Taxidermy Laws in Wyoming: License Rules, Species Limits, and Federal Permits Explained

Mount a client’s elk cape without the right paperwork in Wyoming, and you’re not just risking a bad review — you’re breaking state law. Twenty-eight states, more than half the country, license taxidermists, and Wyoming enforces one of the more detailed frameworks among them through the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission.

Taxidermy laws in Wyoming cover far more than a single license form. You’re dealing with a state statute, a separate federal permit for migratory birds, tagging rules tied to how the animal was killed, and recordkeeping deadlines that follow specific dates every year. This guide walks through what the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service actually require, section by section, so you know exactly where the state’s authority ends and the federal government’s begins.

Do You Need a Taxidermy License or Permit in Wyoming?

Under Wyoming law, any person who conducts business for the purpose of mounting, preserving or preparing wildlife specimens shall apply for and receive a taxidermist’s license upon payment of the proper fee prior to receiving wildlife specimens. That’s the trigger: taking someone else’s specimen in exchange for payment is what makes you a “taxidermist” in the eyes of the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, not simply owning a workshop or a set of tanning tools.

One detail worth knowing if you’re researching older summaries of the law: Wyoming used to require a bond alongside the license. Those bonding provisions were repealed by the legislature in 2014, so current applicants only need to submit the license application and fee, not a surety bond. If you also hold a Wyoming hunting license and plan to mount your own game, the licensing rules interact with your hunting license requirements rather than replacing them.

How you apply depends on residency. A resident taxidermist submits the application form and fee to a local game warden for approval, while a nonresident mails the paperwork and fee directly to Game and Fish Headquarters in Cheyenne. Both routes require the applicant to sign an affidavit confirming they have a working knowledge of the state’s wildlife laws before they’re allowed to touch a client’s specimen.

Applicant Type	Where to Submit	Accepted Payment
Resident	Local game warden for approval	Personal check (Wyoming banks only), money order, or cashier’s/certified check
Nonresident	Game and Fish Headquarters, Cheyenne	Money order or cashier’s/certified check only — no personal checks

Pro Tip: Wyoming Game and Fish will not accept two-party checks under any circumstances, and nonresidents can’t pay with a personal check at all. Have a money order or cashier’s check ready before you submit your application.

Commercial Taxidermy vs Mounting Your Own Legally Taken Wildlife in Wyoming

The license requirement is built around commercial activity — mounting specimens for other people as a business. If you legally harvest an animal yourself under a valid tag and mount it purely for your own display, you’re not “conducting business” in the way the statute defines it, though you still have to follow every underlying tagging and possession rule that applies to that species.

That distinction matters for hunters who take game outside typical big-game seasons too. Someone who takes fish through bowfishing or who legally salvages an animal under Wyoming’s roadkill possession rules still needs proper documentation before a licensed taxidermist can accept the specimen, even though the person doing the salvaging never needed a taxidermist’s license themselves.

Shipping a finished mount out of state adds another layer. If the game is to be transported out of state by someone other than the license holder, an interstate game tag must be obtained, and these tags cost $8 and are available from game wardens, regional offices, and many taxidermists themselves. Skipping this step is one of the most common compliance mistakes hunters make after picking up a finished mount from a shop.

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

Every licensed taxidermist in Wyoming signs an affidavit stating they have a working knowledge of state laws pertaining to big and trophy game animals, small game animals, furbearing animals, game birds, migratory game birds, protected birds and animals and game fish. That’s a wide net, and the rules differ depending on which bucket a species falls into.

Trophy game animals — think elk, moose, and the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) that races across Wyoming’s sagebrush basins — require valid tags and licenses documenting lawful take before a taxidermist can accept them. Nongame protected species sit at the opposite end: personal possession of most native nongame birds is prohibited outright, regardless of how the bird died, unless the possessor holds a specific federal permit. Unprotected, non-native species fall outside both frameworks entirely, since birds like English sparrows and European starlings aren’t native to the United States and carry no federal protection at all.

Waterfowl and other migratory game birds bring an extra wrinkle worth flagging early, because state duck hunting rules only cover part of the picture — the federal government layers its own permit system on top, which the next section covers in detail. On the possession side, exotic or restricted species come up too; Wyoming’s ferret laws are a good example of how the state treats certain animals as restricted regardless of taxidermy intent, since you can’t legally possess what you can’t legally own in the first place.

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

Even with a valid Wyoming taxidermist license in hand, migratory birds require a separate federal credential. A Federal Migratory Bird Taxidermy Permit authorizes you to mount or otherwise perform taxidermy work on migratory birds, their parts, nests or eggs, belonging to someone else. Without it, mounting a client’s duck or goose — no matter how clean the state paperwork is — violates the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The federal application process has its own specifics. Applicants must apply as an individual and be at least 18 years old, submitting the request to the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office covering their state. Federal regulations set the maximum permit term at five years from issuance or renewal, and renewal applications need to go in at least 30 days before expiration along with a copy of the current state license, if the state requires one.

Tagging rules apply specifically to birds taken by hunting. Under federal regulation, a taxidermist can’t receive, possess, or store migratory game birds taken by someone else unless they’re tagged as required, and the tag may be removed during taxidermy operations but must be retained and reattached after mounting, remaining attached until the specimen is delivered to the owner. Losing track of that tag chain is one of the fastest ways to trigger a federal inspection finding.

Key Insight: Federal permits and Wyoming state permits work together, not as substitutes for each other — your federal taxidermy permit is not valid unless you’re also in compliance with any Wyoming license the state requires for the same activity.

