New Jersey Shed Antler Rules 2027: Sale and Possession

Q: Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in New Jersey?

New Jersey names shed antlers as the exception to its rule that deer parts in hand must come from lawfully harvested deer. New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife) puts it this way: "Parts of deer possessed, other than shed antlers, must be from lawfully harvested deer."

Sale and possession

Rule type

from New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife)

3

Rules quoted

each linked to the agency page

None named

Course or permit

in the agency rules quoted below

September 21, 2026

Rules read

from the agency page

The rule

Shed antler rules in New Jersey

Sale and possession

Shed antlers are also on the short list of deer family parts that may be brought into New Jersey, beside boned out meat, cleaned skullcaps and hides. The Division of Fish and Wildlife digest lists its game sale exceptions separately, and antlers are not among them.

Statewide

Deer parts a person possesses must come from lawfully harvested deer, with shed antlers the stated exception.

Parts of deer possessed, other than shed antlers, must be from lawfully harvested deer.

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife), read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Statewide (import)

Shed antlers are among the few deer family parts that may be brought into New Jersey.

ONLY boned-out meat, cleaned skullcaps and hides, shed antlers, and clean upper canine teeth of any member of the Cervid family may be brought into New Jersey.

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife), read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

Courses, sale and state land

More New Jersey shed rules

Buying and selling sheds

The digest says the sale of game animals or parts is prohibited, with exceptions listed for gray squirrel, trapped furbearers and deer hides, tails and lower legs; antlers are not among the listed exceptions, and the digest does not address shed antlers by name.

The sale of wild birds and game animals or parts is prohibited in New Jersey with the following exceptions: legally harvested gray squirrel, legally trapped furbearers may be sold plus the sale of white-tailed deer hides, tails and the lower portion of the legs is legal.

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife), read September 21, 2026. Read it at the source

When antlers drop

When deer shed antlers in New Jersey

For white-tailed deer, Iowa Department of Natural Resources puts the drop at mid January to mid March.

Whitetail deer have about a two-month shedding period in Iowa, beginning mid-Jan. and ending mid-March.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Read it at the source

Mule deer standing and browsing on a snowy sagebrush slope — Mule deer on winter range in southwest Wyoming. Oregon closes several of its wildlife areas over winter to protect wintering big game, and Nevada and Wyoming close public land in their shed country from January 1. “Mule deer SW Wyoming on winter range (46257596142)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

New Jersey shed antler questions

Is it legal to pick up shed antlers in New Jersey?

When is shed hunting season in New Jersey?

Do I need a permit to collect sheds in New Jersey?

Can you sell shed antlers in New Jersey?

The digest says the sale of game animals or parts is prohibited, with exceptions listed for gray squirrel, trapped furbearers and deer hides, tails and lower legs; antlers are not among the listed exceptions, and the digest does not address shed antlers by name. New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife): "The sale of wild birds and game animals or parts is prohibited in New Jersey with the following exceptions: legally harvested gray squirrel, legally trapped furbearers may be sold plus the sale of white-tailed deer hides, tails and the lower portion of the legs is legal."

When do deer shed antlers in New Jersey?

Who sets the shed antler rules in New Jersey?

Shed antler rules in other states

New Jersey deer seasonArchery and firearms dates for New Jersey, read from New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife).New Jersey deer rutWhen bucks breed in the fall, months before those antlers drop.Shed antler rules by stateEvery state's shed rule, the dated western closures and when each species drops.

A young bull elk carrying a single antler standing among elk bedded in snow — A young bull that has already dropped one antler, among elk bedded in snow. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says elk may start shedding in February and run through April. “Bull Elk and Herd (6258537907)”, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Compiled September 21, 2026. Every rule above is republished from General Hunting Regulations, New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest (eRegulations, linked by NJ Fish & Wildlife) and the other New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJDEP Fish & Wildlife) pages linked beside each quote, read on September 21, 2026. Rules change between winters, so the agency page is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the national shed antler guide.