncriminal offense — a citation-level penalty rather than a criminal charge, but one that still goes on the books with the department.

Beyond the taxidermy-specific sections, North Dakota’s broader Game, Fish, Predators, and Boating title includes a general penalty framework covering violations across the chapter, listed in the North Dakota Century Code’s Licenses and Permits section under 20.1-03-01. Illegal possession of protected game — mounted or unmounted — can trigger enforcement under these broader provisions in addition to any taxidermy-specific citation, particularly when the specimen involves species tied to chronic wasting disease carcass transport restrictions or other big-game movement rules.

Common Mistake: Assuming a class 1 noncriminal offense means the penalty is trivial. While it’s not a criminal conviction, repeated citations for recordkeeping or licensing violations can still affect your standing with the Game and Fish Department and your ability to renew a taxidermist license in future years.

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

Two agencies split enforcement and licensing duties for North Dakota taxidermy, and knowing which one to call saves time when you’re setting up a business or sorting out a specimen question.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department, headquartered in Bismarck, handles the state taxidermist license, species rules, and recordkeeping enforcement. The department is headquartered in Bismarck, with District Offices located in Devils Lake, Dickinson, Jamestown, Harvey, Riverdale, and Williston, giving taxidermists across the state a regional contact point rather than a single Bismarck office to work through.

• State taxidermist license: Apply online through the North Dakota Game and Fish Miscellaneous License and Permit Applications page under the Specialty License section
• State species and recordkeeping questions: Contact your nearest Game and Fish district office or a bonded game warden directly
• Federal migratory bird permit: Write to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Permit Office, PO Box 25486, Denver, CO 80225-0486, or call 303-236-8171
• Endangered species or CITES questions: Contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service directly rather than the state agency

If your work regularly intersects with wildlife removal situations — mounting animals that came from nuisance control jobs rather than traditional hunts — loop in the Game and Fish Department early. Confirming the legal sourcing of a nuisance-removed specimen before you start work protects both you and the client from a recordkeeping violation down the road.

Taxidermy laws in North Dakota ultimately come down to two questions you should ask before touching any specimen: was it legally taken, and who’s paying for the work? Answer those correctly, keep your license and federal permits current, and maintain the paper trail the state requires, and the rest of the compliance picture falls into place.