Endangered, Threatened, and CITES Specimens in Wyoming

Species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act carry restrictions that sit above and beyond anything a state taxidermist license covers. Wyoming is home to the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), a species whose federal protection status has shifted over the years through litigation and rulemaking — which means a taxidermist handling bear specimens needs to verify current federal status before accepting the work, not rely on what was true a season or two ago.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) adds yet another layer for specimens crossing international borders. A hunter bringing home a trophy from Canada or another country may need a CITES export permit from the country of origin and, in some cases, a corresponding U.S. import document, entirely separate from any Wyoming paperwork. If your business handles international clients or imported specimens, the same due-diligence mindset that applies to Wyoming’s pet import laws is worth applying here too — verify origin documentation before the animal ever reaches your shop.

Important Note: Endangered and CITES-listed species rules change based on litigation, listing status, and international agreements. Confirm current status directly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before accepting any specimen you’re unsure about, rather than relying on general guidance alone.

Recordkeeping, Tagging, and Inspection Rules for Taxidermists in Wyoming

Recordkeeping is where Wyoming’s regulation gets specific. A licensed taxidermist must maintain records of wildlife specimens received, and those records must be available for a regulatory inspection upon forty-eight hours’ notice from the department, with everything submitted to the department by January 31 each year for the preceding year. That 48-hour window means a taxidermist can’t stall an inspection indefinitely — the records need to be organized and accessible on short notice.

What actually goes into those records is spelled out clearly on the license application itself. Records must include the names and addresses of persons from whom wildlife specimens were received, the date of receipt, location where taken, approximate date killed, description, and any identifying number — such as licenses, tags, shipping permits, or export permits — documenting origin. Skipping any one of these fields is a common reason licenses get flagged during renewal review.

Where the annual records get mailed depends on residency, mirroring the original license application. Resident taxidermists mail or deliver records to the regional Game and Fish office where their business is located, while nonresident taxidermists send everything to Wildlife Division Law Enforcement at the department’s Cheyenne headquarters. Both deadlines fall on the same January 31 date, regardless of where the taxidermist is based.

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

Wyoming’s taxidermist regulation focuses almost entirely on licensing, tagging, and recordkeeping — it doesn’t lay out a dedicated statute addressing what happens when a customer never picks up a finished mount. That gap doesn’t mean shops are stuck holding abandoned work indefinitely, but it does mean the answer usually comes down to contract law rather than a specific game-and-fish rule.

Most Wyoming shops handle this through a written intake agreement that spells out a pickup deadline, storage fees after that date, and the shop’s right to dispose of or sell unclaimed work once a reasonable notice period has passed. This mirrors how general commercial lien and abandoned-property principles work in most states, rather than anything specific to wildlife specimens.

Important Note: Because Wyoming hasn’t codified a taxidermy-specific abandoned property statute, taxidermists should put pickup deadlines and disposal rights in writing at intake and consult an attorney before selling or disposing of any unclaimed mount, particularly one involving a tagged big-game trophy.

Penalties for Unlicensed Taxidermy or Illegal Possession in Wyoming

Operating without the required license — or receiving a wildlife specimen before that license is issued — puts a business squarely in violation of Wyoming’s taxidermist statute, and Wyoming Game and Fish wardens are the ones who enforce it in the field. Violations of Wyoming’s wildlife statutes are typically prosecuted as misdemeanors, and consequences can include fines, license suspension or revocation, and confiscation of the specimens and equipment tied to the violation.

The federal side carries its own separate exposure. Performing taxidermy on migratory birds without holding the required Federal Migratory Bird Taxidermy Permit is a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and accepting that federal permit in the first place means authorizing an agent of the Service to enter your premises at any reasonable hour to inspect the wildlife you hold along with your books and records. That inspection authority applies whether or not a complaint has been filed — it’s a standing condition of holding the permit.

Enforcement isn’t limited to shop inspections either. Game wardens patrol private land and open range areas across Wyoming as part of routine wildlife law enforcement, which means illegally possessed specimens can surface during unrelated stops just as often as during a scheduled taxidermist audit.

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

For the state license, the process splits by residency. Residents work through their local game warden for approval, while nonresidents mail applications and annual records straight to Wyoming Game and Fish’s Wildlife Division Law Enforcement office at 5400 Bishop Boulevard, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82006. That same address handles renewal applications and the January 31 annual records deadline for nonresidents.

For anything involving migratory birds, the point of contact shifts to the federal government. Applications for the Federal Migratory Bird Taxidermy Permit go to the appropriate Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office, and renewal requests need to arrive at least 30 days before the current permit expires.

• Wyoming Game and Fish Department: Wildlife Division Law Enforcement, 5400 Bishop Boulevard, Cheyenne, WY 82006 — for state taxidermist licensing, renewals, and annual records.
• Local Game Warden: First stop for resident taxidermist license applications requiring in-person approval.
• USFWS Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office: Required for any Federal Migratory Bird Taxidermy Permit application or renewal.

If you’re unsure which office covers your situation — say, a mixed shop handling both big game and waterfowl — it’s worth calling the Wyoming Game and Fish regional office nearest your business location first. They can point you toward the correct federal contact if your work touches migratory species, and they’re the same office that receives your annual specimen records regardless.

Getting taxidermy laws in Wyoming right comes down to sequencing: secure the state license before you accept a single specimen, confirm whether the species in front of you needs a federal permit on top of that, and keep tagging and recordkeeping current all year rather than scrambling before the January 31 deadline. Shops that treat compliance as a standing routine, rather than a once-a-year paperwork rush, tend to avoid the inspection headaches that trip up everyone else.